New beginning.

[Oldhippy]

Getting ready to move and all it entails. Best broadband provider though, opinions please. Won't use sky as it is a Murdoch thing but appreciate they may be much of a muchness. Currently used to virgin but anyone you need to talk to is in Manila! Quite partial to History and Science channels and looking for reliability and bang for buck.

 

[BoldonLad]

Getting ready to move and all it entails. Best broadband provider though, opinions please. Won't use sky as it is a Murdoch thing but appreciate they may be much of a muchness. Currently used to virgin but anyone you need to talk to is in Manila! Quite partial to History and Science channels and looking for reliability and bang for buck.

We have used TalkTalk for years. They have an appalling reputation for customer service, but, personally, they have been fine. Each time the contract comes up for renewal, I haggle, and, usually get something out of them.

 

[figbat]

It'll depend to some extent what options are available at your new place. For example whether fibre-to-the-premises is an option (where I live it isn't) - this will define whether you can use Virgin or other fibre-optic options.

I live in a village with fibre-to-the-cabinet, so can use most suppliers' "fast" services. I've been with Plusnet for several years with largely no issues - the one time I did get some serious speed issues I filled in a form online and within a day it was acknowledged as a problem and fixed a couple of days later.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

I'm officially with Waitrose, but they just piggyback onto Plusnet? I can't remember exactly because there are no problems. Been with them 20+ years and never had any problems. Help desk is in Sheffield and is easy to get through to - or was last time I needed them some 3 years ago.
Costs me £19 for unlimited broadband and evening/weekend calls (which we never use as phones have masses of free use for us).

I know they have an iffy reputation but I've never had any problems. I wouldn't still be with them if they messed me around.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

I am entirely wireless and at 3 in the morning the service is brilliant. By wireless I mean wireless dongles, not a wireless connection to a router with a copper wire or fibre optic cable to a telecoms company.

Pre COVID and at bad times of the day it can be slower than first generation wired broadbrand but quicker than dial-up.

With COVID it can be unusable for browsing at various times of the day, it can take a minute or more to just check if there is any email, just check, and find out that there isn't.

Right now I get 2.6Mbps down and 1.6Mbps up, this is a 3G connection and it takes about 3 seconds to find out that I have no email.

I also have a 4G dongle and the connection is faster when it connects but it seems to be a lot less reliable.

This connection comes with a 20GB limit (max available at the time) which is barely enough any more and I don't stream tv, Microsoft software updates seems to use around 10GB a month.

So my experience is that if you are considering wireless only then you may be disappointed, I bought it knowing its limitations but it is now starting to be advertised as a replacement for wired internet..... and maybe it is in certain locations.

So many web sites assume a fast connection and fill their sites with hi resolution pictures and videos that they may load fine for the creators in their offices but are slow out in the real world.

Bye

Ian

 

[swee'pea99]

I'm officially with Waitrose, but they just piggyback onto Plusnet? I can't remember exactly because there are no problems. Been with them 20+ years and never had any problems. Help desk is in Sheffield and is easy to get through to - or was last time I needed them some 3 years ago.
Costs me £19 for unlimited broadband and evening/weekend calls (which we never use as phones have masses of free use for us).

I know they have an iffy reputation but I've never had any problems. I wouldn't still be with them if they messed me around.

I do find all this piggy-backing weird. You get Plusnet (ie, in passing, BT) for £19, with a call allowance; I get Plusnet, direct, broadband only, for £23.99.

Meanwhile I've just received my new SIM from a company called 1p - 1p/min, text, mb - which works with unlocked phones or EE, Orange or T-Mobile ones. So I'm getting EE coverage for a fraction of the EE price.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

I do find all this piggy-backing weird. You get Plusnet (ie, in passing, BT) for £19, with a call allowance; I get Plusnet, direct, broadband only, for £23.99.

Yup. I don't understand it either. I renewed my contract in December. I had been paying £23.99, but they volunteered a price reduction without me asking for it. Maybe because I've been with them a long time??? Worth asking - it can be done.

 

[BoldonLad]

Further to @IanSmithCSE 's response. Although I have Landline broadband for the house, I do also have a wireless set up, similar to he describes.
We use it when travelling in our motorhome, to provide 24/7 Internet Connection, just like at home. For Motorhome/Caravn usage, there are some considerations reference use outside go UK, but, I will ignore those, since we are talking about in UK use here.

We have a router (supplied "free" by 3), which allows unto 10 devices to attach wirelessly simultaneously. There are also a couple of Wired ports, if required. For £20/month, we get unlimited data, plus, GoBinge, which allows streaming from Netflix (and other sources) without impacting data allowance.

I have not measured the speed, but, it is a 4g connection, and we have no problem streaming TV, Video etc.

Similar packages are available from other Networks, in particular Vodaphone.

 

[BoldonLad]

I do find all this piggy-backing weird. You get Plusnet (ie, in passing, BT) for £19, with a call allowance; I get Plusnet, direct, broadband only, for £23.99.

Meanwhile I've just received my new SIM from a company called 1p - 1p/min, text, mb - which works with unlocked phones or EE, Orange or T-Mobile ones. So I'm getting EE coverage for a fraction of the EE price.

Yes, you get similar effect with Mobile Phone deals, we have Tesco, which piggy backs O2. My understanding is that the "main" networks all off spare capacity on the Network to these piggy back providers. It is not dissimilar to the Energy Supply Market, there are far fewer electricity generators than suppliers, so, many of them are simply reselling Electricity/Gas.

 

[HMS_Dave]

Been with plusnet and later with talktalk and had no issues with either. Talktalk even managed to convince openreach to replace my line when I was having dropouts regularly...

 

[Dirk]

Used to be with Talk Talk until we had a problem, exacerbated by their abysmal customer services.
Went to BT for a few years but they eventually priced themselves out of the market.
Been with Plusnet for 3 years now - excellent customer service and sensibly priced.

 

[rockyroller]

Getting ready to move and all it entails

good luck I know how stressful that can be! here's hoping it's on your own terms!

 

[lane]

I am with virgin because as I understand it, it is the only one with the cable and should be faster. Although often it isn't that fast and quite a lot of complaints locally. Have to haggle or they screw you. Customer service seems par for the course these days I assume they will all be similar.

 

[Oldhippy]

Thank you Rockyroller, I think for the first time in my life it is.

 

[fossyant]

BT, expensive but just works. Mesh wifi included in the deal. Two of us home working, one home college or gaming, another gaming. TV streaming as, well as Team calls - upto 3 sets of Teams going at once.

Strong WIFI out to my shed using the mesh. Asked for extra discs for 'working in the shed' and they didn't bat an eye lid - their T&C's don't cover signal to an out building. I've asked twice, one for the garage and one for the shed. What I did was just move the discs around, so one disc covers the shed and garage, one disc relays the signal to the garage and garden, and another gives strong coverage upstairs.