OP
OP
SavageHoutkop
Veteran
- Location
- South Manchester-ish
It seems to be about the same, luckily. I will try the uswitch thing, thanks for the tip!
Broadband question...
- Thread starter SavageHoutkop
- Start date
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Well that's good. Surprised, but it is possible. Someone I know is in the same situation and I would describe their signal as 'flaky' but useable. Think you're best sticking with them. If you disconnect your phone line like I said I'd be wary of the possibility of 12 month phone line contracts or heavy reconnection fees. Not sure what the current situation is with BT, worth checking.
soulful dog
Veteran
- Location
- Glasgow
Whatever you do, don't got with Talk Talk! They are consistently one of the worst performers.
You will definitely get faster speeds (you're pretty near the exchange). Although it depends on what is available at your exchange just how much faster you can get. Some ISPs provide LLU services (this info will be listed for your exchange on the Samknows site), which may give you faster speeds than what you've listed.
I know with my exchange, if I do checks to estimate my connection speed it'll tell me 6MB because BT (or any ISP that uses BT's equipment) can only offer me up to 8MB. However I went with a LLU provider (who have their own equipment inside the exchange) and so I can get 12MB (advertised as up to 16MB).
However, if you don't really need the speed, because of the additional cost of needing a landline your are probably just as well just sticking with your mobile broadband, until such time as you need the extra speed.
Cheap ISP's like Talk Talk may seem attractive, but speed and reliability aren't very often heard in relation to the service they provide.
You will definitely get faster speeds (you're pretty near the exchange). Although it depends on what is available at your exchange just how much faster you can get. Some ISPs provide LLU services (this info will be listed for your exchange on the Samknows site), which may give you faster speeds than what you've listed.
I know with my exchange, if I do checks to estimate my connection speed it'll tell me 6MB because BT (or any ISP that uses BT's equipment) can only offer me up to 8MB. However I went with a LLU provider (who have their own equipment inside the exchange) and so I can get 12MB (advertised as up to 16MB).
However, if you don't really need the speed, because of the additional cost of needing a landline your are probably just as well just sticking with your mobile broadband, until such time as you need the extra speed.
Cheap ISP's like Talk Talk may seem attractive, but speed and reliability aren't very often heard in relation to the service they provide.
I'm going to jump on in and defend Talk Talk. I'm with them and I've found them spot on. I had a few issues with my speed to begin with as their DLM (Digital Line Management) kept switching my profile to a lower one. However this was resolved through their excellent staffed forums and they switched the DLM off for me. No problems since. Average speed around here with BT is quoted as 2-3Mbps. I'm on 6-7Mbps which I keep an eye on.
My sister recently went from 3 Mobile broadband which she paid an average of £15 p/m for (which was ok for just browsing the net on but not for much else e.g PS3 and streaming films) to Talk Talk on their value package. She had no phone line so they put one in for free on the day they said they would. She is getting 15mbps through her line and has had no problems.
You could try using speedtest.net to give you an idea of what speed you are getting through your 3 dongle.
I'm with the OP though and think if you aren't going to stream films/play online games etc then when you move you should just see how the dongle goes and then get a fixed line broadband if it turns out to be shoot.
My sister recently went from 3 Mobile broadband which she paid an average of £15 p/m for (which was ok for just browsing the net on but not for much else e.g PS3 and streaming films) to Talk Talk on their value package. She had no phone line so they put one in for free on the day they said they would. She is getting 15mbps through her line and has had no problems.
You could try using speedtest.net to give you an idea of what speed you are getting through your 3 dongle.
I'm with the OP though and think if you aren't going to stream films/play online games etc then when you move you should just see how the dongle goes and then get a fixed line broadband if it turns out to be shoot.
OP
OP
SavageHoutkop
Veteran
- Location
- South Manchester-ish
...Thanks all. I decided to sign up to Talk Talk (at an effective rate of £8.53 pm including line rental; after allowing for £50 voucher from Tesco included in the mix).
We went live 2 days ago and it seems to be working fine. We'll see what my first few bills end up being, as I suspect I've been charged installation fee which might later be reversed.
3 Mobile speeds in the new house were worse than in the old house, although it didn't seem that way at first. I managed a whopping 0.2 Mbps when I speedtested it (at which point I decided that this was probably not going to work). TalkTalk tested at 5.7 Mbps so definite improvement already. We'll see how well the wireless works, not sure how thick our walls are or how far the reach will be (so far I've just gone the physical wired-in route).
We went live 2 days ago and it seems to be working fine. We'll see what my first few bills end up being, as I suspect I've been charged installation fee which might later be reversed.
3 Mobile speeds in the new house were worse than in the old house, although it didn't seem that way at first. I managed a whopping 0.2 Mbps when I speedtested it (at which point I decided that this was probably not going to work). TalkTalk tested at 5.7 Mbps so definite improvement already. We'll see how well the wireless works, not sure how thick our walls are or how far the reach will be (so far I've just gone the physical wired-in route).
You'll probably get a credit on your bill. That's what I got anyway. Take it you've signed up on their website to check your account? They are pretty quick with updating any usage etc. I don't have to worry as I'm on unlimited with calls anytime but my sister gets 40GB downloads and free calls weekends and evenings so it's handy for her.
Did you get the D-Links router? It's a good router but I personally found the wireless range to be a bit rubbish in my house (thick stone walls) so I've gone for a Billion BiPAC 7800N which is great. The D-Link range is fine in my sisters house though (newish build, with paper walls).
OP
OP
SavageHoutkop
Veteran
- Location
- South Manchester-ish
I think it's the D-Links one, that sounds familiar. I'm not sure how thick our walls are, I'm fairly sure our party wall is paper thin (great) but the others could be more solid! The main annoyance is our jack into the house is at the front, where we'll most likely be using the computer most at the back (once we have managed to gain some order among the chaos). The more annoying part is that the phoneline actually enters the property (not the house) from the back, and then it snakes all the way around the house to go in the front! The mind boggles.
Tell me about it. For some reason my sisters telephone point is in the kitchen by the back door and not near any electrical sockets so I've had to get a telephone extension cable and run it along the skirting boards and into the living room.
The Jogger
Legendary Member
- Location
- West Sussex
Is there really such a thing as satellite broadband, I might be moving to rural Spain next year and I've heard that some people use this........
MrJamie
Oaf on a Bike
From memory its usually dial-up on the uplink and satelite download. I think its meant to be better for rural places with very slow connections, the only downside i recall is awful latency for gaming.
The Jogger
Legendary Member
- Location
- West Sussex
Thanks Jamie , not into gaming so that won't bother me, that bit.
There certainly is. Unfortunately it's very expensive for what you get. It's not just gaming that got the thumbs down, it was several aspects. Ofcom called it 'better than a standard ADSL link'
for some things. If you want I can give you a really boring Ofcom report.WHy are you considering this system? In europe the system generally isn't mature enough yet.
The Jogger
Legendary Member
- Location
- West Sussex
There certainly is. Unfortunately it's very expensive for what you get. It's not just gaming that got the thumbs down, it was several aspects. Ofcom called it 'better than a standard ADSL link'
WHy are you considering this system? In europe the system generally isn't mature enough yet.
I don't think I'll get normal broadband in the hills of Andalucia so I was thinking this is another / only option.
