Acey Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Looking for some advice from KBers with experience in this sort of area, please! My flat is currently "with" Virgin Media (easy choice to make; we already had a Telewest box here when we moved in). We're paying for their XL service, which promises 20MB broadband. This is the speed of my broadband: Before you ask, no, we don't download stuff excessively. The simple fact is, we've never had speeds of anywhere near 20MB. Also, that speed isn't a wireless one (our router's knackered; I'm connected with an ethernet cable at the moment). Anyway, we want to switch to a broadband supplier who will actually give us value for money. We have a BT line installed in our flat, but it's switched off. Can anyone recommend a good supplier for us? I've heard good things about Be; has anyone ever had any problems with them? Also, will we need to pay line rental, and (if so) how much would this be? Cheers for your help, gents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makateer Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Have you contacted Virgin about your problem with your connection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazo Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Be ISP are the best around at the moment IMO. Decent speeds and decent pricing. Although speed test sites are not the best I have to say there must be a problem somewhere along the line to get those sort of speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadgey55 Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Thats my speed at the moment. Pretty crap considering it's meant to be 20Mb/s. This is the first the PC has been on the day as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Winchester Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Pretty poor as well considering it's meant to be 20 but it can vary... Done it about the same time yesterday and got 14500kbps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CompleteIdiot Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Looking for some advice from KBers with experience in this sort of area, please! My flat is currently "with" Virgin Media (easy choice to make; we already had a Telewest box here when we moved in). We're paying for their XL service, which promises 20MB broadband. This is the speed of my broadband: Before you ask, no, we don't download stuff excessively. The simple fact is, we've never had speeds of anywhere near 20MB. Also, that speed isn't a wireless one (our router's knackered; I'm connected with an ethernet cable at the moment). Anyway, we want to switch to a broadband supplier who will actually give us value for money. We have a BT line installed in our flat, but it's switched off. Can anyone recommend a good supplier for us? I've heard good things about Be; has anyone ever had any problems with them? Also, will we need to pay line rental, and (if so) how much would this be? Cheers for your help, gents. Stick your details in here and see if your exchange is LLU. That is how you get decent speeds. In exchanges where Be* have unbundled, they use their own equipment instead of BT's equipment. A few other providers have unbundled too (look for ADSL Max). http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php I think you said once you live in Morningside although that may have been someone else. Anyhoo, the Morningside exchange is unbundled and you can get Be*. http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange.php?ecode=ESMOR You can get Virgin TV only but I am pretty sure you need to subscribe to the XL package. You'll also need to check when you signed a contract with Virgin as they have a business model where they force you to use their service for 12 months when you sign up. The steps would be to get a BT phone line. Install ADSL and then downgrade to Virgin XL TV only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Chat Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 I'm paying Virgin for 4 meg and this is what I'm getting (via a router) There must be some sort of problem with your line Acey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Say What Again Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Be ISP are the best around at the moment IMO. Decent speeds and decent pricing. Do you use them yourself Dazo? I was looking at them earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CompleteIdiot Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Do you use them yourself Dazo? I was looking at them earlier. I do. They're pretty good. They have some DNS problems but that can be sorted by changing the DNS entry in the router to the OpenDNS ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazo Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Do you use them yourself Dazo? I was looking at them earlier. Yes i do mate and using newsgroups i get about 17-18meg for ?18 a month. That is without any capping or throttling etc. Speedtest is showing about 13-14 but they are always alot slower than your actual download speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Say What Again Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Can anyone recommend a good supplier for us? I've heard good things about Be; has anyone ever had any problems with them? Acey, From this months PC Review: Two offers stand out in particular this month, both of which are amazing deals that will suit different people. The first deal from Be Broadband is great for users that will be downloading lots from the internet, as the Be Broadband Pro package offers 24MB speeds with no download limit for only ?22 per month. This offer is simply unbeatable, coming in head and shoulders above the competition in terms of speed to price ratio. Secondly, AOL have an offer that is amazing for people wanting general internet usage with a Free Laptop worth ?450. There isn't any other offer like this around, and for ?19.99 per month for a very good broadband connection with free wireless router and a free laptop this is going to be very tempting to any user. The free laptop is yours to keep, and the broadband is no more expensive than many other similar packages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Say What Again Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Yes i do mate and using newsgroups i get about 17-18meg for ?18 a month. That is without any capping or throttling etc. Cheers Dazo. I'm sick to the back teeth of AOL and am going to switch. A guy at the work mentioned Be, then I saw the bit from PC Review (above), then you mentioned them. I think I'll give them a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazo Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Cheers Dazo. I'm sick to the back teeth of AOL and am going to switch. A guy at the work mentioned Be, then I saw the bit from PC Review (above), then you mentioned them. I think I'll give them a go. AOL is about as bad as you can get mate, firslty though i would check your stats(exchange distance etc) before you get the full 24meg package. If you are not going to get above 8meg you may aswell save a few quid and get the Value package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazo Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 A few sites that some might find useful before deciding to swap provider. ADSL Choices - HERE Find your current line stats - HERE Estimate your likely speed - HERE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Say What Again Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 A few sites that some might find useful before deciding to swap provider. ADSL Choices - HERE Find your current line stats - HERE Estimate your likely speed - HERE Brilliant mate. Thanks a lot. I'm at work just now so I'll check those when I get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazo Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Have listed mine to give you a comparison and maybe a another idea of what you are likely to get. Downstream Connection Speed 17864 kbps Line Attenuation 24.5 db Noise Margin 7.0 db Upstream Connection Speed 1300 kbps Line Attenuation 10.5 db Noise Margin 7.0 db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acey Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Stick your details in here and see if your exchange is LLU. That is how you get decent speeds. In exchanges where Be* have unbundled, they use their own equipment instead of BT's equipment. A few other providers have unbundled too (look for ADSL Max). http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php I think you said once you live in Morningside although that may have been someone else. Anyhoo, the Morningside exchange is unbundled and you can get Be*. http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange.php?ecode=ESMOR You can get Virgin TV only but I am pretty sure you need to subscribe to the XL package. You'll also need to check when you signed a contract with Virgin as they have a business model where they force you to use their service for 12 months when you sign up. The steps would be to get a BT phone line. Install ADSL and then downgrade to Virgin XL TV only. Cheers CI; to be honest, I was trying to decide whether to make this thread or just PM you! I live nearest to the Fountainbridge one, apparently. According to the site you linked to, Be works there, and I don't think I'm too far away from it...let me get my map out! I don't have any TV/phone service from Virgin; just broadband. makateer: phoned Mumbai this morning and they gave me some p*sh about pop-ups causing it. Some powerful ******* pop-ups! Be look like being a serious contender for my cash. I take it I'll have to pay BT line rental, right? How much is this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CompleteIdiot Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Cheers CI; to be honest, I was trying to decide whether to make this thread or just PM you! I live nearest to the Fountainbridge one, apparently. According to the site you linked to, Be works there, and I don't think I'm too far away from it...let me get my map out! I don't have any TV/phone service from Virgin; just broadband. makateer: phoned Mumbai this morning and they gave me some p*sh about pop-ups causing it. Some powerful ******* pop-ups! Be look like being a serious contender for my cash. I take it I'll have to pay BT line rental, right? How much is this? Yes. You will need a BT phone line. Prices below. http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayCategory.do?categoryId=CON-TOG-OPT-R1&s_cid=con_FURL_calls_choices http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumer/consumerProducts/pdf/UKInternationalprices.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N User Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 cable is the best ASDL is rank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossi_1983 Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Talk Talk is the way forward! Phone line rental and 8mbps broadband for a grand total of ?10.50 a month! I was wondering though, does anyone know of a broadband provider that doesn't make you sign a 12 month contract? My sister wants internet, but in 4 months her fiancee is moving in, and he has a tv/broadband package that he is signed up to so is going to transfer that over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acey Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Yes. You will need a BT phone line. Prices below. http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayCategory.do?categoryId=CON-TOG-OPT-R1&s_cid=con_FURL_calls_choices http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumer/consumerProducts/pdf/UKInternationalprices.pdf Cheers. ?10.50 a month isn't too bad, and hopefully it'll be worth it for a much-improved broadband service... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazo Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 cable is the bestASDL is rank. That used to be the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
systemx Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 BE now in all Edinburgh exchanges and a good few further afield Muss/Bath/Brox.Was in Morningside OLO Hostel yesterday checking fans on BE cab(BE is O2 owned).Used to work in Morningside Exchange as switch maint engineer hence the name Systemx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Say What Again Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 A few sites that some might find useful before deciding to swap provider. ADSL Choices - HERE Find your current line stats - HERE Estimate your likely speed - HERE Apologies for being a pest, I'm not too clued up on these things. samknows tells me I'm 1.47km from the Portobello Exchange and lists: Broadband availability overview ADSL: Yes SDSL: Yes (via LLU operator) LLU services: Yes Cable: Yes Wireless: No Does that mean I wouldn't get broadband with a wireless router? (Sorry if that seems obvious but my mate has wireless and he's 2 mins round the corner). The 3rd site you listed gives me a report of: We estimate that if using a rate adaptive up to 8Mbps service your maximum line speed will be: 8128Kbps So if I use 24Mb I could potentially get more? Any advice greatly appreciated mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazo Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Apologies for being a pest, I'm not too clued up on these things. samknows tells me I'm 1.47km from the Portobello Exchange and lists: Broadband availability overview ADSL: Yes SDSL: Yes (via LLU operator) LLU services: Yes Cable: Yes Wireless: No Does that mean I wouldn't get broadband with a wireless router? (Sorry if that seems obvious but my mate has wireless and he's 2 mins round the corner). No mate it means there are no wireless ISP's in your area. Using a wireless router will be fine. The 3rd site you listed gives me a report of: We estimate that if using a rate adaptive up to 8Mbps service your maximum line speed will be: 8128Kbps So if I use 24Mb I could potentially get more? Any advice greatly appreciated mate. Potentially yes, however what did the bottom 2 boxes say from that site ? Also what are you line stats ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Say What Again Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Potentially yes, however what did the bottom 2 boxes say from that site ? Also what are you line stats ? If your service provider uses ADSL2+ we estimate you may manage line speeds of: 19097Kbps With ADSL2+ the maximum IP throughput is likely to be around: 16900Kbps Is that the stats you mean? All of the above are assuming I entered correctly in the 1st place: Current Line Sync (connection) speed in Kilo bits per second (Kbps): 5888 (which I took from Line rate Rx/Tx) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazo Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 If your service provider uses ADSL2+ we estimate you may manage line speeds of: 19097Kbps With ADSL2+ the maximum IP throughput is likely to be around: 16900Kbps Is that the stats you mean? Yep thats the ones, although that site is only a estimate it is safe to assume you will get more than 8meg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Say What Again Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Seriously mate, thanks for all the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharky999 Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 02 thats the way to go:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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