ISP choice

digitalfailure

digitalfailure

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Brian
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Hi chaps

I've been with eclipse internet for a number of years now and they've always said that the maximum speed I could get was 1.1mbps due to the distance from the exchange. :(

Now, reliability has always been good, but I'm paying 23 quid a month inc vat, so I decided to do some of the online speed checks that littler the internet.

Bt wholesale's site didn't really give a straight answer. The first paragraph said I could have broadband of 2mbps and the second paragraph said I could possibly get upto 8mbps but the speed would be set after 2 weeks as an average of the most stable speed.

I don't want to go through all the bother of migrating to a new isp to find out that i'm still stuck on 1.1mbps

so, what isp's are good.....cheap.....reliable ?
 
We've been with Virgin for some years now and they have always been reliable. Try this link and enter your postcode to see what you can get. Some of the broadband and phone packages seem good.
But the site is split into cable and non cable so watch out and make sure if what your looking at you can actually use.
 
Depends on how much you download.

Up to 8 meg is ADSL Max, which is adaptive to your line length/quality.

Grab me on MSN with your phone number and postcode, and I'll let you know :)
 
speaking of downloads, how are you supposed to know how much you actually use?

I'm on an unlimited account, but don't often download films anymore.
 
What Stat's are reported on your router mate.

How far away from the exchange are you.

I was told I would be lucky to get 512mb when I first applied, I am getting over 5Mb now with a little cheating with a program called the DMT Tool that works alongside my Thomson Speedtouch router...;)

If the checker says you can get 2Mb you can be certain you will get more. Guaranteed.:thumbs:

I moved to Zen last year after years with Nildram and have never looked back. Perfect ISP IMO.:)
 
I spent a couple of years on 512 and they finally upgraded the whole package as all the other isp's were offering better deals.

Re..Stats.......what details are you thinking of?
 
If you are using a router what is your sync speed and dB line noise.:)

If you are using an ADSL modem these stats could be hard to find.:(

Marcel should be back soon with the results.;)
 
I have a netgear 834g router and i can't find any of that info in the pages of it :(
 
I wouldn't have thought it would matter which company it was....do they not all have the same access to the speeds?

Could you check with neighbours to see if anyone else gets a decent speed?

I thought that 'contention ratio' was something to watch for and I know that Eclipse always used to have one of the lowest (don't know if that is still true).
 
when i first went on eclipse they used to claim a 20:1 ratio

I just can't help feeling i could get an equal speed cheaper or a much greater speed for the same money.


whats the costs of your packages?
 
Brian. My first thought was that the chances are you would have a similar bandwidth no matter who you are with. But then I thought about where you live. You're hardly out in the sticks, are you?

You should be getting much more than that. But my first concern still applies - if there is a great distance between you and the exchange then you may not be able to get much better.

So the next best thing to do is to ensure you have the best value for money. Now I could tell you of an (up to) 8 Mpbs service available in parts of CH4 that would only cost £8.99 :thumbs: But you wouldn't believe, so I won't :razz:
 
John, :thumbs:

I am almost at the far reaches of the exchange, in fact our exchange was miles behind the rest of Chester and there were major problems with BT getting mine and several other lines working reliably when it first went live. IIRC we had a thread on adslguide that spanned about 20 pages :D
 
I am on tesco BB Yeah Yeah I know that they get the p1$$ taken
1 gig £17.99 / month unlimited. expensive yes compared to some BUT I have not had a single problem with them I guess its cause I am the only one on it and have the whole bandwidth to myself :lol:
It runs constantly @ 1152/288 Kbps and thats with 3 laptops leaching as well :D

10 pop 3 email addy's thrown in, there is also some web space as well but I have as yet been able to find how to use it! I will stick to front page its easier

Oh I think I will delete this rather than send it if you get on here DF that will half my band width... bad idead......... bad idea........ :D
 
BT ADSL broadband availability
You are connected to the ************** telephone exchange.

ADSL is available in your area
Your exchange is also enabled for ADSL Max services

According to BT Wholesale, your line should be able to support a 3.5Mbps or greater ADSL connection via ADSL Max.

Standard ADSL RAG results:

You cannot receive 2Mbps ADSL
You may be able to receive 1Mbps ADSL
You can receive 512Kbps ADSL
You can receive 256Kbps ADSL


I'm already on a 1.1kbps service :eek:

But from that you can see what i mean......i may be able to have 3.5mbps....and then i can't have 2mbps :cuckoo:
 
Try getting some Fujitsu FDX100 filters, or BT faceplate ones and ask your ISP to re-train your line (if you're on a max service)

Max works differently, and some lines that can't get much out of standard ADSL benefit a lot more from the Max service. If stability is an issue, you can have interleaving enabled which increases your latency by 20ms or so, but results in a more stable connection.
 
I have no idea what kind of line it is.

I signed up for ADSL years ago
 
Probably just a standard ADSL line then. Call up Eclipse, ask if they can put you back if Max yields a slower line speed - and grab yourself some filters from www.clarity.it. Eclipse aren't a bad company from what I've heard. The bigger companies tend to have more resilient networks and more competitive pricing, but when something does go wrong it's often very difficult to get it sorted promptly.

In my experience if it's too good to be true, it probably is. I've heard nothing but bad news about the free broadband providers such as TalkTalk, Orange, and Sky who will tie you in to a 12-month contract so you'll have to grin and bear it.

I'm with Andrews & Arnold, who are by no means the cheapest provider but their service is second to none, and I think I get a great deal for my money. I'm on an 8Mbit/400K service with a 3GB/month usage limit which applies to peak times (8am-6pm Mon-Fri). I'm in the office during these times, so I've never come close to hitting my limit (even with 2 servers whirring away 24/7, as the upload isn't counted). If I want to download something, I'll do it when I get in or overnight. They do low-usage tariffs aswell for less than £20.

I used to be with www.f2s.com but they've gone downhill since being bought out by Pipex. I think Nildram have suffered a similar fate.

To be honest, I'd see what Eclipse are offering now for what you're already paying. You could probably get a faster service for the same money - but since you're a borderline 1Mbit, check if they can put you back on your current service if Max doesn't work out.

Hope this helps instead of confuses you more.
 
Believe this or believe it not when the man from BT first came to my house (as I asked for a manual line test) he got out of his van and said "Not a bloody chance in hell mate"..:bang: Far too far from the exchange..:(

I made sure I was here for his visit and was very quick to offer him £20 in his arse pocket if he could get me ADSL as I was paying an absolute fortune for Satellite ADSL at the time.:(

Once he saw the crispy £20 note he quickly put his laptop back in his van and got another one out and said "you'll have some broadband now mate with this laptop" and gave me the wink..:nuts:

Run his tests back to his work mate back at our exchange and sure enough I have never looked back.

This is on a line that said I would struggle to get 512Mb and still does.:geek:

Ask for a manual test on your line from your ISP mate, They are obliged to do this if you request it and make sure you have a drink ready for him wink wink..;)
 
AOL Platinum.

Speed 20gig, unlimited downloads, always connected, and blindingly quick.

Expensive, but I've never had a disconnect, and connection via their software is instantaneous, and very stable.

It takes me about 5 sec to upload a 2mb file to photobucket or imageshack.
 
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