OK...SO WHICH ISP???

[Thorien]

Am currently with BT (have been for about 4 years...) Has been a very reliable service in terms of no outages that I can remember. However browsing the interent seems quite slow (connection speed is 5.5MB, but browsing seems slower especially u-tube videos etc keep pausing to download).
I presume that this is due to throttling or profiling? Anyway was thinking about moving to BE* as they are LLU based was hoping they will be better. Am thinking aout the lite package (upto 8MB) with unlimited downloads ie no capping?

Anyone recommend them? Or is there a better isp to go for? Also is LLU actually better or not? Could also go for sky in my area? Or should I get forget LLU and go for someone like Fast.co.uk or ADSL24??

PS am based in hetfordshire/london border area and am about 2km from my exchange...

ANY help appreciated. Cheers!

 

[Thorien]

No worries about signing up to cable as i don't have it in my area!
Might have to go with Be* after all then, I've only heard good things about them so far.....Just a bit miffed at having to pay to sign up with them and also if i want to leave as they are LLU based.
Oh well... c'est la vie!



ps: thanks for the replies so far guys, any other views and comments also welcome!

 

[Thorien]

If you're signing up to BE and dont wanna pay then just signup over the phone & say you're thinking of signing up but you're not sure about the setup fee. Thats what I did & they waived it

Excellent idea! Thanks matey!
Will give it a try.....

Not sure about whether to go for the 24mg or 8mg connection though as want to keep it as cheap as poss!

 

[Thorien]

Have spoken to be*....
They say as i'm 4km from the exchange i'm not going to get more than 2mb from the line???
Told them I'm 2.5km from the exchange in a straight line and am already getting synced with BT at 5.5mb and can download on speedtest and about 4400kb/s off peak....
They then mumbled something about not being guaranteed a connection of over 2mb due to the distance so therefore i am not going to join em now! Even on the unlimited package i would still not be guaranteed any speeds over 2mg according to them, so that's put me right off. Will stick with BT although i do get throttled down to only 1.5mg during peak times! DOH!!!!

 

[Thorien]

Can't take the risk with Be* now...especially not as I would need to sign up for 12 months....

So am now thinking of switching to an entanet reseller like UKFSN or ADSL24, although not an LLU at least they dont throttle or profile....APPARENTLY!!!!

Thanks for all your comments and recommendations so far guys. It's been very useful.

 

[Thorien]

That's exactly my problem with BT, as you say browsing is noticeably slower when the speeds are throttled, I think entanet are going to have to be the way to go...only problem is the usage allowances.. I can't afford anything more than the £19-99 option ie 30gb peak and 300gb off peak. Is this a reasonable allowance for normal internet usage with a bit of p2p and u-tube veiwing etc?? do people normally go over this limit??

 

[Thorien]

Not great considering I get twice as much off peak! mind you am only paying £2 less a month with BT!

Nah that's it, have got my MAC code and am going to probably take the plunge with ADSL24 tomorrow...
Wish me luck!!!!!