Wish

iTrader: (2)

Im currently on anytime dial up with Tiscali, but they are offering £15.99 for a braodband package, 24hrs a day and you can still use your telephone


Is this a good deal ??

Hicky

Im paying £19.99 for 512k access, the Tiscali offer is for 156k.

If you look on http://www.adslguide.org.uk/ you can find all you need to know!

FrenchBoy

Check the bandwidth they're offering!

I beleive their 15.99 deal is for 256k, if you're going to get broadband you want at least 512k.

there are plenty of suppliers that offer this for around £25. What you should be looking for is free connection and free modem.

hope this helps.

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

I am on Tiscali DSL here in Germany 768kbps (or might even me 1mb now) flat rate for €19.99pm. and can still make or receive 2 phone calls at the same time + call waiting etc

I have 3 phone numbers aswell.

I see your still getting ripped of with this broadband stuff in England

Howee

Check out the link above. You'll find that Tiscali is one of the worst rated suppliers of broadband!!! I also believe this offer only applies to the 126kbs connection speed, the 512kbs broadband package is around the £25 mark, just like most of the others.

dome

Yep, the "Broadband" offering is barely faster than dual ISDN. Free plug for my employers... http://www.demon.net

See boss, I'm not surfing the net, I'm attracting new customers. Honest.

LEUVEN

As with everything else, did you really expect anything different?

David Lock

I am on standard connection with PlusNet but they offer a 512 Broadband at £18.99 for general surfing or £21.99 if I wanted to download music etc which I don't understand?? I have a main stand alone PC at my home office and 2 kids upstairs with their own computers (one laptop, one stand alone) who want to use the facility and I am currently trying to establish the most cost-effective way of doing this, probably wireless. Any tips appreciated. tia David

workshy_fopp

I've been on Tiscali for over a year - not a single problem. I think they got a bad reputation when they took over lost of smaller ISP's and the billing system fell apart. They're the largest ISP in Europe.

DEEDEE

I'm also with Tiscali and on 56k dial up have been for years, and never had a problem. Just looked at my bill online £9.99 a month for 50 hours 24/7, for what I use it for its cheap

WRX Wannabe

Well i am paying £15 a month for NTL(they are not that bad) for 160K broadband anytime

I have a stand-a-lone modem so the phone line is ALWAYS free

Free instalation and free modem,with first 3months free aslo

Albert47

I'm on just a normal dial up thinking about up grading to broadband. Can anyone recommend a decent one There are loads of companies but which is the best. Looking for the usual stuff Free modem + filters, self install, cheap but 512 kbps or something like this.

I'm not tight, just after a very good deal.

Adam

imlach

The standard £18.99 Plusnet product does not allow peer-to-peer connections - this is when you want to use file-sharing programs such as Napster/Kazaa/Limewire to download MP3s, MPEGs, other stuff.

This is due to the amount of extra bandwidth that you would use if you were to download MP3s etc on a regular basis.

With the £21.99 product, this is enabled.

So, it really depends if you think you'll be downloading a lot of MP3s etc. If just using for web-browsing and non-peer-to-peer downloads (ie, downloading directly from websites etc), then the £18.99 product is perfectly good.

Various ways of doing this, some cheap, some not so cheap, some requiring more bits than others, but all pretty easy. It depends on what setup you currently have - for example, do you have a USB ADSL modem or a standalone ADSL modem with RJ45 (lan) sockets on the back?

One setup would be as follows :

1 x wireless hub to transmit wirelessly (connects into ADSL modem or network card on your "downstairs" PC). Expect to pay upwards of £50 with a decent one well under £100.

2 x wireless cards for your laptop & PC. Laptop will take a PCMCIA card, and desktop can either take a PCMCIA with adaptor, or a USB device. Each card will probably be £30-40 or thereabouts....

Prices are very approximate!!

David Lock

Thanks Imlach, much clearer now - my lad uses Kazaa a lot so your reply particularly helpful as are other tips and guidelines. Cheers, David

imlach

www.adslguide.org

You can compare TOTAL costs over 12 months etc to see who works out the cheapest once you include setup fees etc.

Microfilters - wouldn't fret over them being free/included - you can pick them up for a few quid each.

Plusnet is £18.99 if you don't want peer-to-peer. I'm with Eclipse who nearly always come in the top 3, but I pay £23/month. Never had a problem with them, and been with them for 2 years.

You should DEFFO not be paying more than £23/month for self-install. You will probably find many at £25-27/month that INCLUDE a free modem, but as you can see, it's not really "free".

Personally, I'd avoid the free modems and buy your own modem. They're often cheap USB devices, whereas I'd rather have a standalone combined modem/4 port hub as it means a PC does not have to be left on to enable the connection (a USB device needs a PC switched on). If you're saving £2-4/month by not getting a free modem, then you've got £24-48 towards a modem which will give you better service over the coming 12 months.

You may think this is a insignificant point, but if you have, or plan to buy, a laptop in the future, it will means you can connect to the modem without having the main PC switched on too.

imlach

If I were to recommend a typical product, then Netgear can't be bad. I have a Netgear combined modem/hub, and it has been great

Something like this http://www.dabs.com/uk/shopbybrand/n...quicklinx=2VCD would be ideal. It is a single box solution to EVERYTHING you need for your home wireless network - so doesn't take up much room next to your phone socket!

It combines a ADSL modem, wired ethernet hub, and also has a 54Mb/s wireless hub as well. All for just over £110 and it is ALL you need to have a great home wireless network. Standalone, so doesn't need a PC left on to keep your ADSL connection alive.

All you need to add for a new PC to share your ADSL connection would be a wireless card on the additional PC. £30-40 for each additional PC (or free if you buy a new laptop with integrated wireless connectivity!). Of course, should you prefer, you can connect up to 4 PCs using normal LAN cable into one of the 4 wired ports on the back of the modem. Cheapest solution of all, but litters your house with lan cables (unless you have LAN throughout the house like I do!).

I'm sure there are cheaper products than the Netgear, but the Netgear ones are easy to setup, and Netgear are one of the big names in networking.

imlach

Just to clarify, as a few posts have alluded to this.....

ALL ADSL setups allow the phone line to be used for voice calls no matter whether you are or aren't using the PC. The data and the voice are transmitted over the copper cable at different frequencies, so they can co-exist with each other.

Cable modems for Telewest/NTL are the same - the phone can be used even when using the modem, but in the case of cable networks, voice comes over normal copper telephone cable, while the broadband comes down co-ax cable, so they are separate cables.

wideboyuk

I'm looking at having Telewest (Blueyonder) installed - telephone and broadband.
Will 1 socket incorporate both phone and bb or do you have separate wall sockets for each?

imlach

The cables come out the same junction box, but they are seperate cables.

wideboyuk

Ok thanks i get it now.
I will be using a laptop mainly via USB modem.
Is it a simple case of 'plug it in' and off I go. (I plan to have a junction box upstairs and downstairs so I can use it where I fancy) ??

Albert47

Any more top tips from scooby lovers for us amatuer broadbanders??????