ISPs

byron

byron

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Joined
16 May 2001
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9,584
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UK -Berks
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On learning C&W were closing down I was desperate for a decent ISP. I tried Surfanytime........slooooow I tried Freeserve Anytime even slooooower. I didn't bother with BT for obvious reasons, AOL is a non-starter for a multitude of reasons. I dredged the net and read up on ISP reviews from all sorts of sources. Finally I settled on the one I signed with today. I can only say.... 1st rate. Fast with excellent ping times. I tried their help line (local rate call) and the guy at the other end knew what he was talking about, indeed he sussed me almost immediately. Thoroughly recommended. If anyone is interested I have put a link up at:
http://www.education-jobs.co.uk/useful_links.htm

ô¿ô
www.education-jobs.co.uk
www.alexander-advertising.co.uk
 
rogerroger

rogerroger

New member
Joined
11 Jul 2001
Messages
863
Location
West Sussex
www.myboatdetails.com
I've recently got cable from blueyonder (Telewest) - always on, super fast and generally very reliable.

I can download movies and MP3s in no time and don't have to put up with that awful racket the modem makes.

It's well worth the £25 per month (if you have another TW service, £33 otherwise) - but obviously the main thing is whether or not they cover your area.

I was Editor for BT Internet for 18 months and it WAS a good service - the fact that I got disconnected after 2 or 3 minutes finally pushed me towards Broadband (mind you, I cancelled my gym membership to justify it and am now a fat b*st*rd and get out of breath pulling up the mains'l

Roger Holden
www.first-magnitude.co.uk
 
G

Guest

Guest
I agree that cable modems in ntl and Telewest cable franchises are by far the best way to get quality speed at a reasonable price, but I wonder how long this will remain as the number of subs ride - its a shared resource, and the more users in a local area using the service, the slower it will get.

Otherwise, if you liked C&W dial-up, then move to ntlworld...its the same company after ntl bought C&W. I believe they have won the best consumer ISP recently, and they give 24*7 free access if you spend £15 per month with them on regular phone calls.
 
rogerroger

rogerroger

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Joined
11 Jul 2001
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863
Location
West Sussex
www.myboatdetails.com
Indeed - but look how the quality of dial-up accounts has deteriorated over the past year as the the toll-free services increased subscibers without increasing the ability to handle it. If you're serious about using the net I just don't think a dial-up is now a viable option.

While I was at BT Internet the marketing muppets aimed to increase subscriber numbers to over 1,000,000 - the techies said the system couldn't cope with 100,000!!

The same could happen to cable but cable also has the potential of 2 MBPS and more. It's also a good way to market the cable service in the face of Sky (I have both of course... I'm a sad marketeer's dream...) so I'm sure they won't let bandwidth drop too much.

...btw - cheers for your help today! Hallyards, sheets and warps are now having a bath...

Roger Holden
www.first-magnitude.co.uk
 
david_e

david_e

Active member
Joined
1 Oct 2001
Messages
2,188
www.touraine.blogspot.com
thanks Byron will have a close gander later, i am not a great techie but I have used freeserve and have done since I went on line. They had a spell earlier this year when it was difficult to connect but otherwise for occassional use down a normal BT line it is fine. The next step is the children want to use it more so I need a net nanny. Someone said AOL are good for this as each users age group is controlled, what are the problems you mention. Any hints/tips welcomed.
 
G

Guest

Guest
I have a couple of ISP's.

For my mobile stuff from a 9210 or palm and phone for web and mail I use Enterprise in the Isle of Man.

At home I use broadband, before I moved to my current house I was with NTL (before access through your set top box) and when it was good it was good but when it was bad it stunk. When they changed signal strength it took 12 days to send out a guy to fit a new intenuator.

Now I use BT Openworld and as yet have no problems with them.

The big problem with always on connections is the amount of attempted attacks on the machine, and dipsh1t with a port sniffer noe thinks they are a hacker and try to send upd packages to you machine. If you go broadband get a firewall, on average I have 50 attempts to access my system a day and if you are not protected one little bugger will get through
 
V

VMALLOWS

New member
Joined
9 Oct 2001
Messages
389
Location
Emsworth, Chichester Harbour, UK
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Roger, or any others:

What tools do you recommend for monitoring actual connection speeds?
I'm getting a consistent 42k , sometimes better on AOL as measured by some test site at eircom.net. (it loads a GIF image file). Have been 'out of the game' for 4 or 5 years so will appreciate any info.

Have not really had complaints with AOL over a couple of months. Only 1 or 2 drops a week. My perception is that response is mainly governed by the server you're talking to.

An observation in case it helps anyone.....don't underestimate the importance of your house telephone wiring. My speed drops to absurd levels if I the answer-phone/FAX/speakerphone are left connected. Have rewired the modem directly to the master and disconnect evrything else while online.

Sorry, can't comment on 'net-nannies'.
 
G

Guest

Guest
ITS A NIGHTMARE-DEPENDS WHAT YOU WANT-GAMING-NEWSGROUPS-ETC.-IME NOW TRYING OUT BT-OPENWORLD-SO FAR REASONABLY OK-BUT TIME OUT TOO FREQENTLY-MIND YOU THEY HAVE HAD RECENT TECH. PROBLEMS-ANY VIEWS?
 
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