Broadband Query

[Sue]

Hi
Company closed down and having lost my job I need to save as much money as poss at the mo and one area I've got to look at is broadband connection. My company used to pay it and so know nothing about it. I used to work at home and have been given the whole kit (computer only 2 weeks old at the time!) but have got to sort out a provider.
It used to be Zen internet, are they good, is anyone else better/cheaper
and to show my complete ignorance, is the broadband payment all you hand over or do you have to pay as in telephone calls as well?
Sue

[Pootle]

We're with BT - the package includes free evening and weekend calls on the broadband phone. OH negotiated a better deal when it came up for renewal so with the amount that our three children use the internet it works out quite well...The Broadband Hub has been good for us as it means we can connect the computer and the laptop wirelessly with the internet and with the printer which is upstairs. Our Wii is also connected this way. Saves all those wires around the place.

I seem to remember that there was some kind of cashback scheme when we went with them - its worth checking through third parties for these (I think ours was through Yahoo).

The only issues we have had have been reliability - we kept losing the connection when we first had it then it settled down and was fine until a couple of weeks ago when the service kept cutting out. Seems there was a problem with the exchange. Then we lost all of our phone connections for 4 1/2 days which was a nightmare - but they did fix it in the end and I think our issues are more to do with the antiquated exchange we have and our cables rather than the broadband (we don't get great speed out here in the sticks - this means we can't get the TV service BT offer either ) The troubleshooters are based in India - they're very good but the delay on the line means that OH, who is slightly hard of hearing, finds it difficult to communicate with them.

[smallblueplanet]

Have a search on here for info:

thinkbroadband :: The UK's largest independent Broadband / ADSL comparison & review website

If you're interested in a particular ISP check the forums for what punters say! Where you live will probably dictate the broadband options and packages abvailable, ie cable, llu. What you do with your broadband, ie how much down & up- loading you do will determine how much bandwidth you need.

We live in the countryside and I'm with Newnet, not the cheapest but with NO traffic management or shaping - you pay for what you use - I'm on the 12Gb/month monthly direct debit of £17.95. But if you don't use as much bandwidth then there's a 3Gb package. They have a tech support based in Portsmouth (I think it is) and are very helpful and customer service is high.

However if I lived somewhere that cable was available I'd look at Sky's (or Virgin even) package as I also have Sky tv. You'll find there are few of the big providers that will live up to the reputation of Zen though.

[vicky]

I use AOL broadband as I think they're the cheapest at £9.99 per month, it's not the quickest but it seems to be ok for me. That includes all internet stuff but tel is independant via BT

[zanussi101]

I use O2- it's only £7.50 per month (we get it cheaper because I've got an O2 mobile) and it's much faster than when we were with a cable company. The service guys there are good and don't leave you hanging on the phone for ages. And- much to my brother-in-law's annoyance, we get faster broadband than he does with BT!

[lynda66]

I'm with O2 too, £7.50 a month, i have a pay and go mobile, which the minimum top up for the cheap BB is £10 every 3 months (though i top up £15,every 2 months, cos i get 150 mins and 300 texts and you still keep your £15 credit for the second month)

uk call centres, and was totally simple to set up.

I've tried orange, who left me without BB for 2 months while they sorted a problem out, that never did get sorted, talk talk were ok till they started giving it free, and everyone went on it, and their system couldn't cope, my connection dropped all the time and was really slow, 3 mobile BB was rubbish, and the customer service appalling.

[SueA]

Hi Sue, if you mean do you pay for telephone charges for the time you're on the internet then no you don't with broadband, your monthly payment covers however long you're online for. I'm with AOL which is cheap as Vicky says at £9.99 but can be a pain in the b.. at times but as long as you don't need to download lots of complicated info. should be fine, my telephone calls are with B.T. separately. You can get deals with B.T., AOL, Sky Broadband etc. where you get good telephone call packages as well as broadband, so if you make a lot of phonecalls it would be worth looking into those offers, we don't use our phone much & are on B.T. Lightuser scheme so they're no use to us.

[Alison]

I'm with Virgin but that comes as part of our telephone, TV and internet package.

[quark1]

I'm with Tiscali - they do a £20 per mth package which includes BB up to 8Mb, Line Rental and all UK calls to 01/02 numbers as well as 10 international destinations including US, Canada, Australia, NZ and several European countries 24x7.

Calls to mobiles and other 0800/0900/0500 etc are charged at various rates.

Paid by DD and joy - no further contact with BT, their Indian Call Centres which you cannot ex-directory yourself from, and the imposition of a charge of £4.50 per qtr because I want to pay by cash/chq.

[JanieB]

I'm with TalkTalk. They had a very bad press customer servicewise a year or so ago. They had underestimated the uptake of their services and were inundated. They are still suffering from that bad press. I've found them courteous, helpful, I can talk to my locquacsious friend without a huge bill.

I will never, ever go back to BT after the way they treated me when my husband died .

[Kristen]

"It used to be Zen internet, are they good"

Yes, IME

"is anyone else better/cheaper"

Dunno about better, but I expect there are cheaper outfits ...

"and to show my complete ignorance, is the broadband payment all you hand over or do you have to pay as in telephone calls as well?"

broadband is usually a fixed amount, per month, but with a usage limit. If you go over that they will either charge you more, or restrict your download speed (i.e. cripple your service). It may be worth checking how much you are ACTUALLY using and reducing your contract where you can - I halved my bill that way, but I do have a business broadband connection at home, and that may offer more flexibility.

There are a myriad of package combining Internet, Phone and sometimes TV. I never understand this ... its a mugs game ... you can spend hours, days?, finding a good deal, but at the end of the day everyone needs to make money, so they will have to stitch you up somewhere

[lynda66]

O2 have unlimited downloads as standard.

[Kristen]

Whilst I wouldn't dispute it, I'm struggling to see how any provider can offer "unlimited downloads" in reality.

[lynda66]

they do have a 'reasonable amount' clause, so basically if you are downloading 24 hours a day they can tell you off, but we usually download a few albums and films a week (obviously just to see if they are any good before we go out and buy them ) but on most of the 2GB limits available, we couldn't do that.