ISP recomendations?
By
Blue_Peter,
Posted on: 2009-07-04 23:03 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
I'm with PlusNet (www.plus.net), on their gaming package. This might not be ideal for you if you have other people in the house downloading stuff, as it IS limited - but only during the day.
How we use it here... we've stuck with the basic limit (I think 15 gigs/billing month), because it only applies during the day. Between 00:00 and 07:00 the limits don't apply - so we set any big downloads, torrents, etc. going overnight. We've yet to come anywhere close to using up the download limit despite downloading quite a lot. Also, you can opt to add to that limit as part of the package. I really prefer knowing where I stand and just setting things off at night to dancing around some nebulous "fair usage" limit. BT used to throttle us without warning on a supposedly unlimited package.
They do also do an unlimited package, but I don't think that one specifically prioritises gaming and VoIP traffic. Still, might be worth reading up on.
One of the best things about PlusNet is their tech support, though. They're located in Sheffield, it's not a foreign call centre. They're also not hidously expensive to call. When we moved here, we found someone had actually had the place disconnected entirely from BT. PlusNet were really helpful and did all the administration to get it back up and running quickly. Once that was done, it turned out there was a fault with the line - when we called up, they apologised that their tech line was very busy. We had to wait around 10 minutes, and within another 10 we had a shaky but working connection. Within 2 days (they had to get in touch with BT to send an engineer out), everything was flying.
Like I said, the gaming package might not be ideal for you if you have multiple people downloading large things during the day, but they're worth a look.
And if you don't mind me being really cheeky, if you do go with them, could we send you an email referral code first? 
They have a pretty decent referrals program - not why I'm recommending them, as I wouldn't be using or recommending them if they were no good, but I'd hate to miss out if I did actually get a chance to recommend someone!
I'm on Be. I can unequivocally say it's the best ISP I've ever tried. You will download issues so fast, it'll be finished before you can blink.
Have a look at Sam Knows to get a picture of your available broadband options. You need to look under the "LLU" list for Be broadband. If it isn't there, you're bang out of luck.
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Ivory Sicarius - 45 Crab Spider
Aber ja, nat�rlich Hans nass ist, er steht unter einem Wasserfall.
Also part of BE's network are SKY and O2...
I would probably recomend either:
SKY Unlimited (Formerly SKY Max) as it is an Unlimited/Uncapped package with NO fair use policy.
O2 Three options here and all are Unlimited/Uncapped, but there is currently a fair use policy attached.
(But this is not normally an issue with O2 broadband.)
In addition there is a discount on O2 broadband if you have an O2 mobile phone.
Further info on ISP's at: thinkbroadband.com
Nuff Said...
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I'm with Necrotron on this one,
I'm with BE and they are fantastic, they're one of the smaller ISPs that O2 bought a couple of years ago and then left to it, their customer service is great, tech support can pitch advice to whatever level the caller needs (from My partner's 60-odd year old mum to my step-son and his ITC qualifications out the wazoo!)
They also have a specific area on their forums for online gaming and really seem to support the MMOG community.
Check them out at: www.bethere.co.uk
xxx Ethan xxx
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thanks for the reviews guys, definitely know who to go with now 
well just to throw a spanner in the works, i'm with virgin and have no problems at all. So maybe it's you and not your providor ?
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well just to throw a spanner in the works, i'm with virgin and have no problems at all. So maybe it's you and not your providor ?
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Are you on their cable service? He probably uses their regular ADSL, which is nothing more than wholesale broadband sold by BT.
Just like a farm sells poultry to various supermarkets, BT sells broadband ready-made to various ISPs. Practically every "Up to 8Mbps" package is wholesale BT. The really GOOD internet packages aren't wholesale, they're LLU (Local Loop Unbundling). LLU means that apart from your actual telephone line that goes into your house, your broadband gets routed on the ISPs own networks.
This would be like Sainsburys rearing their own cattle, cutting out the middle man.
In the case of Virgin, you can get fibre-optic cable broadband, which doesn't even use your phone line. BT couldn't have a say in this even if they wanted to. This fibre optic stuff is without a doubt the most advanced broadband, but they aren't laying any more cable, so if you aren't in a Virgin area, you never will be.
If you have Virgin internet, but it uses your phone line, that's BT Wholesale. After all, Virgin would want to reach everybody, not just people in cable areas.
Necrobond - 50 BS/Inv Scrapper made in I1
Rickar - 50 Bots/FF Mastermind
Anti-Muon - 42 Warshade
Ivory Sicarius - 45 Crab Spider
Aber ja, nat�rlich Hans nass ist, er steht unter einem Wasserfall.
I'm looking to change ISP at the moment, too, but I'm stuck on an exchange with no LLU, and no prospect of it in the near future, either :-(
Mind you, I'm only looking for someone less dire than Demon, so I have a pretty low bar.
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[ QUOTE ]
well just to throw a spanner in the works, i'm with virgin and have no problems at all. So maybe it's you and not your providor ?
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Virgin would be fine if you live on your own, but if you had read my initial post i have at least 2-4 other house mates downloading, streaming and playing games too.
fast.co.uk
they have support in this country who all speak perfect english
no traffic shaping or port blocking (virtually every other ISP does in some form or another depending on time of day now, BE seems to be another that doesnt traffic shape though)
No lock in contracts
they are awesome, my family now have 4 properties hooked up with them, cant recommend them highly enough
Heres a rating site
http://www.dslzoneuk.net/isp_ratings.php
**Acceptable "support" responses**
Its your fault
Its your computers fault
Its your ISPs fault
[ QUOTE ]
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well just to throw a spanner in the works, i'm with virgin and have no problems at all. So maybe it's you and not your providor ?
[/ QUOTE ]
Are you on their cable service? He probably uses their regular ADSL, which is nothing more than wholesale broadband sold by BT.
Just like a farm sells poultry to various supermarkets, BT sells broadband ready-made to various ISPs. Practically every "Up to 8Mbps" package is wholesale BT. The really GOOD internet packages aren't wholesale, they're LLU (Local Loop Unbundling). LLU means that apart from your actual telephone line that goes into your house, your broadband gets routed on the ISPs own networks.
This would be like Sainsburys rearing their own cattle, cutting out the middle man.
In the case of Virgin, you can get fibre-optic cable broadband, which doesn't even use your phone line. BT couldn't have a say in this even if they wanted to. This fibre optic stuff is without a doubt the most advanced broadband, but they aren't laying any more cable, so if you aren't in a Virgin area, you never will be.
If you have Virgin internet, but it uses your phone line, that's BT Wholesale. After all, Virgin would want to reach everybody, not just people in cable areas.
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LLU isnt a magic wand of awesomeness though, if you are with a bad ISP that uses LLU you will still get bad service, like with AOL and their crippling traffic shaping. Just because something should be technically superior when considering capabilities doesnt mean that will be the reality, policies can turn the greatest thing in the world into a pile of steaming poop. Plenty of the bad ISPs use LLU and give [censored] service often delivering less than "stock" broadband.
Virgin are not a very well received ISP, either via their line service or their cable outlet. Their future intentions are very dubious too with preferential "pathways" to content that pays them and utilising the Phorm marketing software.
**Acceptable "support" responses**
Its your fault
Its your computers fault
Its your ISPs fault
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Are you on their cable service? He probably uses their regular ADSL, which is nothing more than wholesale broadband sold by BT.
Just like a farm sells poultry to various supermarkets, BT sells broadband ready-made to various ISPs. Practically every "Up to 8Mbps" package is wholesale BT. The really GOOD internet packages aren't wholesale, they're LLU (Local Loop Unbundling). LLU means that apart from your actual telephone line that goes into your house, your broadband gets routed on the ISPs own networks.
This would be like Sainsburys rearing their own cattle, cutting out the middle man.
In the case of Virgin, you can get fibre-optic cable broadband, which doesn't even use your phone line. BT couldn't have a say in this even if they wanted to. This fibre optic stuff is without a doubt the most advanced broadband, but they aren't laying any more cable, so if you aren't in a Virgin area, you never will be.
If you have Virgin internet, but it uses your phone line, that's BT Wholesale. After all, Virgin would want to reach everybody, not just people in cable areas.
[/ QUOTE ]
LLU isnt a magic wand of awesomeness though, if you are with a bad ISP that uses LLU you will still get bad service, like with AOL and their crippling traffic shaping. Just because something should be technically superior when considering capabilities doesnt mean that will be the reality, policies can turn the greatest thing in the world into a pile of steaming poop. Plenty of the bad ISPs use LLU and give [censored] service often delivering less than "stock" broadband.
Virgin are not a very well received ISP, either via their line service or their cable outlet. Their future intentions are very dubious too with preferential "pathways" to content that pays them and utilising the Phorm marketing software.
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Absolutely right. Sky are another example of an ISP who cheaps out on their LLU services, but their packages are cheap enough anyway. You get what you pay for. O2 and Be, on the other hand, are top notch.
Omega, it would help if we knew which kind of Virgin you were on, either ADSL or cable.
Necrobond - 50 BS/Inv Scrapper made in I1
Rickar - 50 Bots/FF Mastermind
Anti-Muon - 42 Warshade
Ivory Sicarius - 45 Crab Spider
Aber ja, nat�rlich Hans nass ist, er steht unter einem Wasserfall.
I'm gonna have to fear a guess and say ADSL most likely
Hey all going to be moving house soon which means i now get the chance to switch to a new ISP since I'm fed up with virgin and with how much it sucks with online games... What I'm looking for is something that can comfortably handle not just CoX but also games like left 4 dead, gears2 on the 360 since you need a good connection to actually be able to compete on those games, while also dealing with the odd housemate or two streaming/downloading on the network.
For alternative ISP's I've heard of Be* broadband since it gives good upload as well as download speeds according to the website, however i don't actually know anyone who has it so if anyone here has actually tried Be* broadband it would be good to hear some reviews of it or of any other decent ISP's that you don't hear of often.