If you call you will forego the mastercard etc but likely can discuss a 12 month contract term. Worth a chat to discuss what they can do / cannot do.
0800 800 150

Ok cool, will give it a go at the time. It will need some calculaton since the matercard offer plus cashback site will likely end up at near £250 which will be at least 6 months free anyway if all those offers are still around in a month or so. A lot will depend on whether the possible Aus job is still up in the air or not.

In reply to a post by Ewok:

Ahhh back to the good old days of having to figure out what the best modem is to try and get a better speed, then what the best settings are, then endless testing to tweak it, then monitoring it to make sure it doesnt drop in performance, then praying a bit of rain doesnt screw it all up every time.

Not necessary at all. To be honest I think you're overthinking the entire thing. Just pick an ISP and forget about it. Most customers on BT's network get the same experience regardless of their ISP. Some of the cheaper ISPs might have a bit more congestion at peak hours but probably not much.

Choice of modem might make a slight performance difference on paper at least but I doubt it will have the slightest effect in practice. Probably only worth worrying about for those on long lines that are at the limit of the technology. Router choice can matter if you want a complicated set up but even there your average off-the-shelf modem/router combo will likely suffice for most people.

xDSL is a stable and proven technology. No tweaking or head scratching required. The only technical knowledge needed is the whole 'line length v speed' bit but even that's not complicated.

Edited by Andrue (Tue 20-Feb-18 14:59:46)

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

IDNet don't offer 55/10. Only 76/20 and 40/10.

Actually they do offer 55/10. See here.

TalkTalk declined my cashback since I received the GiftCard. Assume you get one offer, if you get lucky that is a bonus.
ISPs are much stricter nowadays.

EDITED as I realised it was TT who declined not BT.

Edited by ukhardy07 (Tue 20-Feb-18 15:10:38)

In reply to a post by Ewok:

Yeah I was expecting a detailed and useful reply from them. I got one from AA shortly after (who I have ruled out as they charge the same price for all speeds and me probably only getting 50mb makes them even more expensive) and was even worse, "the figures are usually pretty accurate and if they are much lower we can" and that was the end of the sentence! We can do what? haha.

I asked IDNET things like what difference should I expect between their normal package and the gaming one, so I can get some idea in real terms what the potential difference might be to justify the extra cost (yes it will vary but give me SOME idea of whatt he extra £10 gets me). And about how easy it is to switch between the gaming package and the normal one, or between different speeds. But got no answer on any of that. I strongly suspect the gaming package would be identical to the normal one, yes you get priority at the exchange but unless the exchange is overloaded to start with, that will make no difference. They do seem to have the advantage of 3 different backhauls though.

Still on the fence between BT and IDNET, I was favouring IDNET but after their reply and realising their pricing did not include VAT, I am kinda back in the middle again because I am looking at £45 for IDNET, and after various discounts (topcashback and the £150 mastercard) probably nearer half that for BT. The contract length is the main issue with BT, 6 months would be more reasonable but thats not going to happen.

Not sure why you haven't had a more detailed response. They answered all my questions very promptly and they are only a freephone call away if there is anything that isn't clear.

On the website. there is a simple home / business user button, which switches the pricing to include or exclude the VAT.

To me it is a simple choice. IDNet are competitive on cost and offer 1 month contracts. If there is any chance of you moving abroad then it's a bit of a no brainer go with IDNet and limit your exposure.

BT will almost certainly work out cheaper for the first 18 months because of their discounts and cashback card, but will be more expensive thereafter, unless you renegotiate with them and tie yourself back into a longer term contract.

I'd rather not have the hassle myself, but you may make a different choice.

I'd endorse your view that you are unlikely to see a difference between the gaming package and the standard one.

In reply to a post by Tacitus:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

IDNet don't offer 55/10. Only 76/20 and 40/10.

Actually they do offer 55/10. See here.

http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/fibre/t/4584013-sel...

In reply to a post by Ewok:

urgh the whole thing is just poorly done. I am expected to sign up to a 12+ month contract for a service that could be 30mb and 35ms ping, or 60mb and 5ms ping, but I have to be tied in to it before I find out, its like some sort of scam.

If there is any doubt, I would sign up for the lower speed, then when you get the connection, if the line looks good for a faster speed it may not be that difficult to persuade the ISP to accept more money for a faster speed.

That's what I was thiking, if may be going abroad then IDNET will probably be a must so the decision is simple. If not then its more complicated since BT will be significantly cheaper and I am far from convinced the resulting connection will be any different at all to BT!

I am certainly not dumb enough to be staying there past the contract without renegotiating the price, did the same with virgin and pay £30 for 200mb unlimited fibre, phone with weekend calls and the medium tv package. I don't like that hassle, but it was worth it.

Yeah I will definitely go for the 55mb package not 76 at this point.