Broadband advice please

[Howard]

Hi all

Orange ( my BB provider ) are terrible , to the point that the BB is more or less unusable in the evening. So we want to switch.

I don't need it to be lightning fast ( 10mb is fine ) , i never download films , or play games , i just use it for surfing the net.

We have Virgin Cable TV at home , so i guess they could provide BB too ?

However , has anyone used Plusnet , are they any good ? they seem cheap enough ...

Any other providers that you recommend ? Looking to get one and stick with it , i'm not into looking for better deals every other month.

Looking for a stable happy line , not Oranges ups and downs.

All advice gratefully received.

 

[timskemp]

If you're in a Virgin area for cable then I'd go with that. Plusnet are OK but like most ISPs you get what you pay for.

Be (O2) would get my vote, or plain old BT.

 

[markjay]

...Be (O2) would get my vote..

And mine.

 

[whitenemesis]

As you already have Virgin cable I think it's a no-brainer!

Had you not I would have recommended BT

 

[Howard]

Well, plusnet is £6.50 a month and Virgin is £26 a month , so a big difference.

Thats why i was asking ...

 

[john925]

O2 every time. At least they speak proper English (or Scottish) Not some incomprehensible asian dialect

 

[whitenemesis]

Well, plusnet is £6.50 a month and Virgin is £26 a month , so a big difference.

Thats why i was asking ...

Plusnet is just BB? Virgin will be a bundle, tv+BB+phone?

Plusnet will be via telephone (you have a BT line?)

If you already have the Virgin cable it really must be the better option

http://shop.virginmedia.com/bundles.html

 

[moonloops]

However , has anyone used Plusnet , are they any good ? they seem cheap enough ...

Yes i am on plusnet and very happy after suffering with crappy ISP's such as talktalk and Sky. They have great customer services (as per their TV advert) and I get a decent connection even though I am far from the exchange. I can PM you a referral link - not sure if it is still running but they where doing first 3 months free.

 

[Howard]

Yep , but when you already have something with Virgin , you don't get the new 'bundle' customer deals. Tried that ...

Only reason i have a landline is for the BB , never use it as i have free calls on my mobile. So don't really need one to be honest.

EDIT : Moonloops , yes please

I live 100m from the exchange .

From Virgin ....

Get all this for just £6.75 a month*
for 6 months then £13.50 a month

*Plus a Virgin Phone line for £12.99 a month.

So , £26.50 a month ....

 

[jonnyboy]

o2 for me definitely.

 

[Mercy1]

I had Virgin at my previous house and opted for BT when I moved house because the new place had no cabling.
I won't comment on value - you pays your money and you takes your choice - nor reliability, as all providers seem horribly inaccessible when things go wrong.
What I can say is that both have been satisfactory for me (Virgin's bundling structure may reduce the overall bill), but BT has been a revelation in ease of set-up and operation.
All their bits and pieces arrived on time with ample instructions. Set up with their Homehub wi-fi hub takes about 10 minutes max and is really, really simple. Trust me.
Speed tends to vary depending on how close you are to an exchange, but if you have no problems in this respect it is very fast and getting faster.
I like the web-based BT Yahoo email set-up which makes your email very easily accessible from anywhere, and their Digital Vault back-up system is free (for average users) and very quick. All my photographs and important documents are lodged with them and will be retrievable if (when!) my laptop explodes or is lost/stolen. Much less hassle than saving to disc or memory sticks.
Plenty of other facilities on offer but I am a basic user so have never really looked into them.
Good luck with whoever you choose - you'll only ever find out how good they are when things go wrong!

 

[moonloops]

Yep , but when you already have something with Virgin , you don't get the new 'bundle' customer deals. Tried that ...

Only reason i have a landline is for the BB , never use it as i have free calls on my mobile. So don't really need one to be honest.

EDIT : Moonloops , yes please

I live 100m from the exchange .

From Virgin ....

Get all this for just £6.75 a month*
for 6 months then £13.50 a month

*Plus a Virgin Phone line for £12.99 a month.

So , £26.50 a month ....

PM sent, just noticed that plusnet have a price comparison tool on their website:

https://portal.plus.net/apps/price/compare/

 

[npuk]

Check when BT Infinity will be in your area.

You can get the broadband from virgin without phoneline. Better to ring up and see what deal they can do you as an exiisting customer. If its the same as on their site buy online via Quidco for £65 cashback.

 

[artyman]

I would have thoought Virgin Cable would be your fastest option, I'm a longish way from the exchange 2miles so best I can get is about 4 meg down the phone with ADSL24, been with them for 2 years and seem pretty reliable. The biggest problem is the crappy BT side of things.

 

[Howard]

I don't need it to be lightning fast ( 10mb is fine ) , i never download films , or play games , i just use it for surfing the net.

 

[grober]

Fibre optic is tomorrows technology. That's what all the high speed broadband services round the world use. Until other ISP's can provide fibre optic Virgin still has the technological edge in many parts of the country for the next few years. However on top of this lies the spectre of " customer service" Like many large organisations nowadays it all works seamlessly most of the time but if you have a fault it's often in the lap of the gods as to how rapidly its solved. In this it's no different from many other ISPs

 

[BTB 500]

I would also heartily recommend O2 - best ISP I've used by far. They do extremely well in customer satisfaction surveys, and I can see why.

 

[Stan the Man]

+1 for o2. I beleive they have some good deals going with 3 months free, free wireless 'N' router etc.

 

[Timster]

Hi.

I've been with plusnet for the last 7 years. No complaints at all.

If you choose them do let me know and I'll recommend you if you wouldn't mind!

 

[A-AvantGarde]

I would recommend o2 too. I was with PlusNet who were also excellent but I've found o2 to be superb.

Howard, if you choose o2 (or anyone else wants to), I'd also be happy to refer you.

This way we would both get an o2 Reward: either £20 to spend at; Amazon, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, or to give to charity. Or an Xbox LIVE 12 month Gold membership or £35 to spend with Red Letter Days.