ISP recommendation for Uni house please

Dazza_Random · 19 May 2009 at 00:42

I will be getting a student house in July with another guy and two girls and want advice about what ISP to ideally go for (as cheap as possible too).

The internet connection will mainly be used for my Xbox 360 and PC (Heavy user myself) and the three others laptops who use BBC Iplayer and 4OD they never really download more than a 1GB a day each.

I was thinking Virgin Media 10Mb or 02 (as I have a phone contract) but if 02 charge a lot of money for a BT line install I would not like to go with them unless i can get the line install done cheaply. (12month contract too)

If the guy gets another Xbox in the house will the upload speed of virgin Media 10MB be too slow as well for 2Xboxs on the internet at the same time as well as the other two girl's on their laptops. So should we get 20mb for the faster upload speed as I can persuade if needs be to get it

I also live 1.65km from the exchange according to Sam Knows, what speeds am I likely to see from 02/Be?

If i go with virgin Media i plan to buy a Linksys router and flash it to Tomato (Also I am studying for a degree in "Computer Network Management and Design"!)

http://www.virginmedia.com/help/traffic-management.php

Thanks for any advice

Dazza

wij · 19 May 2009 at 01:35

If you're aware of the STM system (traffic mangement) that Virgin impose on their users then it will probably be the cheapest option.

Though it is still a 12 month contract.

To get Be/O2 you will need to get a BT line installed (£125) or reactivated if the previous tenants in the property ahd one (£25?).

You will also need a BT call plan, circa £10.50 a month, and I would go for Be as opposed to O2 as it is a shorter term contract, so you're looking at £30 a month or there about inc. BT line.

With VM remember that you are forced into taking one of their phone bundles too which adds £11 a month to any prices you see on their sites, so 10Mbit from them works out at £24 a month anyway after the cheap intro price.

Personally if it were me and you can deal with paying the BT install fee (split 4 ways its not really that much) I would go for Be or O2 as although you say they aren't heavy users you will be quite surprised how much bandwidth 3 people using iPlayer and 4OD 2/3 times a day each adds up to and the caps on the cheaper VM packages are less than generous.

Answer to a couple of your other Qs:

Upload speed, will be fine tbh it uses next to nothing to play online gaming.

1.5Km striaght line or actual line distance - either way you should get a decent sync, my line is around 600-800m and I get the full 24mbit sync on Be, and a full 8Mbit profile on my Zen line.

Dazza_Random · 19 May 2009 at 10:36

Thanks for the reply wij.

I forgot to mention that I saw a marked BT faceplate in the property. So how would i go about getting a cheaper install for the property, do i go to BT or ring up 02 for the line install?

The BT line rental is £10.50 a month and 02 Premium (up to 20MB) is £9.79 = £20.29

Versus 10Mb virgin for £20 a month (without phone line). Also with 02 we get a faster upload speed and no STM and can download all we want with no worries

What speed do people reckon we will get, there is a main road running from our house to the exchange too hoping BT ran the copper alongside the main road lol.

Do you really have to get a Virgin Media phone line too? I believe you don't not according to their website. As there is two pricing plans for 10MB one for with a phone line and one without and we dont need a phone line - however i read if you do get the virgin 20mb with a phone line it brings down the total cost by £4 a month to £31.

wij · 19 May 2009 at 11:10

You can order VM without a phone package but its more expensive I thought?

Just because their is a BT face plate doesn't mean the line has been active recently, if the previous people in the house had a BT line and its been inacitve for less than 6 months you should be able to get it reconnected for a much lower cost than a new "install".

Again I know you're trying to do this on the cheap but I'd just avoid any ISP like the plague that has a 12 month contract, if it goes down the pan you're stuck with it or have to pay cancellation fees, at least with Be you can get out after 3 months or pay £40 to get it cut off earlier.

In terms of speed if the line is about 2Km long you should get a good sync, certainly at least 10Mbit but probably higher - its impossible to say though without knowing the line stats from a previous ADSL sync on it to get any rough idea. Be/O2 will give you an estiamte when you order with them though take it with a pinch of salt.

I suppose in VM's favour at least you know you will be getting the rated speed they sell you, but their STM system is a joke if you ask me not worth bothering with if you're in a house with 4 people who use a lot of streaming services. All it takes is one person to dl a couple of big files during the day and you're shafted for hours.