(no subject)

[bubosquared]

So at my new place, there's a Telewest box thing against the wall, which means I could get Telewest, or I could transfer my BT line and stay with BT+Freedom2Surf, if that's even possible. Telewest currently have a promo on where you get their "starter package" for cable TV, telephone, and broadband, for £30/month. I'm considering going with that, but I'm not sure if Telewest (Blueyonder) are actually any good as far as ISPs go, and the numbers they quote mean little to nothing to me, so. Um. Help? Advise?

(Hm, on further investigation, I can get the starter package including a phone line for £15/month, and then I can stay with F2S, which I'd prefer. At least I think I can put another ISPs broadband connection onto a Telewest line. Must investigate further. Advise still welcome!)

Comments

[kaiberie.livejournal.com]

I'm with Blueyonder and my modem rarely dies on me - I don't get any trouble about the amount I download and upload (given what I read and write, and the amount of sites I fix and design this IS a huge consideration with me) and my phone bill (eith tv for the kids, phone line and internet) usually averages about £50 a month. I've been with BY for two+ years now, and I don't have some of the problems some of my BT freinds have.
It USED to crash spectacularly, and email was...wierd for a while, cause they broke something, but it's not too bad now.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It's looking like I've not much choice anyway, but at least it's good to know it won't be too bad. :)

[wibbble]

You can only use F2S if you have a BT phone line. If you have a cable company line, you're limited to their broadband or no broadband.

I used Blueyonder dialup in the dim and distant past, and it was abominable.

If you use Blueyonder/Telewest you're unlikely to be able to host anything on the line, which may or may not be a consideration.

What numbers did they quote? I can interpret for you. :o)

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

You can only use F2S if you have a BT phone line. If you have a cable company line, you're limited to their broadband or no broadband.

So I just realised, yeah. Bugger. :/

I used Blueyonder dialup in the dim and distant past, and it was abominable.

Hm. They might have improved since then, I suppose, and kaiberie says she likes them, and well, I don't have all that much of a choice, sadly.

If you use Blueyonder/Telewest you're unlikely to be able to host anything on the line, which may or may not be a consideration.

At this point, it's not looking like I'm going to be hosting much in the near future. By the time I get a new computer or whatever and want to / can start doing stuff like that I'll probably have moved again already.

What numbers did they quote? I can interpret for you. :o)

Included in the 3 for 30 package is their slowest broadband connection (second collumn), but I really don't know if that's anywhere near as fast as I'm used to, and which one I'd need if I want something roughly equivalent to F2S's speed.

[wibbble]

That package is half the speed of what you currently have. The next one up, though, is twice the speed of what you currently have (and is the speed that we have, although through a different ISP, obviously).

It's also worth noting that to get the special prices (£15/month for 256k + phone line and £20/month for 1mb) you have to sign a 12 month contract, and that the 1Mb line will go up to £25/month after three months. (In comparison, though, after VAT we're paying £40/month for 1Mb - but that's with an extremely good ISP, and with /8/ static IP addresses and free reign to run our own servers.)

Don't ignore the BT phone line option, though: call up BT and ask if there's a suitable line to your flat. Most places with cable also have a BT line around from before there was cable.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Hrm, I'll look into relative prices for Telewest vs BT+F2S or whatever, though I think I might go with TW. (Do you know if I could get a BT line even if I get TV cable from TW? Because there's no aerial box that I can see, and I'd rather not have to futz about with indoor antennas.)

[wibbble]

The physical lines are separate, so BT and Telewest don't know, or care, if you use products from the other one. :o)

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Hmmm ... *goes to check this with BT* Thanks!

[wibbble]

If you call BT and give them your address, they can check right there on the phone if you have the hardware required for a line.

If you don't, then stick with Telewest, since it'd be expensive to get a line in - but if there's a line there already, then it's no big deal to get it activated and get a BT phone line. In my experience, they can have it live by 9am the next morning.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

It might be a bit longer for me since I'd like to keep my number, but I'm calling tonight. (Um. Note to self: locate latest BT bill so you have your customer number. Ahem.)

[wibbble]

You can only keep the same number if you're in the same exchange area. Where did you move to?

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Gorgie, which is EH11. No idea if that's the same area or not, though. O_o

[wibbble]

Almost certainly not the same exchange, so you'll have to get a new number.

[kaiberie.livejournal.com]

If you're looking to host stuff, look at a company called 'demon'.

Or poke me - I've got spare server space going

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

I was mostly looking to (once I get the iBook I so deserately crave) turn my computer into a file server for stuff like MP3s etc. I have a pretty good host for my domains right now, so. :)

[wibbble]

While Demon are my all time favouritest ISP in the world wide world ('wibbble' originates from my time with them, even!), last time I checked they were terrible value for money for ADSL (which is what we're talking about here, regarding 'hosting' - bubosquared hosting her own stuff on her own connection).