Best MaxDSL provider?

GSDog · 28 May 2006 at 10:53

Hi everyone.

I have just found out my exchange has been upgraded to MaxDSL, I am pretty sure I can get 8MB as I live close to the exchange.

What is the best ISP for MaxDSL?

Does BT have any usage caps on their MaxDSL?
I don't want usage caps...

I haven't had any problems with BT but I don't like having a cap on my line.

What ISP would you go for?

Deathwish · 28 May 2006 at 11:06

IIRC there is only one ISP now that doesn't have caps, and thats AOL. Everyone else has them, just at varying levels. The last ISP to offer Unlimited bandwidth just went bankrupt, and thats only after one month of service! (EvolutionDSL)

Have a look at Nildram and Zen, they seem to have decent records, avoid Eclipse at the moment, they are having issues. AOL is not a bad idea either, especially if you use a router then you dont need to touch any of their software.

Have a look on www.adslguide.org.uk

OzZie · 28 May 2006 at 11:20

Deathwish said:
IIRC there is only one ISP now that doesn't have caps, and thats AOL. Everyone else has them, just at varying levels. The last ISP to offer Unlimited bandwidth just went bankrupt, and thats only after one month of service! (EvolutionDSL)

Have a look at Nildram and Zen, they seem to have decent records, avoid Eclipse at the moment, they are having issues. AOL is not a bad idea either, especially if you use a router then you dont need to touch any of their software.

Have a look on www.adslguide.org.uk

You don't need to use their software even if you use a standard DSL modem also

GSDog · 28 May 2006 at 11:29

I was looking at Zen but the 20GB cap is a little low.
BT can do a 40GB cap for just £2 more than what I am paying at the moment for 2MB with a 30GB cap.

I might just go for BT again, 40GB cap is OK and I haven't had any probs with them for the last 6 years.

Reezer · 28 May 2006 at 11:58

What about AceInternet? Their business service is 8192/832, no cap, 3 month contract for £39.95 (£46.94 inc) a month. Sounds like a cracking deal to me.

The doomsayers predict they will go bankrupt soon but they have been in existence for 8 years so hopefully they are more likely to introduce a cap that bankrupt themselves... Even if they do go under the worst part for you is getting your transfer code from them which may take a little longer. Even so, they go into administration, not just dissapear off the face of the earth - I personally think it is well worth the risk - even if you only get a year out of them before having to change that's £350 you've saved over Nildrams equivilent business service.

dbmzk1 · 28 May 2006 at 19:31

http://www.eclipse.net.uk/

'nuff said

Indy500 · 28 May 2006 at 19:33

Whoever said Eclipse throttle P2P 24\7, that wasnt intended, AFAIK its fixed now anyway.

tolien · 28 May 2006 at 20:16

Reezer said:
The doomsayers predict they will go bankrupt soon but they have been in existence for 8 years so hopefully they are more likely to introduce a cap that bankrupt themselves...

Everyone saying Evolution was going to go bang were described as doomsayers too, and they'd been around for a while too...

Simple fact, what they're charging is far below sustainable with more than a tiny handful caning it, so it's only a matter of time.

Phil99 · 28 May 2006 at 20:17

sr4470 said:
Whoever said Eclipse throttle P2P 24\7, that wasnt intended, AFAIK its fixed now anyway.

Eclipse speeds have been all over the place recently, there was a case last week where P2P speeds and all encrypted traffic was limited to between about 20-50KB/s but they opened an outage on their Status page and seem to have it sorted now

HTTP speeds were also comparitively poor in the evenings at around 0.5-1.5mbps but that seems a bit better at peak times now as well, I got 3.5mbps yesterday and 2mbps just now, it varies from evening to evening but that's to be expected due to the contended nature of the service. Actual browsing during the low speeds was still pretty good and the speed never really dropped too much as after 1mbps there's not a lot of difference for surfing anyway.

BitTorrent is reasonable in the evenings, approx 2-3mbps speeds on a 4.5mbps line which looks like they've now got the shaping sorted properly as it varies on a well seeded torrent. Outside peak times most of the time it goes at my line speed.

Eclipse looks like your best bet if you do a lot of downloading and don't want to spend too much, they only limit the amount you download between 6pm - Midnight and the pricing seems pretty good. I'm on Option 3 at the moment and can download 40GB at peak times and unlimited outside those times for £24.99. I don't do anywhere near that though so might downgrade though.

I was looking at other ISPs when the throttle was in place incase they kept them 24/7 and didn't really see any other better packages, Zen looked quite pricey for the transfer limits, but I guess with ISPs (and everything else), "you get what you pay for" in most cases. If you want top speeds 24/7 with no usage limits you're going to need quite a large budget (how does £1600 a month for the BT Central bandwidth alone sound?

)