No call charge/Broadband Internet?
14 January 2002, 08:57 AM
#1
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Need to get one or the other sorted asap and was just wondering who u all use, how much it is, what u get for the money, and who/where u contact to get hooked up.
Thanks in advance
Steve
Thanks in advance
Steve
14 January 2002, 08:59 AM
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I use Blueyonder Broadband - £25 a month
Goes like a rocket compared to a 56k modem. Great VFM IMHO
[Edited by DJ Dunk - 1/14/2002 8:59:39 AM]
Goes like a rocket compared to a 56k modem. Great VFM IMHO
[Edited by DJ Dunk - 1/14/2002 8:59:39 AM]
14 January 2002, 09:00 AM
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I use Plus Net at www.plus.net
They do ADSL and zero call charge options. There is a monthly charge but then you also get around 250Mb of space to build a website!!
If you are interested let me know (mail address is in profile) becuase I can refer you to them and get a discount from my monthly charge!!
They do ADSL and zero call charge options. There is a monthly charge but then you also get around 250Mb of space to build a website!!
If you are interested let me know (mail address is in profile) becuase I can refer you to them and get a discount from my monthly charge!!
14 January 2002, 09:02 AM
#4
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I use Blueyonder. £50 per month gets me 512k cable modem connection, and unlimited local/regional/national landline calls on my phone line.
14 January 2002, 10:07 AM
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Your options will depend on what's available where you live. I'm on NTL broadband at £25 a month although you have to purchase a phone line and base TV package as well (trying to explain to people why you have Sky and cable is a laugh). The service itself is excellent with some downloads running 12 times faster than the 56K theoretical maximum of a modem (note the word theoretical) - basically it's fast. I haven't had cause to use it yet, but I hear their help desk like all help desks is utterly useless until you get to speak to one of the techies.
Got a few friends on ADSL which is more expensive and doesn't seem as consistently fast as cable. BT are also being investigated for throttling speeds to certain ports (like streaming audio/video etc.) Naughty Naughty.
One thing broadband does reveal is which sites are slow. A few still load like you're attached via dialup (the Odeon site is a good example), but most are much much quicker (Scoobynet is very fast - grovel smarm).
The only other thing you need to consider is that with a virtually fixed IP permanently on connection you will need a firewall as the hackers will target you more than they ever did when you were on dialup. There are several available for Windows if that is what you are using and I would advise you to check out Steve Gibson's site for a review of them and explantions as to why some are better than others (http://www.grc.com).
Regards,
tiggers
Got a few friends on ADSL which is more expensive and doesn't seem as consistently fast as cable. BT are also being investigated for throttling speeds to certain ports (like streaming audio/video etc.) Naughty Naughty.
One thing broadband does reveal is which sites are slow. A few still load like you're attached via dialup (the Odeon site is a good example), but most are much much quicker (Scoobynet is very fast - grovel smarm).
The only other thing you need to consider is that with a virtually fixed IP permanently on connection you will need a firewall as the hackers will target you more than they ever did when you were on dialup. There are several available for Windows if that is what you are using and I would advise you to check out Steve Gibson's site for a review of them and explantions as to why some are better than others (http://www.grc.com).
Regards,
tiggers
14 January 2002, 10:11 AM
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A good site for deciding what Broadband provider to use is
www.net4nowt.com
They have a rundown of the different types, the different ISP's and people review the service they have had from various providers.....
Matt
www.net4nowt.com
They have a rundown of the different types, the different ISP's and people review the service they have had from various providers.....
Matt
14 January 2002, 10:21 AM
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Ive got telewest cable at the moment so im gonna stick with them for the net- my choices are--
Normal phone line and no call charges- £10 per month n normal slowness.
Broadband line- £50 connection + £25 per month rental.
Cant decide if i really need it to be quicker, useful for downloads and more convenient, but that wud b its only use, so i cant decide if its worth the extra.
Cable Broadband-
How long was it between when u told them u wanted it, and them actually coming to install it?
Has it been reliable to those of u who have it?
Do they have to send an engineer to install it?
What do they have to do to install it all?
And how long do they take to do so?
Do they have to **** around inside your computer?
Do they have to install the relevent programs, or do they leave that to you?
Thanks again
Normal phone line and no call charges- £10 per month n normal slowness.
Broadband line- £50 connection + £25 per month rental.
Cant decide if i really need it to be quicker, useful for downloads and more convenient, but that wud b its only use, so i cant decide if its worth the extra.
Cable Broadband-
How long was it between when u told them u wanted it, and them actually coming to install it?
Has it been reliable to those of u who have it?
Do they have to send an engineer to install it?
What do they have to do to install it all?
And how long do they take to do so?
Do they have to **** around inside your computer?
Do they have to install the relevent programs, or do they leave that to you?
Thanks again
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14 January 2002, 11:39 AM
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How long was it between when u told them u wanted it, and them actually coming to install it?
Took about 3 weeks for mine
Has it been reliable to those of u who have it?
Very reliable, only failed once in 6 months
Do they have to send an engineer to install it?
Yes, to run cable, attenuator, modem and NIC (if required)
What do they have to do to install it all?
Run cable, install modem, connect modem to service, install NIC (if required), test service, thats its
And how long do they take to do so?
About 3/4 hour
Do they have to **** around inside your computer?
Only if u have no NIC
Do they have to install the relevent programs, or do they leave that to you?
No programs required, just connect it up and change IE settings to LAN
Feel free to email me if u have any Q's
Took about 3 weeks for mine
Has it been reliable to those of u who have it?
Very reliable, only failed once in 6 months
Do they have to send an engineer to install it?
Yes, to run cable, attenuator, modem and NIC (if required)
What do they have to do to install it all?
Run cable, install modem, connect modem to service, install NIC (if required), test service, thats its
And how long do they take to do so?
About 3/4 hour
Do they have to **** around inside your computer?
Only if u have no NIC
Do they have to install the relevent programs, or do they leave that to you?
No programs required, just connect it up and change IE settings to LAN
Feel free to email me if u have any Q's
14 January 2002, 11:51 AM
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As long as your not running win NT, BT's new ADSL is connection £79 and only £49 per month 512k
not bad!
We are changing to Easynet at work cause weve got a NT Network.
Jeremy
not bad!
We are changing to Easynet at work cause weve got a NT Network.
Jeremy
14 January 2002, 12:35 PM
#10
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Anyone want to join Blueyonder, I'll recommend you and we can both benefit. If I remember rightly, you get 50% off your connection, and I get a free month
14 January 2002, 06:43 PM
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OK as far as NTL cable broadband goes:-
Q. How long was it between when u told them u wanted it, and them
actually coming to install it?
A. 6 days.
Q. Has it been reliable to those of u who have it?
A. 100%
Q. Do they have to send an engineer to install it?
A. Only to install the cable to the house, they will install the TV/cable hub/modem if you wish - I did mine myself.
Q. What do they have to do to install it all?
A. Lay a cable from the road to your house in a conduit preferably 300mm plus underground. Drill through the wall at a convenient point agreed by you and install a termination box inside the house. Give you a TV/cable hub/modem box and connect it into your TV if you so wish (remember NTL comes with a TV package as well).
Q. And how long do they take to do so?
A. Depends on how far/difficult it is to lay the cable. Mine was about 30 yards, took them half a day.
Q. Do they have to **** around inside your computer?
A. No, but you do. You need to install an ethernet card (about £20 from all good computer stores). This is easy if you are running a plug and play Windows opearting system (e.g. Win 95/98/ME/2K/XP) and not too bad if you are running Windows NT. If you are a Linux man then you will no doubt no what you are about anyway so it shouldn't be too much of a prob. Can't speak for Mac's as never done one. They do give you a very good step by step guide to all of this anyway.
Q. Do they have to install the relevent programs, or do they leave that to you?
A. There are no relevant programs, basically once you plug an ethernet cable into the hub and then into your PC you use your web browser to call up an NTL access page where you enter the key sent to you with your information pack and after that the MAC address of your ethernet card is enabled on their network and hence the internet. You get newsgroup access, email addresses and web space all of which you set up on line following the instructions given to you in your information pack. The only trouble comes when you've already got a network at home and then you need to get into connection sharing and dual network cards etc. but for a standalone machine it is fairly foolproof.
Regards.
tiggers.
Q. How long was it between when u told them u wanted it, and them
actually coming to install it?
A. 6 days.
Q. Has it been reliable to those of u who have it?
A. 100%
Q. Do they have to send an engineer to install it?
A. Only to install the cable to the house, they will install the TV/cable hub/modem if you wish - I did mine myself.
Q. What do they have to do to install it all?
A. Lay a cable from the road to your house in a conduit preferably 300mm plus underground. Drill through the wall at a convenient point agreed by you and install a termination box inside the house. Give you a TV/cable hub/modem box and connect it into your TV if you so wish (remember NTL comes with a TV package as well).
Q. And how long do they take to do so?
A. Depends on how far/difficult it is to lay the cable. Mine was about 30 yards, took them half a day.
Q. Do they have to **** around inside your computer?
A. No, but you do. You need to install an ethernet card (about £20 from all good computer stores). This is easy if you are running a plug and play Windows opearting system (e.g. Win 95/98/ME/2K/XP) and not too bad if you are running Windows NT. If you are a Linux man then you will no doubt no what you are about anyway so it shouldn't be too much of a prob. Can't speak for Mac's as never done one. They do give you a very good step by step guide to all of this anyway.
Q. Do they have to install the relevent programs, or do they leave that to you?
A. There are no relevant programs, basically once you plug an ethernet cable into the hub and then into your PC you use your web browser to call up an NTL access page where you enter the key sent to you with your information pack and after that the MAC address of your ethernet card is enabled on their network and hence the internet. You get newsgroup access, email addresses and web space all of which you set up on line following the instructions given to you in your information pack. The only trouble comes when you've already got a network at home and then you need to get into connection sharing and dual network cards etc. but for a standalone machine it is fairly foolproof.
Regards.
tiggers.
14 January 2002, 08:57 PM
#13
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tiggers,
Just a couple of points.
You can have NTL broadband without TV but they insist on at least one NTL phone line. You have to have the TV line layed in but dont have to subscribe to TV packages.
The new modems come with USB so no need for a network card.
Cheers
Lee
Just a couple of points.
You can have NTL broadband without TV but they insist on at least one NTL phone line. You have to have the TV line layed in but dont have to subscribe to TV packages.
The new modems come with USB so no need for a network card.
Cheers
Lee
14 January 2002, 09:22 PM
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logiclee,
When did they drop the TV bit out of the package as that's the bit I don't want as I have Sky already and prefer it's superior channel choice. When I signed up in August 2001 I gave them a serious grilling about the TV package being in the deal and they said that there were no plans to remove it. Is it possible that it differs by location?
If not I shall be ringing them up to do a bit of negotiation in the near future.
USB is interesting as well although not much use to me as my connection is attached to an old Pentium 233MMX box running Linux which does my firewalling and IP masquerading for all the machines on my home network (I'm not totally sad as I'm in IT and work from home a lot hence the network).
Regards,
tiggers
When did they drop the TV bit out of the package as that's the bit I don't want as I have Sky already and prefer it's superior channel choice. When I signed up in August 2001 I gave them a serious grilling about the TV package being in the deal and they said that there were no plans to remove it. Is it possible that it differs by location?
If not I shall be ringing them up to do a bit of negotiation in the near future.
USB is interesting as well although not much use to me as my connection is attached to an old Pentium 233MMX box running Linux which does my firewalling and IP masquerading for all the machines on my home network (I'm not totally sad as I'm in IT and work from home a lot hence the network).
Regards,
tiggers
14 January 2002, 09:43 PM
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tiggers,
Taken from ntl broadband Q&A.
"Can I take the service if I do not subscribe to ntl's cable TV?
It is essential for your home to be physically connected to ntl’s cable network and for you to be a subscriber to our entry level package of services, called the Starter Pack. However, as a subscriber of the Starter Pack, you do not necessarily have to take the cable TV service."
I have the 128k broadband for £14.99 a month including modem rental, plus one phone line.
Cheers
Lee
Taken from ntl broadband Q&A.
"Can I take the service if I do not subscribe to ntl's cable TV?
It is essential for your home to be physically connected to ntl’s cable network and for you to be a subscriber to our entry level package of services, called the Starter Pack. However, as a subscriber of the Starter Pack, you do not necessarily have to take the cable TV service."
I have the 128k broadband for £14.99 a month including modem rental, plus one phone line.
Cheers
Lee
14 January 2002, 11:29 PM
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logiclee,
Thanks for the note. I think I shall give them a call tomorrow and see what the crack is.
Regards,
tiggers.
Thanks for the note. I think I shall give them a call tomorrow and see what the crack is.
Regards,
tiggers.
15 January 2002, 08:59 AM
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Sal and I have the 'NTL:home' package which is Digital TV, phone line and 512K Cable modem for £68 a month. This includes all the standard TV channels plus Sky Sports 1,2,3 and the subscription movie channels (excluding the certain 'specialist' subscription channels )
When you compare to buying Sky digital, a BT phone line and say an ADSL connection separately, then this is a very good price.
Installation was very straight forward and cost £25 for the lot. They will install the boxes where you want and an additional phone extension socket aswell (no extra charge).
So far it has been good. You do get some picture breakup, but no worse than Sky Digital and considerably better than ITV Digital. Cable modem has been great - currently getting closer to 700K on average.
Other options to consider - with NTL you can buy or rent the cable modem (to rent I think is about £5 a month (incl in the £68 charge) or to buy I believe they are about £250)
I've only phoned the helpdesk when doing the initial setup and once I was talking to the techies then it was fine. Word of warning - if you have problems connecting to the NTL cable modem page when you do the initial setup, uninstall any firewall software (I do mean uninstall and not disable) and disable any AV software such as Norton. Norton AV includes a basic firewall which will block outgoing connections - making it impossible to connect.
If you goto NTL's web page here, you can check if you can get the cable modem service.
Chris
[Edited by Chris L - 1/15/2002 9:02:44 AM]
)When you compare to buying Sky digital, a BT phone line and say an ADSL connection separately, then this is a very good price.
Installation was very straight forward and cost £25 for the lot. They will install the boxes where you want and an additional phone extension socket aswell (no extra charge).
So far it has been good. You do get some picture breakup, but no worse than Sky Digital and considerably better than ITV Digital. Cable modem has been great - currently getting closer to 700K on average.
Other options to consider - with NTL you can buy or rent the cable modem (to rent I think is about £5 a month (incl in the £68 charge) or to buy I believe they are about £250)
I've only phoned the helpdesk when doing the initial setup and once I was talking to the techies then it was fine. Word of warning - if you have problems connecting to the NTL cable modem page when you do the initial setup, uninstall any firewall software (I do mean uninstall and not disable) and disable any AV software such as Norton. Norton AV includes a basic firewall which will block outgoing connections - making it impossible to connect.
If you goto NTL's web page here, you can check if you can get the cable modem service.
Chris
[Edited by Chris L - 1/15/2002 9:02:44 AM]
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