Need new ISP, any advice?

[Sacred]

I'm currently with Tiscali but having my connection changed over to TalkTalk who have apparently purchased Tiscali, I'm worried about the price going up to £28+ as advertised through the TalkTalk website.


My speeds are around 2-4mbs and I'm on Tiscalis package that I use to pay around £12 a month for, I don't really want to pay anymore but since looking at the TalkTalk website they only seem to offer call and broadband packages which I don't want I only want broadband.


Can anyone advise which ISPs are worth taking a look at? I live in Sedgefield, County Durham on this phone exchange http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/NESFE I'm approx 200m away from the location of the exchange as the crow flys and no more than 350m by road (not sure how much difference this makes)


I get changed over on the 24th Jan so am looking at starting the change over within the week.



Thanks,
Sacred

[killie99]

At 200m from the exchange you should be getting over 7mb - I live 3.5km from my exchange and get 4mb! I'm using Freedom to Surf, been with them for a number of years and no real problems. Down side may be that they were part of the Tiscali group and might end up being 'TalkTalk' some time in the future.

[watercooled]

You should consider Be/O2 (you get basically the same thing from both of them since they use the same network) but first check here that "O2 / Be LLU" has a tick next to it after entering your phone number/postcode.

[Sacred]

Hey guys,

I've just ran a check on speedtest.net which give me 2.5mbs download and 0.37mbs upload and the speed I'm on Tiscalis upto 8mb service. Are the results off this website reliable?

Using that link everything has a red x next to it, according to the link from my first post I only have ADSL available from my exchange and nothing else.

Having checked the o2 and Be websites neither say I'm able to get their broadband and the cheapest o2 package I can get is £23 a month which is very expensive.

Does this mean I'm going to be stuck at the mercy of TalkTalk???


**EDIT**

I've just ran a check through Nildram UK and they say this about my telephone exchange:

Results for exchange: Sedgefield
Congestion
Congestion status on this exchange is RED.

Your telephone line has been identified as being on a congested exchange. If you are receiving varying speeds between 400kbs - 2000kbs at different times of the day this is likely to be a result of the congestion issue.

A provisional date of Dec 13, 2008 has been set for upgrading this exchange.

Samknows says I'm not enabled for ADSL2 and that the 21CN PSTN switchover target is Q4 2009..... I kinda get the feeling BT simply couldn't care less. Especially with the provisional date for fixing the congestion problem on the exchange being over a year old!

[watercooled]

Well having crossds next to everything means you can't get any LLU services in your area i.e. anything you get is going to be a BT wholesale line so the speed you're getting now is likely the fastest you can get (overlooked the link in your first post before sorry). You can shop around companies to see who can give you the cheapest deal, I beleive the Post Office are supposed to be cheap. To try to get faster speed you could try disconnecting the bell wire in your BT sockets around the house, this helps significantly for some people but don't expect speeds to increase instantly as it sometimes takes a while but remember to reboot your router occasionally until you see an increase. Speedtest is normally fairly reliable but it sometimes servers get overloaded so it displays a slower speed. The Birmingham server is normally OK for me.

[Sacred]

Hate to be a total pain, I've not changed ISPs since 2006 and now I can't find any that offer just broadband??? Everyone seems to only offer broadband AND phone, is this common practice now? And more importantly is it possible to still get just broadband without any phone package?

[watercooled]

You can get broadband without a phone package but I think you'd still need to pay around £10 per month for line rental. TBH I'm not really sure who to recommend for a non-LLU service but you could put your postcode into this website to see what's available to you. http://www.comparebroadband.co.uk/home-broadband/

[Antagram]

Do you know how much bandwidth you use a month?

There are some highly rated ISP's that don't throttle/traffic shape. But if you need 20GB a month then prices will be more than you like, .e.g.
Fast.co.uk
ID Net
Newnet
Zen

[Sacred]

Having looked about I can't seem to find anyone whos offering just a broadband package thats offering unlimited bandwith without things like phone or TV. So I'm just going to have to see whats going to come of the Tiscali // TalkTalk buyout and hope they don't stuff me over on the new tariff.

What happened to the days when we had the choice to have each service from a seperate company? Seems like were being forced into getting everything from one company only these days and 18 month contracts?? Madness, total madness!

[sjdrew]

I am currently with O2 in central london, with discount as being an O2 customer. Have to say, for london, great service so far and the price is very cheap. 12 pound or so for 20mpbs is really a great deal, unlimited.

[Sacred]

I am currently with O2 in central london, with discount as being an O2 customer. Have to say, for london, great service so far and the price is very cheap. 12 pound or so for 20mpbs is really a great deal, unlimited.

I'm not on the o2 broadband network only thing they can offer me is an access package at £22.50 a month or £17.50 if I become an o2 phone customer (which I don't want and/or need)
Think it kinda sucks to live in the middle of no where like I do if you want a decent broadband service

[Phage]

I'm in a very similar situation to you. BT re-sellers only on a RED exchange.
I use Plusnet and I get 3.5Mb down and 365k up. The usage I've just increased to 80Gb, and I pay £20 for that. The line rental I can get through BT, but it's cheaper through Plusnet at £11.
I've found their support to be quite good on the few occaisons that I have had to use them.

[Jay]

see if webtapestry.net can get you anything.

[Chan]

Hey guys,

Instead of starting new thread gonna post here... tired of this crap with virgin so have been going through all available options today according to samknows:

The following services are available in your location:
BT Wholesale ADSL
BT Wholesale ADSL Max
O2 / Be LLU
TalkTalk (CPW) LLU
Sky Broadband / Easynet LLU
Orange LLU (Formerly Wanadoo)
EMNET Nottingham Wireless Broadband
Virgin Media (Cable)

and my distance from the exchange is 2.98 km (straight line).

I'm mainly considering the Be Pro package 24/2.5 for £21 + bt line or O2 Pro 20/2.5 for £17.50 + bt line (altho I've been O2 mobile user for 5+ years so I'm sure I could haggle it lower). Now for the big question, with that distance from exchange what speeds can I expect from those?

[daniel_owen_uk]

3-4Mb nothing special at all.

I would suspect Virgin would be quicker (but obviously you are having issues).

[Flibb]

Chuck your phone number in to the bethere speed checker thing
https://www.bethere.co.uk/web/beportal/homepage