Which ISP ?

I've decided it's time I moved into the real world and got myself Broadband. After checking the BT website, I'm a long way from my local exchange so the max. speed I can get is 512Kpbs.

As I live in a rented house (and move house fairly often), my requirements are :

- No 12 month contract
OR
- No 'Moving House' charges

- preferably no/low setup costs (free modem isn't essential as I'll probably buy one anyway (I've heard the free ones are generally cr*p)
- no faster than 512Kbps required
- I'd prefer to pay no more than £20 per month, but would pay more if it was worth it

Zen Internet has been recommeded to me, but I don't like their £60 setup costs.

Also, am I likely to experience any serious issues using broadband with my Celeron 400(!) laptop (I'll be building a PC in the near future to solve this problem!)

 

pipex,£23 a month for 1mb no setup fee ,no 12 month contract and no download limit.Been with them a couple of years and i aint had a problem yet

 

I've heard they are good, don't like the sound of the £60 'cancellation' fee though (if I was to cancel within first 12 months).

 

Ah didnt see that sneaky "cancallation fee"

 

If you have a bit of free time then it may be a good idea to have a browse through the adslguide and pay attention to the ISP List and the ISP Comparator. I feel that it may take a bit of wading through but after yoiu have visited a goog few ISPs you should be able to get a feel for what is on offer but remember prices seem to change almost every week with each new special offer.

 

Reading these reviews has put me off Pipex even further.

 

I had some problems in the early days with BT because their supplied browser software is crap. Once I got them to admit that it was crap and that I could uninstall it and use Internet Explorer instead, the service has been good.

It's expensive at £26 per month but there are a fair few extras on top of the basic service. Perhaps the most useful is the LaunchCast personal radio station and music video service. I'm getting a 2.2 Mbps service here. I used to think 'what would I need with all that speed'? Well it really makes video streaming and downloading a joy. And Windows updates take no time at all.

Nothing wrong with the supplied Alcatel Speedtouch modem either.

 

What a shame that is a selling point but then think of all the new Linux live CDs you can download, burn and try.

 

Can anyone list which ISPs just give you the info required [broadband or dialup] instead of buggering about with browsers [AOL etc]. I know claranet would just give you the dial-up details, but the price is high. I think the old 'freeserve'/'wannabollox' backdoor is still open for pay as you go [very useful for checking a dodgy dialup] but they disconnect the account quickly, then spam you with junk mail [why?? - tossers..!]

Any other ISPs who treat you like a customer and not an idiot??

 

:MILD:

 

Virgin.net - 14.99 per month for 512 with no annual contract (month by month). no connection /set-up charge plus free modem (speedtouch) and 2 microfilters. Does me fine.

Neil

 

Visit the sites below to find exactly what you want.

http://www.net4nowt.org
http://www.ispreview.co.uk
http://www.goodconsumer.co.uk/internet/isp_comparison.html

 

What you need to account for is a 60 quid set up fee, every ISP has to pay this to BT, even BT broadband is a different company to BT and have to pay them.

So you have two choices pay the fee for a none fixed term contract such as Metronet, or get free set up and be tied in for a year.

I use Metronet because they don't bug me when I use perlenty of bandwidth and the pricing is on a scale, I have a monthly data allowance of 43gigs for 20 quid, on a half meg connection its a lot cheaper. Another bonus is they answer emails and if I Have to phone them they speak English I can understand and they answer in under a week.

All good stuff.

Avoid Tiscali apparently the technicalities of connecting to the french network (they are selling french bandwidth) makes getting out very very difficult.

 

conversely, i've been with pipex for 3 (or is it 4) years. perfect service. £33.99 for 2mb line. (and i claim that back from work, but that's a special perk !)

 

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt! Decided to take the plunge and sign up to a 12 month contract with Demon (and I'll use their free modem until I get myself sorted with a decent PC). All non-contract ISPs seemed to have a hidden charge (to account for the amount each ISP has to pay to BT).

The only ISP without a 12 month contract that I really wanted to sign up with was Zen (I haven't heard a bad word said about them), but I didn't want to pay the £50 setup fee (call me scrooge!). All other ISPs have good and bad reviews, but Demon features quite highly in the ispreview.co.uk Top 10 section so I'll give them a go. I'm hoping it will be fairly easy to transfer if I do move house within the next 12 months!

I'm also hoping that I may be able to get faster than 512Kbps - my postcode says up to 1Meg (and it's only a small street!), but my phone no. says only 512Kbps. If the upgrade is available, Demon shouldn't charge to increase my connection speed

 

Usually batfink there is no hidden charge, the better ISPs are simply up front about it, all you have achieved is spreading a small cost over a year with a service you may land up un happy with.
The up side is apparently demon I supposed to be good.

 

I checked the ADSLguide and decided to sign up with Pipex. Good stats on service and support. Went for the 2mb/unlimited @ £22.99 per month. I've also got 250mb webspace + a static IP address. Just waiting for the connection to complete.

The 12 month/£60 cancellation doesn't bother me. I've has AOL dial-up for £15 per month so Pipex looks very good value.

If you decide to go Pipex they have a Recommend a Friend scheme. It's worth 50p per month off your bill if the person signs up.

 

Well, Demon have cancelled my order due to my distance from the exchange (a total of 1.6km!!!! - I've heard Demon can be a pain in the a*se in this respect), so it looks like I'm back to square one.

I'm still considering Pipex, but think I've now narrowed it down to the following :

Zen (although £24.99 is a bit steep for 512Kbps these days)
Metronet (still not completely sure how this works - need to read more);
Freedom2surf
Pipex.

Of course I'm sure you'll be wanting to recommend a 'friend', won't you Hex Spurt, assuming I go for Pipex??!!!

I still have a dial-up account with Onetel (not recommended - shocking connection quality) which costs me around £11 for free evening and weekend usage so broadband seems quite cheap these days in comparison!

 

Batfink metornet work thusly:

You sign up to the 512k service. Each month you will pay a minimum of £11.75 a month. this allows you usage of up to 5 gigs of data. If you go over that you are charged per gig until you reach £22.75

If you reach £22.75 then you will be charged no more but you still remain connected. Its intended for people who are not massive users who are looking to save a few bob but if needs dictate know that there is not going to be a stupid bill at the end.

 

Thanks, but I think that honour should go to themadhippy, he was first to recommend Pipex in this thread

Of course...if he declines and assuming you decide to go Pipex...