UK Internet provider recommendations

o_paft · 02-12-2007, 11:47 AM

I desperately need to make the switch from tiscali (tosscali). I'm not looking for anything immense but a respectable and solid service, £20 max. It's a headache trying to find out if certain providers of interest cap and block client sided downloads as they keep that hush hush, so I'd appreciate it to hear it from the customers themselves.

o_gunslinger · 02-12-2007, 11:49 AM

AOL and BT run pretty good services in the UK.

o_paft · 02-12-2007, 12:09 PM

Those have been of interest, yes.

o_thewetmule · 02-12-2007, 12:13 PM

Don't go with NTL, they're wank. I'd love to change personally, but as I don't pay for inets, I don't get choice. (oh noes)

o_qui · 02-12-2007, 12:29 PM

NTL is hit and miss it seems. You hear a lot of horror stories, but personally thier internet service has been nothing short of excellent. Always up, really quick, no download limits

The TV however...

o_caesium · 02-12-2007, 12:43 PM

had v good experiences with eclipse the last 3 years in several different places around the UK. they really try to help you fix things if there's an issue (at home our line goes under a lake...) and get v nice pings if you live somewhere sensible. unfortunately they have gay pricing structures nowadays, so dno what packages they do that would fit you, but worth a look.

Defrag · 02-12-2007, 12:57 PM

I'm using Nildram. £26 for 8 meg and it's generally rock solid. I've had one period of ~a couple of days when it was flaky, but even then Nildram were very good at updating their website with information (blaming it on BT :P). I've been using Nildram for as long as I can remember and it's a top-notch service. 20-30 ping on good servers and ~600-800k/s from decent websites.

50GB peak cap per month (plus unlimited downloading from midnight to 8am). If you can stretch to the extra six quid a month, I'd recommend it. As with a lot of things in life, you get what you pay for. If you use t'internet a lot, it's worth the extra.

o_gunslinger · 02-12-2007, 02:51 PM

Hah, Nildram always ALWAYS without fail blame it on BT. I've had problems with them over last couple of weeks; ADSL line was rock solid but the ISP side was dropping out, as it was registering my password as correct, accepting the con then dropping it. I phone them and LOLZERSKATES they blame it on BT, and pass it over to them. Amazingly, everything was about 2 hours later. Can you imagine BT fixing anything within 2 hours?!

o_zippy · 02-12-2007, 03:46 PM

AOL ???? are you having a laugh ???

ARSEHOLES ONLINE

o_jayman · 02-12-2007, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qui

NTL is hit and miss it seems. You hear a lot of horror stories, but personally thier internet service has been nothing short of excellent. Always up, really quick, no download limits

The TV however...

I have to agree, I have used them for years. Fast as fook, no limits.

Had one problem about a year ago when my net went down for 24 hours, other than that its been sweet as!!!

As a side note, I think they have been taken over by Virgin..... maybe the customer service things will improve?

o_mooga · 02-12-2007, 04:24 PM

Does the UK have bandwidth limits?
Here in the US there normally is NOT a bandwidth limit but the speeds are really sucky compared to what you guys have. Upload speeds down right suck. ~40kb/s is a normal US upload speed and I can get about 1mbit down if I'm lucky but I rarely get anything coming at me that fast. The upload speed is a real pain for not only BT but trying to manage and update a website can take HOURS. It would be nice to get some decent speeds so I can run a decent web server out of the house, but it's not easy to find. Some companies claim they'll give you the same up/down speeds but their website says otherwise...

o_player · 02-12-2007, 04:48 PM

Some providers have bandwidth limits in place.

I recommend Onetel.

o_loader · 02-12-2007, 05:03 PM

gAyOL are crap.
NTL are crap.
BT are crap.

Bulldog are okay - bad customer support though.
Zen are good.
Onetel are good.
Orange are okay, sometimes. (Orange bought of freeserve)

o_swampthing360 · 02-12-2007, 05:08 PM

freedom to surf i heard is good but their 8meg can be a lil choppy at times

o_ginger lord · 02-12-2007, 07:04 PM

We use BT at home, they upgraded our account to 8meg and HomeHub for free so extra points as we still pay the same old price. Great service.

Pipex at our house in Uni, great service once its set up alright.

o_luminous · 02-12-2007, 10:29 PM

NTL is 95% of the time fine, customer service is a bit dodgy at times but the connection is fine, apart from the last 4/5 days where ive had 4/5 loss at times :/

**mervaka** · 02-13-2007, 12:11 AM

BT are okay here.... then again if there's a problem (usually in the local loop), my dad walks into the exchange and fixes it. hell, the other day he rerouted the line around the other side of town looking for a better SNR. my dad's a telecoms engineer.

o_paft · 02-13-2007, 08:59 AM

My main concern along with having a solid connection is blocked ports, not being able to download torrents through clients. Currently with tiscali not only is general use disgraceful but trying to download torrents is hopeless. Dead during peek hours (all day) The only time I can if I'm lucky is at ridiculous times in the morning 3-9 am, even then I MAX at 130kb/s no higher ever.

o_luminous · 02-13-2007, 11:55 AM

torrents not only depend on your connection, but the connections of the people you are downloading off and what times they are active.

also, i think my mate is on tiscali, and during off peak hours their download speed is reduced, maybe you get the same?

(and i would be happy with 130 kb/s torrents and im on 4meg..)

o_exarch · 02-13-2007, 12:58 PM

I've been with Blueyonder (now Virgin Media I believe) for the last 5 years. I've always had a brilliant connection and rarely had problems. They have no restrictions on downloads and it's a permanent cable connection.

02-12-2007, 11:47 AM	#1
o_paft Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	UK Internet provider recommendations I desperately need to make the switch from tiscali (tosscali). I'm not looking for anything immense but a respectable and solid service, £20 max. It's a headache trying to find out if certain providers of interest cap and block client sided downloads as they keep that hush hush, so I'd appreciate it to hear it from the customers themselves.

02-12-2007, 12:57 PM	#7
Defrag Retired FF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Scotland Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	I'm using Nildram. £26 for 8 meg and it's generally rock solid. I've had one period of ~a couple of days when it was flaky, but even then Nildram were very good at updating their website with information (blaming it on BT :P). I've been using Nildram for as long as I can remember and it's a top-notch service. 20-30 ping on good servers and ~600-800k/s from decent websites. 50GB peak cap per month (plus unlimited downloading from midnight to 8am). If you can stretch to the extra six quid a month, I'd recommend it. As with a lot of things in life, you get what you pay for. If you use t'internet a lot, it's worth the extra. __________________ Fortress Forever. Level Designer, Gameplay Dude and whatnot.

02-13-2007, 12:11 AM	#17
mervaka A Very Sound Guy! Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: May 2005 Location: UK Posts Rated Helpful 15 Times	BT are okay here.... then again if there's a problem (usually in the local loop), my dad walks into the exchange and fixes it. hell, the other day he rerouted the line around the other side of town looking for a better SNR. my dad's a telecoms engineer. __________________ Support FF:

02-13-2007, 08:59 AM	#18
o_paft Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	My main concern along with having a solid connection is blocked ports, not being able to download torrents through clients. Currently with tiscali not only is general use disgraceful but trying to download torrents is hopeless. Dead during peek hours (all day) The only time I can if I'm lucky is at ridiculous times in the morning 3-9 am, even then I MAX at 130kb/s no higher ever. Last edited by o_paft; 02-13-2007 at 09:35 AM.

02-12-2007, 11:49 AM	#2
o_gunslinger Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	AOL and BT run pretty good services in the UK.

02-12-2007, 12:09 PM	#3
o_paft Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Those have been of interest, yes.

02-12-2007, 12:13 PM	#4
o_thewetmule Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Don't go with NTL, they're wank. I'd love to change personally, but as I don't pay for inets, I don't get choice. (oh noes)

02-12-2007, 12:29 PM	#5
o_qui Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bournemouth, England Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	NTL is hit and miss it seems. You hear a lot of horror stories, but personally thier internet service has been nothing short of excellent. Always up, really quick, no download limits The TV however...

02-12-2007, 12:43 PM	#6
o_caesium Join Date: May 2005 Location: Oxford, UK Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	had v good experiences with eclipse the last 3 years in several different places around the UK. they really try to help you fix things if there's an issue (at home our line goes under a lake...) and get v nice pings if you live somewhere sensible. unfortunately they have gay pricing structures nowadays, so dno what packages they do that would fit you, but worth a look.

02-12-2007, 02:51 PM	#8
o_gunslinger Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Hah, Nildram always ALWAYS without fail blame it on BT. I've had problems with them over last couple of weeks; ADSL line was rock solid but the ISP side was dropping out, as it was registering my password as correct, accepting the con then dropping it. I phone them and LOLZERSKATES they blame it on BT, and pass it over to them. Amazingly, everything was about 2 hours later. Can you imagine BT fixing anything within 2 hours?!

02-12-2007, 03:46 PM	#9
o_zippy Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Cumbria,UK Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	AOL ???? are you having a laugh ??? ARSEHOLES ONLINE

02-12-2007, 04:24 PM	#11
o_mooga Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: A Small Box Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Does the UK have bandwidth limits? Here in the US there normally is NOT a bandwidth limit but the speeds are really sucky compared to what you guys have. Upload speeds down right suck. ~40kb/s is a normal US upload speed and I can get about 1mbit down if I'm lucky but I rarely get anything coming at me that fast. The upload speed is a real pain for not only BT but trying to manage and update a website can take HOURS. It would be nice to get some decent speeds so I can run a decent web server out of the house, but it's not easy to find. Some companies claim they'll give you the same up/down speeds but their website says otherwise...

02-12-2007, 04:48 PM	#12
o_player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Europe Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Some providers have bandwidth limits in place. I recommend Onetel.

02-12-2007, 05:03 PM	#13
o_loader Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Portsmouth, England Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	gAyOL are crap. NTL are crap. BT are crap. Bulldog are okay - bad customer support though. Zen are good. Onetel are good. Orange are okay, sometimes. (Orange bought of freeserve)

02-12-2007, 05:08 PM	#14
o_swampthing360 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Surrey, SE England Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	freedom to surf i heard is good but their 8meg can be a lil choppy at times

02-12-2007, 07:04 PM	#15
o_ginger lord Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Carlisle, UK Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	We use BT at home, they upgraded our account to 8meg and HomeHub for free so extra points as we still pay the same old price. Great service. Pipex at our house in Uni, great service once its set up alright.

02-12-2007, 10:29 PM	#16
o_luminous Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	NTL is 95% of the time fine, customer service is a bit dodgy at times but the connection is fine, apart from the last 4/5 days where ive had 4/5 loss at times :/

02-13-2007, 11:55 AM	#19
o_luminous Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	torrents not only depend on your connection, but the connections of the people you are downloading off and what times they are active. also, i think my mate is on tiscali, and during off peak hours their download speed is reduced, maybe you get the same? (and i would be happy with 130 kb/s torrents and im on 4meg..)

02-13-2007, 12:58 PM	#20
o_exarch Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Bath, UK Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	I've been with Blueyonder (now Virgin Media I believe) for the last 5 years. I've always had a brilliant connection and rarely had problems. They have no restrictions on downloads and it's a permanent cable connection.

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