ISP recommendation??

[Cornish Jack]

Having, thankfully, reached the point where I can dump my present ISP without penalty charge, I am looking for a replacement. Scanning the 'net, the options appear to be almost non-existent. I would prefer to have a Domestic Broadband/ Telephone combination deal but, apart from Virgin, (not possible 'cos no cable) I've tried everyone apart from Plusnet and Zen. All were/are rubbish in one area or another. Does anyone have any experience of either of the latter two or any recommendations. I am, apparently, in Market area 1 = BT-only lines so no competition and thus higher charges. Distance from exchange and poor quality copper mean max D/L possible is 1.7Mbs (with an I-Plate fitted) so no point in paying for high D/L service. Have, so far, used AOL, BT, Tiscali, TalkTalk, and, presently, Orange.
Any thoughts, anyone, please?
TIA

[Capot]

Utilities Warehouse. The more you combine other utilities the cheaper it gets.

Broadband help line is based in UK (I think) and responds quickly and helpfully.

I switched to them for elec/gas years ago, and 2 years ago added telephone and ADSL. Download speed increased by factor of 4+ from previous ISP (Eclipse), although I can't see how that could happen on the same BT copper wire. But it did. And costs reduced by 50%.

By and large, UW is always cheaper than most/all suppliers, allowing for very short term lags in response, when comparing like with like.

[al446]

Hi Jack, I was in your position not long ago, at that time I was with Zen who were excellent, their customer service is second to none, provision almost faultless, only had one outage in the several years I was with and, even then, it was due to circumstances beyond their control but it was costing me and I had a low cap on download, I needed more than my cap and decided to ditch them in favour of my mobile dongle with a higher cap. Once the contract on mobile ran out I ditched that and went to Plusnet for cost. I have noticed the difference, speed seems lower and connection drops frequently, as I am not dependant on it it is not enough of an issue to scream and shout.
If you NEED a stable connection go to Zen, costs you more but they are truly professional, if for cost, especially with phone bundle, go to Plusnet but be prepared for glitches.
Hope this helps.

[Bushfiva]

I'll second Zen. I use them on a slightly unusual setup, both installation and billing-wise. Tech support was very clued up the one time I needed it. Worth the money.

[P.Pilcher]

It certainly seems to depend on where you are in the country. In about 2004, my exchange was broadband enabled and I was recommended to use Plusnet as my broadband ISP. I have been with them ever since and enjoyed faultless service - oh and even a free domain name when their e-mail address database got hacked. That problem is now long behind them and the domain name I acquired is proving very successful in promoting my holiday cottage. On the rare occasions that I have needed technical assistance, it has been excellent. I rarely think about the system - it just works and, about half a mile from my exchange, I get up to 6Mb.

P.P.

[green granite]

There again I live in the country enjoy an average speed of 7Mbs, good reliability.......................I'm with BT.

[Background Noise]

You don't need cable to get a virgin service - it's available down the phone line too. I'm with newnet, which is undoubtedly not the cheapest but has been the best support so far and is a monthly contract so you can leave whenever you like.

[Cornish Jack]

Thank you, one and all.
Interesting replies. 'Twould seem that ZEN have a good reputation and Plusnet are a possibility.
Capot - Could you expand a little on UW? - I haven't heard of them and they didn't appear in my 'net searches.
Background noise - I haven't seen ANY reference to a Virgin service other than cable. Any more info/refs, please?

[Aerouk]

O2 Broadband is good.

[Capot]

Cornish Jack

Utility Warehouse (https://www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk/home/index.taf?exref=)

Sorry, I gave the wrong name!

[Cornish Jack]

Aerouk - thank you. Unfortunately. O2, I believe, are part of BT, an organisation of quite stupefyingly ingrained incompetence and uninterest in customer service - almost as bad as TalkTalk!!:mad::mad::mad:
Capot - thank you also. For a moment it looked as though you had struck gold for me!
Unfortunately there is something rather odd about their site - each time that I try to check availability it comes up with 'unable to contact server' (or somesuch) Some of their preamble refers to Local Loop Unbundling as a prerequisite, which, presumably is what is being checked on their (unobtainable) availability site.Will try again later but am not hopeful:(

"Belay my last pipe"!!
Have just resorted to the 'Talking Bone' - now there's a novelty:rolleyes: and spoke to one of their people. Helpful and informative (but they all are , at that stage:suspect:) He will post me relevant package details so I shall see if it makes sense and proceed accordingly.

[frostbite]

Think you'll find that 02 (formerly Cellnet) are not connected (sic) in any way with BT. Not that I would recommend them either!

Been quite happy with TalkTalk for last couple of years, maybe you were just unlucky?

[Aerouk]

O2 are owned by Telefónica and have been separate from BT since 2002.

Their support is excellent, free and UK based.

[mixture]

Think you'll find that 02 (formerly Cellnet) are not connected (sic) in any way with BT.

As far as I can tell, 02 broadband are not an LLU operator and are therefore dependent on BT Wholesale.

The same goes for the non-cable version of NTL that others have mentioned.

Really your primary choice should be LLU DSL or BT based DSL.

If BT-based DSL, then the product portfolio of all ISPs can be considered identical, and it's the customer service that's the differentiator. I would second the name "Zen" already proposed above.

If LLU based, I've heard good things about UKOnline and Be.

To find out what non-BT based options you have in your area, use the search functions at SamKnows .... SamKnows Broadband - Comprehensive Broadband Information (http://www.samknows.com/broadband/)

[deltapapa]

I can't fault Plusnet.

For years with a previous provider my connection kept dropping with a max speed of 750kbps [info provided by BT as the max the line could support] so I changed to PN because of the drops and getting no support.

I went away for 6 weeks & BT reduced my profile from 750kbps to 300 - I complained to PN, they contacted BT, & although it took 2 months to sort, my speed is now in excess on 4.5mgs. All BT did was too change my master input socket to the new openreach one with the built in filter.

[call100]

I think you will find that O2 come out very well in the Customer satisfaction polls. There service centres are UK based and their Broadband reliable.
I'm lucky enough to have Virgin Cable but would move to O2 if cable was not available...O2 is UK's 'best broadband provider' | Money | The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/apr/30/o2-uks-best-broadband-supplier)

[Cornish Jack]

Again, thank you all.
I'm afraid that past experience TOTALLY mitigates against any BT connection. (if you see what I mean)
mixture - your recommended site was new to me and fascinating but too complex for a 'bear with a simple brain':sad:
deltapapa - I had a chat with Plusnet and was impressed - a sales 'rep' who seemed to understand what I was after, didn't try a hard sell and offered advice for a cheaper package than I initially enquired about. Quite extraordinary!!:D
Haven't quite made up my mind yet but will be asking Orange for my MAC shortly:*

[mixture]

mixture - your recommended site was new to me and fascinating but too complex for a 'bear with a simple brain'

No probs. The whole LLU thing can be a bit of a curious thing to get your head around if you are not technically inclined.

In relation to that site, the idea is that you can go to the exchange availability page (SamKnows Broadband - Availability - Exchange Search (http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php?page=availability-exchange-search)) type in your phone number and postcode and see who's in your area in terms of "independent" non-BT based providers.

Another good website, incidentally also less "techie", is ThinkBroadband (previously known as ADSLGuide) at thinkbroadband.com (http://www.thinkbroadband.com/) .... it's a great site, primarily a forum site like PPRuNe, but they also host reviews and other stuff it is run by a very friendly bunch of mods.

[call100]

Just for the record...O2 is an LLU operator and has nothing to do with BT any more than those others mentioned....:)

[Rossian]

...just tried that Samknows site and my telno returned "no results" but my postcode came up with the right exchange. Tad strange that is it not, mixture??

The Ancient Mariner
And another thing it says that the ISP that gives me my "service" is not available in my area??
Double "Que??"

[mixture]

...just tried that Samknows site and my telno returned "no results" but my postcode came up with the right exchange. Tad strange that is it not, mixture??

Have sent you a PM.

[Aerouk]

Mixture,

O2 own Be.

[mixture]

Oh right.... sorry, hard to keep track of all this M&A activity. :ok:

In that case, I stand corrected and bow to your superior knowledge !

[Background Noise]

Cornish Jack - Virgin without cable:

Broadband wherever you live - Broadband - Virgin Media (http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/broadband/wherever.html)

[Cornish Jack]

Thank you, Background Noise.That completes the information set I was after. At first glance it looks promising - will have a chat with them and see what they can offer.

[al446]

Further to my report of Plusnet, I would ask them what their contention ratio in your exchange is if you are thinking of them. Over this w/e my speed was terrible, 120k download, but their tech support would rather I stood on my head than admit that they had insufficient or inadequate equipment.

[mixture]

I would ask them what their contention ratio in your exchange is if you are thinking of them.

Don't waste your time doing that, particularly if you are only planning to sign up for a cheap residential product.

Not only will they probably be reluctant to tell you the answer, but also ISPs don't care much for residential customers, they are at the bottom of the foodchain. You get what you pay for.

If you want lower contention on DSL, you have to sign up for a business DSL service with someone who can offer you at least a contractual 5:1 commitment.

Contention occurs at more places than just the local exchange. Don't forget about the wonders of traffic shaping either. :cool:

If they are just reselling BT's whoesale DSL implementation then they are at the mercy of BT and BT no longer formally define specific contention ratios, they define acceptable performance ranges.

UPDATE:
For Plusnet, see :
Plusnet Broadband Download Speeds (http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/speed_guide/download_speeds.shtml)
and
Plusnet Traffic Management (http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/speed_guide/traffic_management.shtml)