Soldato
I guess from the latest survey that Zen are considering charging for a Static IP Address? Does anyone know anything about that?
Zen Static IP Address
- Thread starter SpellowHouse
- Start date
They are slowly eroding what makes them special.
What I find very frustrating about these surveys, is they ask our opinion on what they would like to change, I would prefer them to ask us what we would like to change.
Re the fixed IP, I wouldn't mind if we got a price reduction, but I would bet money that's not what's going to happen. It will be a monthly extra for people who want to keep it.
I must start a thread looking for an alternative to Zen.
Oh, I just found this...
www.ispreview.co.uk
Interesting that they agree about Zen and their service and supoport..
"Despite a drop in service and support quality, Zen still remains a highly rated broadband ISP, and they’re often seen hoovering up awards on other sites, which is impressive given that they’re also one of the market’s oldest providers. The provider is also a certified B Corp (i.e. they act in ways that benefit society as a whole)."
That site seems to think that an alternative to Zen is iDNET
What I find very frustrating about these surveys, is they ask our opinion on what they would like to change, I would prefer them to ask us what we would like to change.
Re the fixed IP, I wouldn't mind if we got a price reduction, but I would bet money that's not what's going to happen. It will be a monthly extra for people who want to keep it.
I must start a thread looking for an alternative to Zen.
Oh, I just found this...
2024 Editors Pick of the UK Best Home Broadband ISPs
Finding a new ISP can be like walking through a minefield. Consumers in the UK often face a bewildering choice of different broadband providers and networks, wh
www.ispreview.co.uk
Interesting that they agree about Zen and their service and supoport..
"Despite a drop in service and support quality, Zen still remains a highly rated broadband ISP, and they’re often seen hoovering up awards on other sites, which is impressive given that they’re also one of the market’s oldest providers. The provider is also a certified B Corp (i.e. they act in ways that benefit society as a whole)."
That site seems to think that an alternative to Zen is iDNET
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For me, I suppose there is a certain bitterness there!!
When they went fttp, I knew that BT was ending traditional exchanges soon, so I thought I might as well try it and try VOIP an go fttp.
Really, it's been a bit of a disaster. I don't need the additional speed, VOIP is worse than a traditional land-line, and to make matters worse, it all costs me a lot more than it used to. It's a bit like buying an expensive new TV aerial and finding out you bought the wrong one. The picture has improved, but you lost three channels.
Also, Zen have stopped supporting all routers the way they used to and now support only Fritzbox, which are no interest to me.
The worst thing, though, is latency. My latency increases as I load the connection. It increases by a factor of 30 by the time I am approaching the speed limit of the connection. My only option is to set a permanent limit that is below the normal operating speed of the line. Various tools have shown this to be the Zen network, but Zen are uninterested in even talking about it.
Add to that, they have never done anything for me in the way of good deals. On the contrary, they left me paying over-the-odds on a package for years until I found out for myself that for new customers they had reduced prices. In fact, they did that again with my current package. They have reduced prices by some 10% but left me paying a higher price without even telling me.
I guess not much of this is really Zen's fault, but they have made zero PR effort here.
The only thing that keeps me with them right now is I have a price-for-life arrangement. Even though I am paying over the odds, I am tempted to stick with it because there is little sign of inflation coming down by much.
No, I would not want to go mainstream, but certainly I am considering options like iDNET.
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That's what I get from them as well. They aren't prepared to do anything for me, not even make noises like they care.
Now, I admit, mainstream suppliers, they don't even understand the question. Zen understand, but they just display a "computer says no" face.
Yep, I am considering trying out IDNET.
There is no perfect answer for me, but IDNET seems to be going more in the direction I like to see, than Zen are, these days. Aquiss? Yes, but sheesh are they expensive!!
There is no perfect answer for me, but IDNET seems to be going more in the direction I like to see, than Zen are, these days. Aquiss? Yes, but sheesh are they expensive!!
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Well, after what you have said about them, I've re-visited Aquiss and am continuing to look. I'm not exactly sure about their introductory offer, since I am thinking way ahead, not just the first year, however, that is a good saving. My main gripe with Aquiss is their lower speed packages are disproportionately expensive. I'm not really interested in speed, but I would like the latency to be low so the fact that IDNET have anything to do with Zen concerns me.
I have Virgin Media and Openreach fibre networks here.
I'm still leaning towards IDNET, although I haven't given up on Aquiss yet.
My main gripe with Aquiss at the moment is they have no email at all, so I am looking at how best to source that away from my ISP. What do other people use?
I thought I might try IDNET for 1 month and see what they and it are like, since they do 1-month contracts.
Why on earth would I not?
My main problem with most free services is the lack of email addresses. I prefer to use different ones for different things, rather than using aliases. Also, it's a question of privacy. I just don't trust Google and Microsoft. It's not so much that I care if they read my emails, but I do care when they use the address to track my online activity.
eBay and Amazon do that, I might add. They initially tie the two accounts together using email addresses.
Also, using dedicated emails for banking and important stuff means there is little chance of anyone ever hacking the account because no one even knows the email address exists .. apart from the bank.
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Good points.
I'm not sure about running my own email. I suppose running it myself would be cheaper, but it seems like a little troublesome.
I might try Proton Free.Then that gives me the option to expand the service I get from them in the future.
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Researching this, it seems that IDNET and Aquiss are the new Zen. They have both overtaken Zen in ratings. Zen are increasing the number of customers they have, but it seems that service is slipping as they do that.
IDNET are cheaper than Aquiss, and they provide email, whereas Aquiss do not. Both supply free static IP's.
I am now very seriously looking at Proton Mail, just to make them independent of my ISP. Unfortunately, the free service only has one email and the VPN doesn't work with P2P so that means it would have to be the paid service. There is a small additional cost, but I can negate that by reducing the speed of my service. I really don't need 300mbps.
The Proton service looks pretty good, I like the service and the app. It includes all sorts of extras such as tracker blocking and so on. The only thing that makes me wary of it is the way they spend so much time looking at what you are doing. Kinda another promise of privacy that doesn't include themselves.
One thing I really do not like about IDNET is that at the end of your contract you fall back to their standard monthly contract, which is significantly more expensive. This means you have to remember, when the year or two years is up, to sign up for another 12 or 24-month contract. If you don't the bills will be a lot, lot more. That's just poor behaviour on their part. Aquiss are much better in that regard in that they just continue at the same contract price you were paying before.
IDNET are cheaper than Aquiss, and they provide email, whereas Aquiss do not. Both supply free static IP's.
I am now very seriously looking at Proton Mail, just to make them independent of my ISP. Unfortunately, the free service only has one email and the VPN doesn't work with P2P so that means it would have to be the paid service. There is a small additional cost, but I can negate that by reducing the speed of my service. I really don't need 300mbps.
The Proton service looks pretty good, I like the service and the app. It includes all sorts of extras such as tracker blocking and so on. The only thing that makes me wary of it is the way they spend so much time looking at what you are doing. Kinda another promise of privacy that doesn't include themselves.
One thing I really do not like about IDNET is that at the end of your contract you fall back to their standard monthly contract, which is significantly more expensive. This means you have to remember, when the year or two years is up, to sign up for another 12 or 24-month contract. If you don't the bills will be a lot, lot more. That's just poor behaviour on their part. Aquiss are much better in that regard in that they just continue at the same contract price you were paying before.
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I am not really concerned about privacy, I just dislike companies amassing data on me, because I really hate targetted adverts.
Well, I don't think my expectations are that unreasonable, in that I don't know any other company that changes your rate once you fall out of the contract. These aren't special introductory offers or anything. Neither Zen or Aquiss change the rate once the contract ends.
Anyway, as yet, I am still thinking about it all. I may yet stick with Zen if the rumours about next year's price increases are true.
Oh, another point. I emalled Zen, IDNET and Aquiss, asking various questions. IDNET and Aquiss replied the same day. Zen took a week.
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As you say, I would rather pay someone to do it, lol.
Can I ask you, do Aquiss normally have such good deals? I mean if I could renew every year with the deal they have at the moment then I would probably go for them.
Proton seem to be much better than my existing VPN, albeit more expensive. This would also separate email from my ISP which is probably a good thing. The only thing stopping me moving is the lifetime price I have with Zen. By all accounts, prices are going to keep on going up, which would mean that a move would make little sense. But if I could secure a good deal with Aquiss every year, then I would go for it.
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I see.
I spoke to Aquiss earlier today, and they did say that a number of people moving to them from Zen complained of Zen latency problems. The only thing that somewhat puts me off is the increased cost.
Aquiss are disproportionally expensive at lower speed services. It basically equates to getting half the speed for the same money I am paying now, and that's a little hard to swallow. IDNET on the other hand, their pricing is much more proportional. If I went for their service, I would actually save money.
I am leaning towards Aquiss and Proton.
My service will be slower, and a little cheaper than I am paying now, but offers improved functionality. Of course it also has a fixed IP. The one HUGE loss is the price-lock. I am expecting a price hike next year, but hopefully it will not turn out to be too much of a disaster.
My service will be slower, and a little cheaper than I am paying now, but offers improved functionality. Of course it also has a fixed IP. The one HUGE loss is the price-lock. I am expecting a price hike next year, but hopefully it will not turn out to be too much of a disaster.
Ah, OK, cancel plan A. I phoned up Zen to stop everything, and they offered me a deal I just couldn't refuse. Way better than anyone else, even including introductory deals.
However, in all this I have had chance to try out Proton, so I will be moving my VPN to them.
However, in all this I have had chance to try out Proton, so I will be moving my VPN to them.
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