Which UK ISP is best? Pricing / package / reliability etc

[Fossy]

Have PM'd you about the company I use, who incidently are a WHICH magazine award winner and have a UK call centre which are always extremely helpful.

[Fossy]

Hi Gaz, the problem we think lies with the line itself as voice quality is poor as well. Plus net did promise to get me a new line but so far it hasn't materialised. Sent them a message about it the other day actually. PC itself is only a matter of months old.

Another thing to look out for and the problem we have is LLU exchanges, in some areas it limits your choice of ISP's. We have the LLU and are limited to Plus Net, Tiscali, Talk Talk or AOL. Tiscali, Talk Talk and AOL all owned by same company.

The company I am with uses LLU (Local Line Unbundling) which offers greater speeds and a cheaper price. Although they do not have the equipment themselves, they rent space from the Talk Talk servers.

[HannaHolly]

I'm with claranet and i dont think i've lost my connection once in the past 5 years. i'm on line 24 hours a day and my teenage daughter shares the connection for her laptop

www.clara.net

[redmerlin777]

Virgin media here. All very stable and efficient and excellent help if needed.

[gazlannathai]

Hi Gaz, the problem we think lies with the line itself as voice quality is poor as well. Plus net did promise to get me a new line but so far it hasn't materialised. Sent them a message about it the other day actually. PC itself is only a matter of months old.

Another thing to look out for and the problem we have is LLU exchanges, in some areas it limits your choice of ISP's. We have the LLU and are limited to Plus Net, Tiscali, Talk Talk or AOL. Tiscali, Talk Talk and AOL all owned by same company.

Hi Shelley - sorry, been snowed under then had to go through to Bangkok for two days.

Which company supplied / supplies your line? BT or Plus.net? Whichever it is, contact their engineers department, explain the problem, and ask them to increase the "gain" on the line - sometimes that can blast through the interference and get you a clear enough signal to improve your net speed.

[gazlannathai]

Just wondering - is there any such thing over in the UK currently as "pay as you go" internet access - not the type that uses premium rate lines, but ones where you buy a bandwidth card (similar to pay as you go phones) - I'm going to need some sort of short term access over a standard phone line until I get broadband sorted out once I find a place to live.

[Pink_Panther]

I just ditched virgin and signed up with sky.

I hope it works out cos Virgin are rubbish..BTW I found out that sky have taken over Virgin tv and leased it back to them - Then they started closing down the channels!


Poor little Richard Branson... he's in a pickle! PMSL

[Anniemcc2]

Just wondering - is there any such thing over in the UK currently as "pay as you go" internet access - not the type that uses premium rate lines, but ones where you buy a bandwidth card (similar to pay as you go phones) - I'm going to need some sort of short term access over a standard phone line until I get broadband sorted out once I find a place to live.

Look at Mobile Broadband i.e using the mobile phone network. BUT, depending on where you are depends on the type of signal you'll get. i have a Vodaphone USB dongle and it's great in bult up areas - almost true broadband speeds. But out in the sticks, the signal is no better than dialup - OK for emails, but not much else.

[gazlannathai]

That's a useful thought Annie, thanks - do you need a "contract" mobile account for that, or does it work with pay as you go as well?

[Anniemcc2]

Mine is Pay-as-you-go - I paid £29 for the dongle and that included £15 airtime. As long as I log on at least once every 6 months, I don't lose any remaining credit. And I can top it up to keep it going. Not all mobile networks work like this.

It can connect via 3G, GPRS, or normal phone speed for access -depending upon what signal it can pick up. Originally bought for when out caravanning, it was a godsend after we moved house and waiting for BT & Tiscali to get their act together.