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New Broadband Options - Advice Please

Posted: 16 Sep 2013, 20:42
by Buggyman
I have been with my current broadband supplier for over a decade, it was first known as Wanadoo, then Orange and now EE. Up until 18 months ago I have been happy with the service which is dead simple; I pay them, they let me have unlimited downloads and everyone is a happy bunny.

Recently I have been virtually hounded by EE phone calls all aimed at 'saving me money' which they clearly aren't and I don't want. This past 7 days I have had 4 calls despite asking them to leave me alone and let me get on with life. The operators have promised to take me off their lists but this doesn't happen and I - and SWMOWQ - are totally p*ssed off with it all.

So I guess the time has come to move and this is where you wonderful, kind, chaps and chapesses come in. Which provider is a good bet these days? Max download here in the sticks is about 1.8Mb (or is that GB?) so it's all down to recommendation by satisfied customers and, once signed up, being left to get on with life.

Any thoughts?

ATB

Allan

Re: New Broadband Options - Advice Please

Posted: 16 Sep 2013, 21:02
by TSR2
Hi Allan,

The sticks are likely to be getting FTTC (Fibre to the cabinet) broadband before my local cabinet gets up dated in 50 years time. I currently pay for unlimited downloads with BT on my super fast 2.3mb download speed, but having looked at it, its very rare I go over 20GB per month. So I'm thinking of knocking the unlimited downloads on the head until they upgrade my cabinet.

When it come to broadband, they are all now trying to package up the phone with it, so the best deals to be had will usually involve signing your phone billing over to your new supplier too. Personally I like BT, there are many things they don't do well, but they do phones and broadband consistently, and its a one stop shop if something goes wrong. I used to be a big fan of O2, but they have sold up to sky, who will no doubt do the same as they've done with all of the other broadband services they bought over the years and shoehorn as many people as they can onto the infrastructure until it falls over, and then they'll buy someone else. PlusNet (now a BT company, but a separate entity) do some decent deals, my Dad is with them. Again. I'd suggest that if your only getting 1.8 MB download, its not worth paying for unlimited.

Re: New Broadband Options - Advice Please

Posted: 16 Sep 2013, 21:23
by speedbird591
Which? Magazine list three suppliers as 'Recommended'. They are Zen Internet at 85%, Be at 82% and PlusNet at 76%. Zen is more of a business package and is quite expensive and although Be isn't cheap it's customers rate it highly for 'value for money' suggesting that it delivers what it promises. So I guess if you can find a package that suits you from one of those suppliers then you're in with a fighting chance.

I'm with BT and have been since dial-up. They're only rated average but I've always had a reliable connection and good service so I haven't risked change without the need for it! You sometimes hear horror stories about changing provider so I prefer to play safe :worried:

Ian :)

Re: New Broadband Options - Advice Please

Posted: 16 Sep 2013, 21:41
by TSR2
Hi Ian, I think Be are no more. They were bought by O2 and traded separately, but it was Be's network. Since the Sky deal I think, both they and O2 are now part of Murdoch's mafia. :worried:

Re: New Broadband Options - Advice Please

Posted: 16 Sep 2013, 22:00
by DaveB
I'm with Plusnet and can recommend them. I sit as far as the overhead telephone lines go in my neck of the woods and often see in excess of 5mb.. occasionally, 6mb. Line rental is cheaper than just about everyone.. cheaper still if you pay 12months up front and my package includes calls (day and night) plus 10gb bandwidth. The 10gb bandwidth can be a bit restricting at times (especially now my 10yo daughter is back home) but Plusnet warn when it's getting close and if you go over.. your service continues automatically with a further 5gb added for a fiver. If I paid an extra fiver a month, my bandwidth would go to 60gb but there's little point and I've become as tight as a nun's habit in my old age :lol:

Ironically.. I got an email from BT a couple of days ago trying to woo me back. Their reports of not intending to upgrade to fibre optic seems to have been false as they now claim it's available at my house. Dunno how that is as I've seen no work from them. The only fibre optic here is Virgin so perhaps they're using Virgin lines :dunno: I dunno and don't care. I'll be staying with Plusnet for a while yet ;)

ATB
DaveB B)smk

Re: New Broadband Options - Advice Please

Posted: 16 Sep 2013, 23:18
by petermcleland
I'm with BT and have been for some years...I have unlimited broadband and I'm content with it. The hub provides the WiFi broadband connection for my iPad and my Wife's laptops and Kindle.

Re: New Broadband Options - Advice Please

Posted: 17 Sep 2013, 07:05
by speedbird591
TSR2 wrote:Hi Ian, I think Be are no more. They were bought by O2 and traded separately, but it was Be's network. Since the Sky deal I think, both they and O2 are now part of Murdoch's mafia. :worried:
I've just popped back to check and you're right, they do say it's subject to takeover by Sky. At the moment they seem to be selling separately https://www.bethere.co.uk/web/beportal/homepage

I expect they have some work to do to get the customer service down to the 40% recommendation level of Sky before they can be absorbed!

So perhaps PlusNet looks like it might be worth a look. The other main players come up with ratings like this, but individuals, like myself and others here, still have good experiences with lower-rated ISPs. I suppose talking to the neighbours might be an idea. It depends on your neighbourhood, though! It still seems to be a matter of luck so choosing a higher rated ISP gives you the better chance of good customer service to get you up and running. :dunno:

PlusNet 76%
Eclipse 72%
O2 70%
Post Office 65%
Virgin 43%-54%
BT 46%-52%
Talk Talk 47%
EE 46%
Sky 40%
AOL 36%

Re: New Broadband Options - Advice Please

Posted: 17 Sep 2013, 08:41
by Filonian
PlusNet for me too, phone and broadband.

Highly satisfied.


Graham

Re: New Broadband Options - Advice Please

Posted: 17 Sep 2013, 09:19
by Chris Sykes
Plusnet at home, very happy with them, i even signed up another 18months (tried getting me to do a 24 month but they were happy selling an 18 month). They are based in sheffield and that means you have someone who speaks in English and understands you!

We use Zen at work, they do home broardband, yes they are slightly more expensive than normal ISP's however we hardly have faults and they give you a static IP even if you dont use it...

Re: New Broadband Options - Advice Please

Posted: 17 Sep 2013, 20:23
by Buggyman
Thank you for the advice guys, it looks like we will be going the BT way shortly.

Yet another call from EE this afternoon, this time from the same female that 'promised' to take us off their call list. Talk about negative marketing - I wonder how many customers are leaving?

Thanks again.


ATB



Allan