Broadband & 'Phone Packages

[whiskeryron]

We presently have our 'phone & broadband with B.T & are thinking of changing our I.S.P.
As subscribers to Orange mobile phones we are at present looking at the package offered by Orange for their 'phone & Broadband system which looks very attractive both in cost & facilities, however several reviews suggest that the quality of connection, reliability & customer service leave much to be desired, is anyone on A/B using their package & what are your experiences?
Companies that get particularly good reviews seem to be B.E & Zen does anyone have experience of these companies ? Ron.

[redman41]

I'm in the same situation as you whiskeyron.
i have a basic PAYG Orange Mobile but BT supplies me with Landline and Broadband Option 2 which I am happy with as it is reliable.
Not sure what Orange are like with Broadband.

[arwyn]

ron don't go with orange as I could write a book on how bad they are, so could My Sister.
We were paying for internet that was never there. I know a few People who bought themselfs out of the contract.

[Giggsie]

I have orange broadband and never once had a problem. Only time in years that I had to phone was to help me setup new router and found them really helpful spoke me through it step by step and I could understand him.

[deggers316]

we've been with orange for 8 years or more, never had a problem except with a router which was duly replaced by them, were paying for unlimited download at 20 mb speed and getting 20mb (checked by speedtest net) though we are only 5 min walk from the exchange, were on a £10 per month package

[gingejbee]

Another smaller player to consider is Plusnet - and ,of the big boys, O2 is a Which? Best Buy.

[ChuckFickens]

Plusnets traffic shaping is pretty extreme at times though.

http://www.plus.net/s...download_speeds.shtml

[theshedman]

Have to agree with arwyn on this one and say Orange were terrible. At the time I was with them I was supposed to be on 8meg speed and the quickest I ever got was 1meg when it was working that was. Phoned them on numerous occasions and they said it was because of the distance I lived from the exchange. Since leaving them and going first with the Post Office and now with Sky I am now getting speeds of up to 6Meg and no connection problems at all.

[johnk]

How do you find out how far from the exchange you are?

[ChuckFickens]

John

http://www.samknows.c...band/exchange_mapping

[Davethedog]

Plusnet advertise as no monthly contract yet their package says 18months, it also has an installation fee and limited download, though quite large and its £12 more a monthn i'm paying on AOL for unlimited.

I think it all depends where you live and how you recieve it, it probably is better to canvass friends and neighbours rather than us.

[gingejbee]

Ofcom recently published a "list of shame" based on number of complaints received about ISPs: (worst first) TalkTalk, BSkyB, BT, T Mobile, Orange, Vodaphone, O2, Virgin Media (best) .For mobile providers: (worst first) Three UK, T mobile, Orange, Vodaphone and O2 (best).

[ChuckFickens]

AOL?

Otherwise known as fisher price my first broadband!

[Davethedog]

Chuck I have had problems but in the main its been very good, when questions like this pop up, it shows how diverse broadband is around the country.

My PC is on from 6am to 12pm or later. I have 2 daughters and my wife is constantly downloading stuff. Apart from a few downs I have never had a problem and I pay £11.99 a month for it.

[ChuckFickens]

To be fair, AOL's service when it comes to supplying broadband isn't too bad.

their software is crap though and is really hard to fully remove from a system once it's been installed.

[Davethedog]

Chuck only a fool would argue with you when it comes to tech and I am not that fool :-)

I am going to get a new PC before christmas I might look around then, who do you use?

I notice AOL get in neither side of gingejbee's list.

[ChuckFickens]

I personally use plusnet, hence why I know about the traffic shaping (which is noticeable) but I have the pro add on at an extra £5 a month which removes all of the traffic shaping so I (in theory) get the maximum available line speed at all times.

In practice this means my speed fluctuates between about 6Mb/s to 8.5Mb/s (I pay for upto 8!)

[Old_Geezer]

There are sites that gather ISP user experiences and rate them.
Can't recall them now but I'm sure if you use a search engine they'll be top of the list somewhere.

[gingejbee]

Dave: AOL part of TalkTalk. Nuff said!

[whiskeryron]

Thanx to all who have so far replied.Just to repeat does anyone have experience of BE or Zen broadband ? Ron.

[Davethedog]

AOL part of TalkTalk?? They wish. AOL are a global company they could probably buy Talk Talk with the coffee money. Talk Talk I think have some sort of portal agreement with AOL

Never used Talk Talk, can only tell you I have never had any real problems with AOL if I do i'm off.