Who is the best ISP?

[andmcit]

Forgetting all the comparison sites that seem to choke this question on Google as I cannot determine
whether they're impartial or 'sponsored' which provider do you guys use? I want stable reliable access
first with cost still a main consideration though not vital.

I've been with Tiscali for years and been very happy even though I realise they've not been the best price
at £15 a month for 1 Mb. I now realise the local exchange can offer 2Mb max (wooo) although this has
never been offered or available. Now Tiscali is merged into TalkTalk I'm being levered into a phone package
for the same price or straight broadband for £20! I'm not keen to go for the phone too having heard
horror stories about TalkTalk so the time seems right to go elsewhere.

Demon at work seems all over the place for reliability so with everyone here online with someone where
do I go for a straight broadband only provider?

Andrew

[Dean]

Hi Andrew

I must admit i took the lazy route, i looked at Talk talk and many others and on the surface all was well untill you get into line rental from BT and that bt wanted to charge hundreds to connect a phone line in the first place if i went with someone else it was all going to be a pita, i went with BT for the phone and broadband.
I have been verypleased with the service and cost, i get free uk landline calls evening and weekends which means i dont have a phone bill and i get some broadband which is pretty quick for my needs and never goes down, plus i got a home hub thingy and its about £40 a quarter with no hassle, when we moved a couple of months ago the transfere was instant, we had phone and interweb in the flat in the morning and then in the evening it had been swapped to the new house so i was pleased with that too.

D

[minijet]

.
Hi Andrew,

I've been with Supanet for about seven years now. Line rental is from BT.
They've been pretty reliable, and the best deal I've found.
I pay £15 pm and get free calls anytime, unlimited downloads, and up to 8gbps (I just did a speed test and I'm actually getting 1480 Kbps download and 354 Kbps upload speed).

I've just agreed to a new deal where they provide line rental for less than I was paying BT. I can't remember the exact details though.

I'd go for cable if we had it here (in deepest, darkest Yorkshire ) as it's supposed to give the highest speeds. I'd be able to get a decent television picture too .

Paul

.

[andmcit]

In the past I'd have happily recommended Tiscali but certainly this month the speed and drop out
has been abysmal - coincidence that from Jan it is now officially TalkTalk and just for good measure
the BT line is now kaput! Why does life have to be a damn struggle!?

I've been told that simply sticking to BT for the telephone and broadband as one sole provider isn't as clear cut
as it used to be either which was my first thought with a new ISP. In the past with any issue on the line so long
as the telephone worked BT's interest in whether the broadband worked too evaporated and it was down to my
provider even though the line/local exchange could be at fault. Now this doesn't seem so clear cut as it seems
the line provider is now a separate entity again from BT with Outreach? Can't say I understand the position!

My iPhone is fine do long as I'm in signal so I feel very frustrated that I'm paying top money for what seems like
poor service from all these big companies. Real world experience and recommendation is all I can hope for in a
bid to pick a decent choice so thanks for the comments so far - any more feedback would be very welcome!

Andrew

[onthecut]

I've been with Tiscali for some time, on a broadband and free landline calls package and have to say, it still comes out as a good deal. Odd glitch in service, but overall quite happy.

Mike.

[Peter.N.]

I also am with Tiscali, mainly because they were the cheapest I can't complain about the service really, I have had several episodes of slow speed which I contacted them about and although they were quite helpful, didn't resolve the problem, I got a little bit heated with them and then found that the problem was my fault my ham radio equipment was causing the problem, providing I disconnect the modem before using high power its OK, if I forget I have now found a way of restoring it quite quickly.

Peter

[Ciaran]

Can you get cable where you are Andrew?

Ciarán

[bobhalliday]

Hi all.

I use 3 PAYG mobile because I go to my caravan a lot in the summer and can use that on my Laptop. Before that I used Telewest Broadband which I thought was one of the best but they pushed and pushed for the total package under the Virgin name, which I didn't want so I dumped them. My Son works for them but has no cable in his area so had to go elsewhere, he was with two or three differant ISP's but has now settled fo BT who he thinks is very good.
My mobile one has settled down to be fairly good but sometimes slows down drastically, and some areas have no signal but it's only £10.00 per month, before that I had to use dial up at the van and that was a nightmare.
Bob.

[David Hallworth]

If you've got an O2 Mobile Phone and your exchange is enabled with o2 equipment you can get up to 8 meg for £7.50 per month.

If your line can only take 2 though, you'll only get 2.

I'm the same as Dean though, I'm with BT at home for phone and broadband and the service has been great.

David.