Help me choose an ISP, fairly important to get it right.
- Thread starter Muel
- Start date
Utter ******** (dangly bits)
TalkTalk have delivered a flawless service in the year+ since I've had them.
They're well known for having useless phone support but really good forum support. As a tech-savvy bloke you won't normally need support anyhow.
Can thoroughly recommend TalkTalk (no I don't work for them). £6 + line rental for max line speed with 40GB cap. You won't get value like that anywhere else.
And for that money with Sky you get 2GB monthly cap. Useless!
Associate
TalkTalk have been excellent. They are not what they use to be 'Rubbish'
when i considered my broadband, when i recently moved house, i'm similar to the OP, although my work doesnt rely on it, i'm not really bothered by outright speed, its how reliable the service is.
cant get Virgin cable (used to have that - very little issues), so i have to use ADSL.
I think they are 2 companies that use LLU in my area, but i was reluctant due to the companies involved, AOL and TALKTALK - if i remember correctly.
I looked for a small ISP without a long contract, as the way i see it, if you have a problem, with a short contract if they dont solve it quickly, you'll just go somewhere else... if your tied into a 12 month contract, there is nothing much you can do, so they can take ages to sort it out.
I looked at a few ISPs and went with AAISP http://aaisp.net.uk/
They have on peak and off peak tarrifs, which most do these days but peak runs from 9-6 monday to friday, which suits me, cos i'm at work then anyway, other isps choose much higher peak times, and some include weekends as peak! - With AAISP its a modular system, and you buy peak and off peak units.
Its not cheap, but so far (4-5 months) its been absoultely flawless service.
they are really helpful too...
When BT connected my phone, they made a mess of it (no suprise there) and left a tag on the line for broadband. This meant that i couldnt sign up for a broadband service without a migration code, which of course i didnt have, cos i didnt have broadband, it was a brand new contract on that line in my name!
after 2 telephone conversations with BT lasting over an hour in total, i had got nowhere... they couldnt help me, and told me as much on the phone.
Phoned AAISP, got put straight through to someone who knew what they were talking about, said i wanted to join them, explained my problem, they contacted BT for me, and sorted it all out!! - result!! If i had to call BT again, i would have lost the will to live i reckon!!
No contract, i just have to give them 30 days notice, then i can leave.
no drop outs, no throttling, no problems with torrents (TV shows etc).
got a free modem (which is rubbish, doesnt like torrents and web at the same time) but is useful as a spare as my netgear has just died.
I couldnt be happier with them, if that changes, i'll just move onto another small isp, there are lots of them.
Ive found with these things, the bigger the company, the more difficult it is to sort things out if/when somthing goes wrong!
sorry for the long post.
hope this helps
cant get Virgin cable (used to have that - very little issues), so i have to use ADSL.
I think they are 2 companies that use LLU in my area, but i was reluctant due to the companies involved, AOL and TALKTALK - if i remember correctly.
I looked for a small ISP without a long contract, as the way i see it, if you have a problem, with a short contract if they dont solve it quickly, you'll just go somewhere else... if your tied into a 12 month contract, there is nothing much you can do, so they can take ages to sort it out.
I looked at a few ISPs and went with AAISP http://aaisp.net.uk/
They have on peak and off peak tarrifs, which most do these days but peak runs from 9-6 monday to friday, which suits me, cos i'm at work then anyway, other isps choose much higher peak times, and some include weekends as peak! - With AAISP its a modular system, and you buy peak and off peak units.
Its not cheap, but so far (4-5 months) its been absoultely flawless service.
they are really helpful too...
When BT connected my phone, they made a mess of it (no suprise there) and left a tag on the line for broadband. This meant that i couldnt sign up for a broadband service without a migration code, which of course i didnt have, cos i didnt have broadband, it was a brand new contract on that line in my name!
after 2 telephone conversations with BT lasting over an hour in total, i had got nowhere... they couldnt help me, and told me as much on the phone.
Phoned AAISP, got put straight through to someone who knew what they were talking about, said i wanted to join them, explained my problem, they contacted BT for me, and sorted it all out!! - result!! If i had to call BT again, i would have lost the will to live i reckon!!
No contract, i just have to give them 30 days notice, then i can leave.
no drop outs, no throttling, no problems with torrents (TV shows etc).
got a free modem (which is rubbish, doesnt like torrents and web at the same time) but is useful as a spare as my netgear has just died.
I couldnt be happier with them, if that changes, i'll just move onto another small isp, there are lots of them.
Ive found with these things, the bigger the company, the more difficult it is to sort things out if/when somthing goes wrong!
sorry for the long post.
hope this helps
Associate
I've been with TalkTalk for 1yr and 6months now and after getting my initial problems sorted out via the forum they have been excellent. As foxeye says, their telephone support is terrible but the OCE's on the forums know exactly what they are doing - if your even slightly tech savvy then I'd highly recommend them for the price
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I'm with TalkTalk too. As they have the best speeds in my area. Every time I tell someone that I get told 'oh my gawd, bet you have had nothing but problems' and I reply that no I've had a great service from them. The only downside to the great forum support is they seem to have limited staffing and only work 9-5 weekdays.
I don't see how you can recommend TalkTalk while stating that they have bad phone support? And they have caps on their "cheap" service and employ the same deal tactics of Sky - pull them in on a short term deal which jumps up after 3 - 6 months.
Maybe I'm biased I don't know, I'm a callout engineer in my spare time so I troubleshoot internet connectivity problems daily, but in that line of work I call all the major ISP's on a regular basis. O2 answer you instantly 24/7 from a scottish call centre full of well trained staff. Sky and TalkTalk forward you on to India (If anywhere at all) and charge you over the moon for the "privilege".
EDIT: I've also been with TalkTalk, Sky, BT and TalkNet (Or something like that, think they've gone bust now) and I don't work for o2
Maybe I'm biased I don't know, I'm a callout engineer in my spare time so I troubleshoot internet connectivity problems daily, but in that line of work I call all the major ISP's on a regular basis. O2 answer you instantly 24/7 from a scottish call centre full of well trained staff. Sky and TalkTalk forward you on to India (If anywhere at all) and charge you over the moon for the "privilege".
EDIT: I've also been with TalkTalk, Sky, BT and TalkNet (Or something like that, think they've gone bust now) and I don't work for o2
Associate
262 meters from the exchange, if adsl is your option, the sky llu, hands down no capping or traffic management and with your exchange distance, 20mb should be easy with 1.4mb up.
Permabanned
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I would agree with Sky, been with them for years and not had any issues, by that I mean when I have had issues theyve sorted them well, yes their call centre is in India (or somewhere similar) but thats a given nowadays.
If you get Skys top BB package there are NO limits at all, no cap, no TM, no FUP
If you get Skys top BB package there are NO limits at all, no cap, no TM, no FUP
Man of Honour
This, or AAISP. If you want quality you pay for it, the answer is that simple. I've precisely zero sympathy for anybody paying £20 a month and complaining about the quality of the service.
You get what you pay for isn't rocket science as concepts go, it costs serious money to provide these services, so anybody charging £20 a month is cutting corners somewhere. Usually support or oversubscription, or both.
My personal experiences:
-Sky: If you have no hiccups getting the damn line enabled it's a great product, I had this for 2 years or so and had no issues with caps or speed.
-O2: Great speeds, great customer service
The above two really do depend on your line...although I was really happy with O2, I got myself a decent deal with VM 50MB and it's great now, apart from the SuperHub.
-Sky: If you have no hiccups getting the damn line enabled it's a great product, I had this for 2 years or so and had no issues with caps or speed.
-O2: Great speeds, great customer service
The above two really do depend on your line...although I was really happy with O2, I got myself a decent deal with VM 50MB and it's great now, apart from the SuperHub.
Sky *were* a pain to start with, but we eventually got through to someone who was willing to sort us out. Went through account, put everything right, £90 credit on account and reduced monthly bill by £15 too. Sky was enabled at 9am, so BT went off. Plugged in Sky router and it was back online at 9.10am. Now to get this anytime+ lark thingy setup!
The majority of telecomms providers have dire customer service because they are cost cutting. However, if you persevere you will get there in the end. TalkTalk for example are probably the cheapest and the service appears ok, but the majority of people I know with them experience huge slowdowns at the times you want to work...
The majority of telecomms providers have dire customer service because they are cost cutting. However, if you persevere you will get there in the end. TalkTalk for example are probably the cheapest and the service appears ok, but the majority of people I know with them experience huge slowdowns at the times you want to work...
Soldato
I would like to advocate the use of Be*
I have been with them for years now and can't praise them highly enough. My connection is rock solid - pings are great.
They engage in zero traffic shaping and have a real unlimited service. I get about 15Mbps and I can max that out any time of day or night. There customer service is excellent.
If you decide to go with them they have a referral deal going. If I refer you we both get £15 credit on our account. Email in trust if you wanted to do that.
I have been with them for years now and can't praise them highly enough. My connection is rock solid - pings are great.
They engage in zero traffic shaping and have a real unlimited service. I get about 15Mbps and I can max that out any time of day or night. There customer service is excellent.
If you decide to go with them they have a referral deal going. If I refer you we both get £15 credit on our account. Email in trust if you wanted to do that.
Associate
From that list I'd go with Be Unlimited. Pretty good speeds, pretty good reliability, no capping.
If you're really concerned about reliability, buy a PAYG 3g dongle for those occasions where you're out and about or the rare instance that your broadband goes down.
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Sorry for the lack of replies, but I don't have internet.
Went with O2, rang up and sorted it. "10 working days and it should be working". That was the 7th, and they've booked me in the 25th to connect me. TWENTY-FIFTH.
I had a very loud, shouty phone call yesterday which managed to achieve nothing, so now I wait.
Went with O2, rang up and sorted it. "10 working days and it should be working". That was the 7th, and they've booked me in the 25th to connect me. TWENTY-FIFTH.
I had a very loud, shouty phone call yesterday which managed to achieve nothing, so now I wait.
Soldato
Ultimately you would need Fibre so if you can't get Virgin and BT infinity is only 6 months away I'd go BT ADSL now, the change to BT Infinity, when it becomes available, will be so much less hassle.
Whichever ISP you select ther will be someone who can tell you they are rubbish (see above ) .
Andi.
Doh! just read your reply.
Whichever ISP you select ther will be someone who can tell you they are rubbish (see above
) .Andi.
Doh! just read your reply.