Telewest: It's a con! I called them this morning to ask about it. We have a cable phone at our student house in Birmingham, so we regularly rack up in excess of £40 of calls every month. I read in the Birmingham Cable (= Telewest) booklet that the deal is like that of NTL... spend £10 or more on phone bills, and get your internet free. Otherwise, your monthly bill is made up to £10. Not so!!!! There's a £10/month charge, AND you have to spend more than £10 a month on telephone bills.
I hate to hear myself say it, but AOL I have found to be the best value for money. The really annoying thing is that software... aaargh!!! I hate it. BUT, as an individual user it would only cost me £15.99 (or whatever) per month, with no requirement to clock up x amount of telephone calls.
Disadvantages with AOL= The software and the fact that often I have to leave the computer about 5 minutes before I hear the 'Welcome to AOL' message, signalling when I can start my PPRuNing.
But, the best internet access I've ever used HAS to be the University's connection to ja.net. Lightning quick: even at peak times (11am to 3pm). And if you are on campus at 6pm, after everyone's gone home... well, let's just say I have quite a bit of MP3 too. If you're serious about your surfing, then a fixed line connection cannot be beaten.