Out of the loop -want to move to cable?

NiCkNaMe · 12 Jul 2008 at 11:10

Hi guys

Have had a pretty busy year and have been travelling quite a lot so i'm out of the loop when it comes to broadband packages.

Basically i'm on ADSL at the moment with Tiscali. Our ADSL has always been iffy so I'd like ideally to move to cable in the form of Virgin Media or Sky? What is the service like, what are the caps like... what packages are best?

I'm in S-O-T so I don't know what the service is like here from either.

I ideally want to move to vonage as well and get rid of a phone line altogether, so it'd be handy if people could give me opinions on this as well? :-)

Thanks
Steve

Defiance_co · 12 Jul 2008 at 12:08

VM's going downhill fast my friend

Just jumped ship and gone with o2 adsl

Check out VM throttling (and it's blanketed not specific as they suggest (blanket throttling in my case and i'm not a heavy user lol))

You thought about changing ISP (Tiscali seems to have a bad rep somewhat and stupidly low data limits for this day and age) i cannot recommend o2 or be enough

If you can't swap or get a better adsl service it looks like you'll have to go for cable and accept their constraints

Rabtech · 12 Jul 2008 at 12:33

Another vote for BE/O2, Ive just jumped ship from 20Mb Virgin cable - admittingly in an oversubscribed area. With their reluctance to fix anything promptly, phorm hanging over our heads, STM etc - the price premium isn't worth it.

TraxData · 12 Jul 2008 at 12:46

Agreed, I'd jump to an ADSL+2 provider if possible, dependant on how far you are from the exchange.

Check http://www.samknows.com and click availability checker to see who you can get/distace from exchange.

VM is not worth the price these days, All Day STM, expensive, dont care about customers, dont do upgrades etc.

NiCkNaMe · 12 Jul 2008 at 13:04

Thanks for the replies.

It seems that its a resounding stick with ADSL, or go to ADSL2 !

My stats are a bit iffy but I think it's the house wiring to be honest, it's running from an extension so I could try re-wiring that.

Just ran the check and I can get up to 4Mbps from Be/o2 etc.

The only reason I was thinking cable was due to getting rid of the phone rental charge, and jumping to vonage for all calls.

hmmmmmmmmm :-\

2.2km from the exchange.

Steve

TraxData · 12 Jul 2008 at 13:08

Here's a speedgraph for you

Providing your line quality is good, of course

I'd check all wiring/extensions/face plates to be honest with you, had a friend yesterday (1.7KM from exchange) who had ordered 16/1 from UKOnline but was only getting 3/512...quick play with the faceplate and extension and he was synched at 15/1.

NiCkNaMe · 12 Jul 2008 at 13:10

Another quick question - have just been checking vonage out.

Some of their packages state...Unlimited calls to Mobiles in the USA and Canada .

None of them mention UK mobiles, I take it this are chargeable?

Thanks

NiCkNaMe · 12 Jul 2008 at 13:12

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 4544 kbps 448 kbps
Line Attenuation 44 db 15 db
Noise Margin 4 db 23 db

Stats at present. The box where it comes in downstairs is where everyone chucks their shoes so it might be a good idea to replace.

TraxData · 12 Jul 2008 at 13:12

NiCkNaMe said:
Another quick question - have just been checking vonage out.

Some of their packages state...Unlimited calls to Mobiles in the USA and Canada .

None of them mention UK mobiles, I take it this are chargeable?

Thanks

I'd think so, it will be on their *rates page.

http://www.voipcheap.com/ is a good VOIP service, most calls are free, UK Mobiles are cheapas well, i think...cant remember lol

TraxData · 12 Jul 2008 at 13:13

NiCkNaMe said:
ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 4544 kbps 448 kbps
Line Attenuation 44 db 15 db
Noise Margin 4 db 23 db

Stats at present. The box where it comes in downstairs is where everyone chucks their shoes so it might be a good idea to replace.

The fact you get 4Mbit on ADSL means you should get at least 8-10Mbit on ADSL+2

Sam knows will only give you the max ADSL speed you will see though (infact, all searches do).

Which is why i provided you with the speed graph

tolien · 12 Jul 2008 at 13:15

Sky don't do cable.

Don't pay too much attention to the distance scale on that graph - it isn't thinking about the thickness of the copper pairs used in the UK. There's a guesstimator in the sticky that'll give you a better idea of what you'd get.

TraxData · 12 Jul 2008 at 13:16

tolien said:
Sky don't do cable.

Don't pay too much attention to the distance scale on that graph - it isn't thinking about the thickness of the copper pairs used in the UK. There's a guesstimator in the sticky that'll give you a better idea of what you'd get.

It's actually a pretty good estimate and has been spot on for everyone i know.

tolien · 12 Jul 2008 at 13:21

That's nice, but doesn't change the fact that the distance-attenuation relationship on the chart is way off, unless you're talking about the USA.
There was a site somewhere building a similar chart with real data, but I can't remember the URI now.

For what it's worth, the calculator in the sticky reckons you'd get at most 8750kbps with ADSL2+.

NiCkNaMe · 12 Jul 2008 at 13:42

Thanks for all the help guys - I think at least i've decided to stick with ADSL.

I'm not too fussed about the download speed, 4Mbps is plenty for the amount of time I spend on it, it was more other services such as TV... but if VM really is as bad as a lot of threads / news stories seem to suggest then i'm going to steer clear. I'd also of liked to trial vonage but was hoping to get rid of a phone line altogether!