Trying to decide on a new ISP - UKFSN, UK Online or someone else?

ajgoodfellow · 6 Jul 2008 at 18:10

Hi

I've been looking for a new ISP and I've read that two good ones are UKFSN and UK Online

Be have been frequently recommended - and they were due to upgrade Canterbury in June - but they have been delayed until end of July/early August (which is too far away really)

We used to have an up to 8mb service at 50:1 contention with Freedom2Surf which we've just cancelled (new phone line as my housemate is moving out). We currently get about 7mb on this

UK Online offer their 8mb service for £19.99 p/m with 20:1 contention and unlimited downloads and they come recommended

UKFSN are also recommend and I understand that they are an LLU provider. They are £19.99 per month for 30GB or £29.99 for 60GB. That's peak allowance - 8am to 10pm Monday - Friday

We were using about 50GB per month but when my housemate moves out that should drop significantly

UKFSN also offer a 1 month contract so I could go with them then move to Be when they're enabled

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Alistair

Trifid · 6 Jul 2008 at 18:42

ajgoodfellow said:
UKFSN also offer a 1 month contract so I could go with them then move to Be when they're enabled

This.

I am also waiting to move to Be from Aquiss when my Exchange is enabled (currently 30/07 being stated).

Just to clarify a couple of things, UKFSN are not a LLU provider. They sell BT wholesale which is offered everywhere (apart from a couple of exchanges in the far reaches of Scotland that serve 2 people). And that contention ratios are no longer stated, instead a minimum 'acceptable' speed.

ajgoodfellow · 6 Jul 2008 at 18:45

Thanks

Samknows said they were - hence my comment. UK Online use the 20:1 contention as a selling point too

That does sound like a plan though - cheers

LoadsaMoney · 6 Jul 2008 at 21:32

Id go along with that to, im on UKFSN and have been able to get Be for a few months now, but seen as UKFSN has been so great since ive joined, i aint bothered switching.

ajgoodfellow · 6 Jul 2008 at 21:54

Cheers

Jabbs · 7 Jul 2008 at 09:43

Does UKFSN still suffer from slower speeds though when peak hours kick in like it was when i was on it 7 months ago ? might be worth concidering, if you can get LLU i think that would be a better option for you and atm UKFSN are not a LLU and have caps.

UKonline upto 8mb unlmited downloads all for £19.99 a month with 768k upload, for the same price on ukfsn you only going to get 30 gig peak and 300 gig off peaks and 448k upload as its adsl max.

DavidQ · 7 Jul 2008 at 11:15

I was on UKFSN until 2+ weeks ago when I switched to O2 Home Access (£17.50 pm for O2 Customers) and it was still slow for me during the evenings with them. I'm maxing out my connection on O2 all the time (810 kbs).

LoadsaMoney · 7 Jul 2008 at 12:29

Yeah it does, but it doesn't bother me during the week as i switch off about 11pm to go to bed

, and its fine at weekends to as well, i always seem to get around my full speeds (6mb), as you can check the status of the pipes and just jump onto another one with a good speed, if the one your on is running low, and being a monthly contract is ideal, and be ideal for aj to, as with not being tied in, he can jump straight onto Be when its availabe, with no hastles of trying to get out of a contract or anything.

Jabbs · 7 Jul 2008 at 13:09

True over that forgot ukfsn is 1 month contract.

ajgoodfellow · 7 Jul 2008 at 18:20

Thanks for all your replies

Even though the 1 month contract with UKFSN is very tempting it is rather expensive and it has a £47 activation charge

After looking into it I've decided to go with UK Online - I went for the 16MB service as my line should be capable of >8MB. I have an activation date of the 15th July too which isn't too far away