6 month broadband in new flat

richyb_safc · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:15

Story is...

I'm moving into a new flat for a Placement for University and obviously I want (need probably) a broadband connection. The flat is a new build so has a phone line etc but is not connected to any provider (BT charge £120).

Is there any providers people know about who have a decent speed (CoD and PS3!), don't run on a BT line (Be) and allow for 6 month contracts?

I've tried BT and Virgin Media, and obviously Be and 02(I think) are no goes.

Anyone?

Help, as always, is much appreciated guys...

tolien · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:37

All the ADSL providers (including the LLUers) and cable are out if there isn't a voice service so you're left with 3G.

richyb_safc · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:46

thats a shame!

so if I want a wired broadband service I basically need to pay BT £120? Is there any companies who offer connection any cheaper?

tolien · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:48

Some would have swallowed the connection fee (like Sky), but not for 6 months.

miniyazz · 29 Jun 2009 at 14:52

If you're not needing it for more than general web browsing, emails etc, depending on your phone contract you might be able to tether your mobile to your computer and use it as a modem. It's frowned upon, but does the job admirably, until they find out, if they find out

muon · 29 Jun 2009 at 14:58

Make an 18 month contract with BT and the connection fee is waivered. Then simply tell BT when you move so that they can move your contract with you to the next property you will be in?

Or would that not work?

richyb_safc · 29 Jun 2009 at 15:43

ghost101 said:
Make an 18 month contract with BT and the connection fee is waivered. Then simply tell BT when you move so that they can move your contract with you to the next property you will be in?

Or would that not work?

Thats probably the only thing I could do. I'll be moving into a friends flat when I go back to uni though, which already has a phone line etc so it wouldnt work.

spencer198178 · 30 Jun 2009 at 11:31

have a look here http://www.dslzoneuk.net/isp_ratings.php

Farore · 30 Jun 2009 at 18:52

richyb_safc said:
thats a shame!

so if I want a wired broadband service I basically need to pay BT £120? Is there any companies who offer connection any cheaper?

I had the same problem as you, and I ended up paying out

Tweek_1984 · 1 Jul 2009 at 08:08

Post office connect you for £107.

I'm in a very similar position, but got PO to connect me up. Now looking for a provider.

Goksly · 1 Jul 2009 at 12:06

BT just connected me for free... you just missed out on as promo. Could phone them up and see if they will still do it?

Lumeycom · 1 Jul 2009 at 14:22

Goksly said:
BT just connected me for free... you just missed out on as promo. Could phone them up and see if they will still do it?

that was with an 18month contract though no?

wij · 1 Jul 2009 at 14:45

Lumeycom said:
that was with an 18month contract though no?

Yes it was.

If you phone up and argue with them long and hard enough about it you can sometimes get it waived but I've not found it that easy (moved house 3 times in the last 4 years, twice had to pay the £125, got it back once as they messed up the install on the booked date).

gaara · 1 Jul 2009 at 14:58

You could get a cheap virgin package.

£225 effective total line cost

£30 installation

225+30= £255 is the total payment

its 12 month contract and you can then cancel for 6 months and just pay up the rest.

so net for around £40 a month effectively.

well thats what my poor maths makes of it

richyb_safc · 1 Jul 2009 at 17:32

hmm...I don't like this.

Does anyone have a 3G 'dongle'. I'm presuming it'll be useless for gaming but is it secure for banking etc? also, whats the coverage and price like? could be worth a look? - or not?

timefalls · 1 Jul 2009 at 19:46

I used a 3G dongle. They are perfectly secure, but useless for anything which needs to be near-realtime such as VoIP or online gaming. Pings range from about 150ms to 850ms+, depending on how far you are away from transmitters and network load.

If you aren't doing either of those things, a 3G dongle is a good solution.

EDIT: i was on 3, who give you 5GB per month for £15 a month, with a 30 day contract, which is good because you need it for 6 months. Unfortunately, with a bandwidth budget of 5GB, high levels of downloading (music, video, disk images) would be out of the question

Coverage is great if you are in large towns and cites, as you would be able to get full speed HSDPA at 7.2Mbps. if you go anywhere rural however, you'd be better off using morse code or smoke signals, because you could end up using GPRS, which ranges from 14.4kbps to 20Kbps.

hope this helps!

richyb_safc · 2 Jul 2009 at 00:30

timefalls said:
...morse code or smoke signals...

hadn't thought of any of those!

I'll be in Ware, which is in Hertfordshire and not far out of London, so hopefully I'd be ok in terms of coverage. Not too bothered about downloading media (Prison Break has finished...shhhhh...) so a bandwidth cap shouldn't be too much of problem.

Can anyone vouch for coverage close to my area?

timefalls · 2 Jul 2009 at 07:41

if you wanted to use three, there is a coverage checker in the bottom left hand corner of this page:

http://www.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband

other servic providers offer something similar.