May not be around much..........

[V_R]

Hi guys,

Long story short, my ISP (AOL) (I know i know) decided to give me a 'free speed upgrade' which promptly failed and i cant get online at home now...Sunday night = Broadband fine, Wake up Monday morning = Broadband buggered.....As you crunchers know my pc dont go off and nothing had changed on my end.

Monday night i tried to phone them, on hold for 30 minutes, then cut off, phoned back [recorded message]Due to extremely high call volumes your call cannot be answered at this time, please call back later[/recorded message]
Sod this i thought...

Anyway i phoned them yesterday lunchtime asked for MAC code, checked email this morning....nearly fell off chair, there it was my 'MAC code email'! WOO HOO!!

After reading some of the horror stories i did wonder how easy it would be. Guess i got lucky, or maybe it was my 'delicate manner' i use to get my point across!

The bit when the tit on the other end of the phone asked me what time i go to bed was the 'straw that broke the camels back' as they say. Reason being is that he wanted me to call back in the late evening to avoid the call volumes of 'prime call time'!

So....anyway. I now have to decide who to give me money too. At the mo its down to two - Plusnet or Nildram.

Any advice is welcome thanks.

 

[WinkingPig]

Both are great ISP's mate, so either will do you fine.

PlusNet are sometimes a bit arsey on customer support, and Nildram have the best network for gaming, due to them hosting the Jolt gaming network that is.

 

[V_R]

Thats what i wanna hear!

A mate of mine been on Nildram for years, never ever had a prob. they is based in Stoke Manderville too, just down the road from me, (I know it dont matter but its better that them being in India!)

 

[Ian]

Another one worth checking out is http://www.demon.net/ - I've been really pleased with them. £19.99 and unlimited (within reason, but no probs here).

 

[V_R]

Cheers Ian just been looking at them seems good.

My only real issue is that i can only seem to get a 1-1.5MB d/l on my line. I guess i'm too far from the exchange and go a crap line between.

So if i want proper fast internet then i need cable, and i cant get Telewest here so NTL it is.

Q: Can i use NTL without installing any software? For example use the windows DUN thing and use the 'new connection wizard' Thats how i connect to AOL never did use their crapware...Just username and password and connect.

Is NTL a 12 month contract? i'm sure it is be wanna be 100%....

 

[TriplexDread]

Yeah u can use ntl without software however u do need to register with them online at first

ie PID (personal ID code)

Otherwise ded easy mate

!2months contract it is unless you can get em on failure of service to you

 

[WinkingPig]

Yeah you can use any provider without software, it's probably easier getting a Ethernet Router and feeding your internet into that, and branching off an ethernet cable to your computer.

Normally gives better results than USB modems.

Whats your postcode VR, i could give you an idea of the distance.

 

[V_R]

Well if you mean the distance to the exchange then its about 2miles. This is my local exchange, and i is west towards West Wycombe (If you look at the map and click this link below it.)

With regards to the router, they offer the Netgear DG834 to buy when you sign up but its cheaper else where so i'll get one from ocuk or something.
Is that a good one to get? It seems ok to me but i not know much about them, they is new to me...

 

[WinkingPig]

You are 1.7Miles away from your exchange, so yeah ADSL Max (via BT) would be pretty useless at that distance, i expect that's what AOL upgraded you to right? Their 8MB service?

And if your going with NTL, then they may offer a router with it for a cost, so just find out what router and head over to eBuyer and grab one.

Netgear's are alright, so are Linksys.

 

[Anon_F]

I'm with Virgin.net and even though i nearly 2 miles from the exchange still get just under 4MB
Customer service can sometimes be hit or miss at times, but reliability is very good

 

[WinkingPig]

Im around 840 meteres from my Exchange, but my line is shot to death, so doesn't always rely on distance, depends on line quality.

I have a bunch of BT kit installed from their last visit to dampen down line noise, some spike resistors, noise filters, got like two extra wall boxes, blanked off on the wall, with circuits behind them just to make the line stable enough for ADSL Max.

 

[TriplexDread]

And if your going with NTL, then they may offer a router with it for a cost, so just find out what router and head over to eBuyer and grab one.

Netgear's are alright, so are Linksys.

I agree everything network related I always go for Netgear

 

[V_R]

Sounds good coz i was just gonna order it..

Well i just been on the phone to Nildram, its all sorted and should be live on the 29th sept.

RE: NTL i only asking for now as when i finally get sorted i'll maybe changing to them, for the extra speed. But that wont be until prob later this year/next year!

...right have i forgot anything.....no i dont think so.

Feel free to mention anything if you think i need to know it.....

and thanks for the help guys.

 

[WinkingPig]

Right.

AOL upgrade, what was it from and to? As i actually am a ADSL reseller for NetServices PLC.

So i know the in's and out's of BT, and i can advise you on some stuff, as switching from AOL to Nildram still leaves you basically on the BT network using BT lines, and if it was an ADSL Max problem then you may still face that with Nildram.

 

[V_R]

Well i was originally on the AOL Gold upto 2MB service not the top package due to the fact my line is sh*t and cant take the speed....and the upgrade was just up to 2MB (by the way this is not the only reason for me to leave AOL)

Last thing i heard was the platinum package was the only one that was ADSL Max...... giving speeds upto 8MB

The nildram package i got is DSL Surf, again upto 2MB, but the first tests they did said only 1MB is gonna happen.

Thats why i is asking about NTL coz eventually i will go down that road, just not at the mo...

Crystal?

 

[WinkingPig]

Yep that's good then, i thought you went with either BroadBand 2 or BroadBand 2 Go packages with Nildram, as their both ADSL Max, and on your line, it'd be entirely pointless as it'd always disconnect.

Good luck with Nildram anyway, they are a great provider

 

[V_R]

Good stuff, you had me worried for a minute!

 

[WinkingPig]

Ah i always tend to think of the bad things first, as ADSL Max is a real shambles at the moment, it's horrendous!

 

[V_R]

Hi guys,

Well AOL decided to randomly spring back into life this weekend, dont know why and dont care. The upshot is that i got to upload me WCG wu's that have been waiting.

Spent the sunday backing up data ready to format and rid myself of anything aol related......

Roll on the 29th Sept!

 

[Alf]

Hold! wait... u were gone?
welcome back!