What ISP shouild I get [Archive]

Oisin

14-03-2001, 03:53 AM

I want an Internet connection from my PC at home. I used to be on Globalnet which was good but I let the subscription run out. I'm using the AOl trial and AOL are awful. I don't use it at home much so I might try a free one. Can anyone recomend?

GreatGonzo

14-03-2001, 04:17 AM

whats wrong with aol?

Steve in Phoenix

14-03-2001, 08:54 AM

pretty much everything

Psychokiller

14-03-2001, 01:23 PM

AOL sucks.

Go to http://www.thefreeinternet.net/ and pay £90 for the software and you get 24 hour free basic bet access, however if you're downloading MP3's, streaming media etc you have to use a different connection that is charged at local call rates.

Kevin T

14-03-2001, 01:58 PM

AOL does not 'suck'. AOL may be sh*te, but it does not 'suck'.

I will do every thing in my power to prevent this awful Americanism crossing the Atlantic.

Psychokiller

14-03-2001, 02:01 PM

paul of palace

14-03-2001, 02:34 PM

Dont use the freeinternet.net, they are total rubbish, i had them and f**** up my dial up so i had to phone them on a one pound per minute helpline who then gave me the wrong details.In the end i thought f*** it,and went to aol, 15 quid a month and they never chuck you off.Had trouble the other day loggin on(first time in three months though) and the lady gave me a couple of numbers to connect with not on their usual number list.
Brother tried aol for a month and was going to give it up , so the bloke said have another free month and see what you think then, so he got 2 months for nothing.

Mat ov CPFC

14-03-2001, 02:40 PM

Osin,

I recently changed from Freeserve, because they were total and utter crap, to BT. It costs me £14.99 per month and gives me 24 hour/ 7 days a week access. So far it has been very good and has only failed on two occassions to connect first time. ( second time no problem )

Slight concern is that it can unexpectedly cut the connection at times but given that the horrific memorys about Freeserve are still fresh in my memory then I can forgive them that.

Daddy Long

14-03-2001, 02:53 PM

Global is still a good option if you don't mind paying as they have relatively few users now due to free ISP's so your connection times are quick and you don't get disconnected at all.

willythesqueeze

14-03-2001, 02:55 PM

Originally posted by Psychokiller:
AOL sucks.

Go to http://www.thefreeinternet.net/ and pay £90 for the software and you get 24 hour free basic bet access, however if you're downloading MP3's, streaming media etc you have to use a different connection that is charged at local call rates.

Have you actually tried this one Psychokiller? I've checked the website and it doesn't give a cut off date. Do you know how long your £90 lasts (one year? forever?). It sounds like a good deal to me.

At the moment I'm with Libertysurf which was £20 for one years off peak internet, but they've stopped doing it now so I'll be looking for a new ISP soon.

Psychokiller

14-03-2001, 03:08 PM

Mrs Psychokiller has thefreeinternet.net on her machine and it seems to work ok, only problem is occasionally it will 'stamp' your outgoing emails with adverts, but then you can always set up a hotmail account or other web based email account.

I have genie internet on my machine at home, which is normal call charges.

paul of palace

14-03-2001, 03:43 PM

BT Internet cuts you off every two hours.Bit annoying if you are downloading something.

wedgetail

14-03-2001, 06:08 PM

I use cix: www.cix.co.uk, (http://www.cix.co.uk,) you have to pay but on the other hand it always works.

walderslade eagle

14-03-2001, 06:48 PM

I'm not yet on it at home, but I am going to go through Telewest, £9 per month unlimited surfing. Also asked them about upgrading my current cable tele to digital, and how much extra it would cost. It's going to cost me the grand total of 1p more than I'm paying now for all that extra stuff and quality! Why didn't I do it sooner?

slowdog

14-03-2001, 06:58 PM

Originally posted by Kevin T:
AOL does not 'suck'. AOL may be sh*te, but it does not 'suck'.

I will do every thing in my power to prevent this awful Americanism crossing the Atlantic.

Sorry, but AOL does suck... and Freeserve swallows. http://www.cpfc.org/ubb/wink.gif

I'm on NTL world now (http://www.ntlworld.com). It's one of those plug-in boxes you connect to your phone connection.

Basically it's an unmetered service - 24 access to an 0800 number. It works in conjunction with their phone service. The minimum charge is £15 per month, but in practice you're getting £15 worth of phone calls included in that. If you use the phone that much anyway, then in effect you're getting a free service. If not, then £15 is still about the best price you're gonna get for a 24 hour unlimited use service.

Oh, and as it's NTL, you know it's not suddenly going to go bust. My advice - if the offer sounds too good to be true (e.g. £150 for lifetime free access) then it's probably dodgy.

selhurstparkflyer

14-03-2001, 08:37 PM

Can we get NTL in Shortlands?

Oisin

14-03-2001, 10:38 PM

It was available when i lived in Bromley.

Ian of Chatham

14-03-2001, 10:55 PM

Originally posted by paul of palace:
BT Internet cuts you off every two hours.Bit annoying if you are downloading something.
Yes, its a bit annoying but if you get (or if you already use) a downloader program such as "Download Accelerator" it does not matter if BTinternet cuts you off halfway through, you can pick it up where you left off when when you log back in. I've had no problems anyway.

Ian of Chatham

14-03-2001, 10:58 PM

Originally posted by walderslade eagle:
I'm not yet on it at home, but I am going to go through Telewest, £9 per month unlimited surfing. Also asked them about upgrading my current cable tele to digital, and how much extra it would cost. It's going to cost me the grand total of 1p more than I'm paying now for all that extra stuff and quality! Why didn't I do it sooner?
Sounds too good to be true doesn't it, Walderslade? Well good luck because if the experience of a work colleague is anything to go by, you are going to need it.

Sweetpea!

14-03-2001, 11:03 PM

I'm using fasthosts - they are expenseive gits. Look at www.aspin.com (http://www.aspin.com) - they recommend the top 25 and the top cheapest etc.

Hope that helps.

Sweetpea!

14-03-2001, 11:03 PM

I'm using fasthosts - they are expenseive gits. Look at www.aspin.com (http://www.aspin.com) - they recommend the top 25 and the top cheapest etc.

Hope that helps.

Sweetpea!

14-03-2001, 11:03 PM

I'm using fasthosts - they are expenseive gits. Look at www.aspin.com (http://www.aspin.com) - they recommend the top 25 and the top cheapest etc.

Hope that helps.

Boyandy

14-03-2001, 11:06 PM

Just had a highspeed internet line put in on Friday via Telewest. It is the b*llocks. £50 connection and then £33 p/m after that - everything is pretty much instant, and MP3's tend to take 2-3 minutes!

If you can afford it - get it, whatever they say about Telewest, I've got no complaints with this.

Steve in Phoenix

14-03-2001, 11:07 PM

Say it again Sweetpea, I didnt quite catch that...

http://www.cpfc.org/ubb/tongue.gif

Sweetpea!

14-03-2001, 11:09 PM

LOL - got to dash, got to go, got to run. Bye bye.

http://www.cpfc.org/ubb/smile.gif

have fun.

slowdog

15-03-2001, 12:24 AM

Originally posted by selhurstparkflyer:
Can we get NTL in Shortlands?

My mum lives in Sundridge Park, not a million miles away from you, and she's got an NTL line. However, it used to be C&W in Bromley, so I think they're having to upgrade lines before they can roll out the internet service.

I live in Croydon which is Telewest territory, but still use NTL for the internet. The key thing is that they can't supply me with cable tv, but they sent a box that connects up to a BT line so I can use their phone service.

Two caveats:
1. If you can't connect via an NTL line then you need a BT line.
2. The box only got sent to me ages after I first applied. (They didn't charge me until the first time I started using the service though.)

Try http://www.askntl.com/ and type in your postcode to see what they can offer you.

slowdog

15-03-2001, 12:25 AM

Oh yeah, also try http://www.askntl.com/internet/ntlworld/default-x9.asp

I'm not an NTL salesman, honest!

2can

15-03-2001, 01:10 AM

I think it's just the broadband which is not available in Shortlands yet, I think you can get the 0800 access (though you'll have to wait ages for the cd!).

My opinion? Try: http://www.crapserve.co.uk
you'll like it!

CRI Eagles

15-03-2001, 01:11 AM

Paul of Palace are you sure its BT cutting you of or Windows, after any period of supposed inactivity windows flashes a message that you will be disconected, there is a disable check box on the message. I pay £9.99 a month with Telewest, the worst cable service provider in the world. Their surf unlimited package is ok. Can be a little slow peak times.
£9.99 for unlimited surf time makes up for it.

IT'S A DARTFORD THING

15-03-2001, 01:37 AM

Highly recommend the ISP what psychokiller mentioned the free internet. It can have it's problems (like you can't connect for an hour or two , or you have to try a few times to get through). 99% of the time it's hassle free. You can use the net ANYTIME you want for £90 per year. Drawbacks are it cuts off after an hour or if your computer lies idle for 15 minutes.

SARN

15-03-2001, 01:55 AM

I am on AOL £15 per month unlimited access and free 0800 number connection which is good value.....BUT.....have had loads of probs on and off recently connecting. Good thing though is their totally free helpline which you can usually get through to pretty quickly. The advisers always help a lot and give other numbers to connect on.

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Its me again.

Oisin

15-03-2001, 04:59 AM

Tell me more about Genie? I can use that on my phone as well.

walderslade eagle

15-03-2001, 02:20 PM

Originally posted by Ian of Chatham:
stuff and quality! Why didn't I do it sooner?
Sounds too good to be true doesn't it, Walderslade? Well good luck because if the experience of a work colleague is anything to go by, you are going to need it.[/B]
Ian, I don't suppose you could expand on your colleagues experience? It's not too late for me to back out. Tks. http://www.cpfc.org/ubb/smile.gif

selhurstparkflyer

15-03-2001, 02:41 PM

Originally posted by slowdog:
Oh yeah, also try http://www.askntl.com/internet/ntlworld/default-x9.asp

I'm not an NTL salesman, honest!

Thks for your help

I tried that but that did not really help as they seem to think that everybody speaks the same geeky language they do.
They are also not very forthcoming on prices.

If anybody else can help I would like a combined phone & internet rental charge.
Also what it would cost to have the basic cable digital telly as well.

Cannot be that hard can it?

Ian of Chatham

16-03-2001, 12:43 PM

Walderslade - Check your private messages.

cpfc-saveloys

16-03-2001, 11:26 PM

FREESERVE ANYTIME IS VERY GOOD IF THE anytimeYOU WANT TO USE IT IS IN OFF PEAK HOURS

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are brighton still our rivals?

jonesy

17-03-2001, 03:08 PM

Oisin try www.net4nowt.co.uk (http://www.net4nowt.co.uk) it gives you a vast range of free/cheap isps

Daniel_Nash

17-03-2001, 07:56 PM

I have NTLworld too, the cable modem thing.

It was free connection and £25 (?) a month for the rental of the box and use of it. Doesn't kick you off and downloads faster than Maurice Greene on (more) steroids.

Get rates of like 180k/s without Download Accelrator. Means my computer is online from the moment Windows loads until the moment it shuts down.

henryhallandhisbasque

18-03-2001, 04:44 AM

BT Internet. I've been with them for about two years. I've had no major problems with them either. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Each to his own though. At the end of the day if you don't like them pick somebody else. Two wrongs don't make a right. The bottom line is.........