I'm moving into a new flat on Sunday & being the geek that I am one of my utmost priorities is to get the BT line connected & sign up with a decent ISP.
I am one of 4 flatmates, but the other 3 aren't particularily technically-minded & I don't suppose our mothly usage is going to be that great, however it's amazing how quickly youtube/iPlayer can rack up the total, so I'm looking for an 'unlimited' plan with a fair usage policy that isn't utter balls.
Now because I live in a little historic town fairly removed from anywhere, there is no cable/fibre/etc. My choice is completely limited to basic BT IPStream ADSL, with the local exchange enabled for a theoretical maximum of 6.5-8Mb/s (depending on which source you believe). I'm not worried that I'm not going to be breaking any speed records, moreso that I don't get stuck with a crippling usage cap. NO company has yet unbundled the exchange, which means I can't get Be whatsoever nor can I get O2's normal plans (I can however get their 'home access' plan for substantially more cost).
So I'm looking for recommendations on a semi-decent ISP that doesn't cost a fortune. We have the lease for 12 months, so a 12 month contract is possible as long as it's a decent service. I have plenty of wired networking hardware, but my flatmates will all want wireless for their laptops, so a 'free' wireless router would be nice. O2 offer a 'free' wireless router & don't charge a connection fee, which somewhat offsets the high price. Before you ask, I'm not an O2 mobile customer but I haven't asked my flatmates yet.
O2 are looking to be the best so far in terms of QoS, but that is £22.50 a month for an 8Mbit 'unlimited' connection, which might be a bit pricey for my flatmates to swallow.
I've also been recommended to look at Demon.net by a long time friend & long time customer, however looking around review sites it seems that they're fairly bad.
So any advice, recommendations or companies to avoid?