Broadband download cap

[Piff]

I'm thinking of changing ISP as I'm fed up with paying AOL £18 per month for a slow service (up to 2mb) & software which slows down my old pc. My line/exchange can only support 6.5mb.
I'm looking at Sky's mid range package with 8mb speed & 40gb monthly allowance at a cost of £5 per month.
I would have to change my line rental back to BT and also move my calls package to Sky (both currently with Post Office who I'm happy with) so I don't want to make the change without being sure of the full facts.

I currently have a Netgear d834g router, 3 pc's wired & 1 laptop wireless, and all 3 use different operating systems (Win 98, XP, 32bit Vista & 64bit Vista) and another XP machine on the way.

I believe that there is 3rd party software to count the usage but this needs to be installed on each machine - is this the only way to find out if I would exceed the 40gb limit or can the info be accessed through the router?

 

[crockers]

You dont have to use AOL's software to access aol ...you can access it through other browsers.
If you are on AOL then your line rental is to BT - you can also pay them for calls too - I pay £7 a month for all calls in UK, EU and USA free.

 

[gbjeppm]

I would have thought that the ISP will provide you with a facility to check your usage.

 

[rf065]

I would have to change my line rental back to BT and also move my calls package to Sky (both currently with Post Office who I'm happy with) so I don't want to make the change without being sure of the full facts.

I changed to Sky & moved my line rental to them also, no need to involve BT, unless your local exchange is different?
I assume you already have Sky TV?

Russ

 

[gaz_l]

I would have thought that the ISP will provide you with a facility to check your usage.

Mine certainly does.. I just log into my account to see how much bandwidth I've used that month.

If you've opted out of a BT landline and need to change back I believe it's pretty expensive.. a figure of £165 springs to mind for reconnection.

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[A210AMG]

Ive been impressed with Sky since I changed from (freeserve, wanado, orange) Paid them £20 a month just for Broadband !

For £22 with sky I get 6 sky package channels, sky +, Basic broadband, weekend and evening calls free.

I've noticed NO change in performance since swapping and my line will only accept 4.5mb so no point going to 8mb

Just rang up to add the movies for Christmas and they offered me ALL the movies for 3 months @ £5 a month extra...cool

So far I've had no problems with sky they do what they say, everything works and its easy to speak to someone.

 

[Piff]

You dont have to use AOL's software to access aol ...you can access it through other browsers.
If you are on AOL then your line rental is to BT - you can also pay them for calls too - I pay £7 a month for all calls in UK, EU and USA free.

No, my line rental is with Post Office - £1 cheaper than BT. AOL tried to get me to change phone line to them a couple of months ago, but this would have meant changing phone line back to BT & then to AOL. The indian gentleman I spoke to at AOL couldn't grasp this so I didn't bother at the time.
I can access AOL via firefox as you mentioned, but that doesn't solve the 2mb speed issue.

 

[Piff]

I changed to Sky & moved my line rental to them also, no need to involve BT, unless your local exchange is different?
I assume you already have Sky TV?

Russ

Yes, already have sky tv - can they take over the line directly from Post Office?

 

[Piff]

Another problem with AOL, I originally took their silver package which does not support home network. So, about 5 minutes ago, the wife tried to log in to AOL to check e-mails & my connection got dumped - I then signed on again & her connection got dumped - how good is that?

 

[rf065]

Yes, already have sky tv - can they take over the line directly from Post Office?

As BT don't have a monopoly on phone lines anymore, I don't think you would have to go from the Post Office to BT to Sky. In fact, surely you could just stay with the Post Office for your line rental anyway if that was the case?
Sky have a pretty good FAQ section, might be something on that.

Russ

 

[crockers]

Speed for me is not an issue as I live in the back of beyond according to BT. The exchange is 1 mile away but the lines go past my house for miles then back again ......to me.. so I am limited to 512kb...

So (not meaning to hijack this thread) to whom do I complain; AOL my ISP or to BT from whom I rent the line?

 

[Piff]

As BT don't have a monopoly on phone lines anymore, I don't think you would have to go from the Post Office to BT to Sky. In fact, surely you could just stay with the Post Office for your line rental anyway if that was the case?
Sky have a pretty good FAQ section, might be something on that.

Russ

Not sure if line rental can stay with post office. Sky definately want to take on calls or they charge £5 per month more!

 

[HughJarse]

I like sky - I have full package at £10 a month with no cap or download limit whatsoever - not even fair use policy.

They told me I would get 2-4mb and I actually get 10-11mb speed.

Its always worked, never ever gone off in 2 years and so Im a thumbs up.

Mind you they are changing their packages in the spring - as long as you pay £5 a month for free calls 24/7 including international then they won't put the price up - seems fair to me a fiver is crackin I think.

 

[momomo]

I like sky - I have full package at £10 a month with no cap or download limit whatsoever - not even fair use policy.

HughJarse are you sure about the fair usage policy because i recall them having one a while back when i was looking at alternatives to what i currently have?

 

[HughJarse]

Absolutley positive - they got rid of it and are just about the only provider to do this

From Sky
"Sky Broadband Max gives you unlimited downloads of music, movies, sports clips and online gaming - no fair use policy applies"

 

[Piff]

I've checked through "my account" on aol & because it is an unlimited service there doesn't appear to be anywhere to determine my monthly usage.
Any ideas if this can be checked in the router software?
However, there are some better deals on there than I'm on so I will have to consider them along side sky.

 

[AANDYY]

O2 for me, cheap.....

But not a cheap service

 

[verytalldave]

Just switched from Virgin Media to BT.
MUCH faster connection speed - and cheaper - and much more importantly - no drop-outs. Which happened all the time with Virgin. I was forever having to reboot my modem. No download limit either.

 

[crockers]

I've checked through "my account" on aol & because it is an unlimited service there doesn't appear to be anywhere to determine my monthly usage.
Any ideas if this can be checked in the router software?
However, there are some better deals on there than I'm on so I will have to consider them along side sky.

As far as I am aware AOL don't have a cap on usage..

Nice to hear Sky don't have a fair usage policy -- neither to Virgin - I saw that on watchdog.

 

[Spinal]

As far as I am aware AOL don't have a cap on usage..

Nice to hear Sky don't have a fair usage policy -- neither to Virgin - I saw that on watchdog.

While Virgin may not have a fair use policy (which sounds odd) they do have a download cap from 4pm to 9pm (last I checked... they keep changing the times on me).

If you download too much in any given hour in that period, your max download/upload gets limited. That's not the worst though, they also restrict the maximum number of active connections to 100 or so; so iPlayer becomes useless (any any torrenting applications you may use).

Real pain in the...

M.