Switching ISP

Afteroon folks........ I have been pondering on chaning my ISP whom is currently Virgin Media to DSL connection as I have experienced problems with them and friends have general bad opinion of Virgin Media. Just to let you know a little history..... I have the (up to 20Mb) connection using origionally a Linksys router and then upgraded to a Belkin N series. I purchased a PS3 for online gaming and noticed my game play was lagging etc etc. So the question is am I doing the correct thing by leaving and secondly what shall i look for to to prevent this lag again !!!

It would be wise to actually check what ADSL services you can get first before parting with any cash.

LLU providers such as Sky and Be will give you the best speeds, biggest caps or no caps at all - no throttling - and at the lowest cost.

Use the link I have put below and it will tell you exactly what ADSL services you can get by just putting in your post code or phone number (i.e. it may say "Sky LLU" or "Be LLU" - that means you can use Sky or Be and they are an LLU service).

Link to ADSL services checker.

I have looked into 02 but until my line is operational I cannot do any checks just yet. What is an LLU and should I be just looking for this?

LLU = Local Loop Unbundling, which means the ISP has there own ADSL equipment in your exchange.

Some are good, others are bad.

Bed/O2 are good at the moment. O2 got into broadband by buying Be and using their stuff. Be had very few customers for the kit so performance was brilliant. As O2 marketing gets in the customers, who knows what will happen? It may get over-loaded, or O2 may provision extra kit to cope.

Sky/UKOnline seem quite good, specially as Sky is very cheap if you have Sky TV. But Sky Connect, which is not LLU is very poor.

TalkTalk opinions vary a lot. For low usage probably OK.

Tiscali/Pipex is a disaster area.

All other "up to 8Mb" services are supplied through BT Wholesale, so when you check your exchange don't think that means you can only have BT or the LLUs, you can have pretty well any ISP.

Edit:- If you use the checker TK linked you to, there is also a mapping system to check your area.

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 03-Mar-08 15:05:55)

As RobertoS says - LLU is where an ISP has it's own kit in BT exchanges.

It is the big players who can only afford to do this.

With a good LLU provider (such as Sky/UKOnline and Be) - you will probably get much faster speeds than with any non LLU ISP - no throttling of your connection - plus it will cost you a lot less cash every month as well.

As an example - if you have/or want Sky TV and can also get Sky LLU for broadband - you can get a connection via Sky LLU from �0 a month to �10 a month depending on which of Sky's LLU options suits you.

Edited by deleted (Mon 03-Mar-08 15:28:31)

Oh right thanks for that mate. My area has a local exchance anyway and i am only 706 m from it so i should get good speeds. O2 seemed a good call as they said upload speed is up to 1.5Mb which they also say is good for online gaming. Not sure if this is the case what do i actually need for gaming

On LLU you can get speeds up to 24Mbps - IPStream will only give speeds up to 8Mbps.

As far as what speeds you could get - either on LLU or IPStream - if you put yout stats here (i.e. attenuation, sync, snr) - we can estimate what your possible speeds might be.

Gaming requires good pings.

Edited by deleted (Mon 03-Mar-08 15:36:00)

How can i identify my stats then, Bt said a connection of 6.5 was what i would receive but there not LLU

it looks like your priority (gaming) is latency (pings) not speed. i've heard reports that some llu isps (sky) have very high pings by default, and need calling to sort it out, someone using sky should be able to confirm/deny.

You can't tell your stats until you have an ADSL connection (the stats are determined by the quality of your BT phone line).

I understand sky will lower your pings at the cost of some speed, which would be best for gaming.

Johnno

I need the best of both as the kids love to watch youtube generally when i decide to go gaming lol.

I have noticed sky seems to be the most mentioned what ISP would you all advise me to use?

Put your telephone number in this ADSL services checker.

We can't make suggestions until you know what you can get. You may - or may not - be able to get a decent LLU provider because LLU providers aren't in every BT exchange.

It may say "Sky LLU" or "Be LLU" for example - but it may not.

Edited by deleted (Mon 03-Mar-08 16:18:13)

Who is available at your exchange?

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php

Enter your exchange and look for (green) LLU presence.

you don't seem to have checked whats available at your exchange (not all services are available everywhere), use the link here to see which llu services (if any) are available. the sky/be/o2 llu options do look very good if available to you, and if you don't mind long contracts, if they aren't then questions about your expected usage arise (Gb/month). post the answers back here.

just realised you'd possibly be changing from cable to bt line (new 12 month contract), i may be wrong, but i think if you then go with a LLU supplier you'll incur a hefty charge from BT (~�170), which could still work out cheaper than the alternatives.

Wrong on the �170 bit, this would only be incurred if you left for a fully unbundled LLU supplier e.g. Talk Talk

BT Wholesale ADSL
BT Wholesale ADSL Max
O2 / Be LLU
TalkTalk (CPW) LLU
Sky Broadband / Easynet LLU
Virgin Media (Cable)

To be honest cost would not be an issue nor a contract as long as I can get a good unlimited download provider. 02 where who i considered as the uplaod spped was greater than most and I thought this would help not sure if am correct however.

thank for the correction, saffy, learning every day...

Be/O2 are the best choice unless you want Sky TV (which you have to subscribe to if you use Sky LLU).

i already have sky tv so its them or o2, do you know what difference the uplaod speed makes?

To gaming if talking about just playing games, nothing really since 448Kbps as offered by normal max connections is way more than games use.

Latency is the king once you can upload more than 128Kbps

I wouldn't have thought increased upload speed would be any advantage to you as a gamer - I would have thought the increased upload speed would only benefit those running their own web-sites from home.

As you already have Sky TV I can't think of any reason not to go with Sky LLU (and it should be a lot cheaper than the alternatives).

Ah right so how do I get good Latency (that is the ping isnt it)

how do you guys know so much I wish I knew these things

In reply to:

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i already have sky tv

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If you already have Sky TV - then it is a bit of a "no brainer" really who to go with seeing as you can get Sky LLU for broadband.

Sky do 3 packages on broadband - Sky Base for �0 a month - Sky Mid for �5 a month - Sky Max for �10 a month.

Looking at what you were quoted by BT for an IPStream speed of 6.5Mbs - then going with Sky Max would probably be your best option as you could get speeds way above that BT quoted estimate plus a massive download allowance.

For gaming - when you get connected by Sky - ring them up and ask for "max delay" to be reduced as this will give you the best pings for gaming.

Sky also do deals on free phone calls as well.

Do you have a BT line already?

If you don't have a BT line at the moment - have you had a BT line in the past and still have the phone sockets?

Edited by deleted (Mon 03-Mar-08 17:23:34)

I cautious of using sky as a good friend who uses it for same purpose had costant problems with the connection dropping during peak hours and he left them similar to mine with virgin. My line is connected tomorrow so I will be able to get full details for you all to help lol. Will using a ISP with regualted downloads no be exceeded when gaming for hours a day and using pc and laptop.

In reply to:

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I cautious of using sky as a good friend who uses it for same purpose had costant problems with the connection dropping during peak hours

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Quite possible that your friend's problems were more to do with his line that the ISP he was with. Without stats from your friend's line though it is impossible to tell.

Sky is the fastest growing ISP in the country and has in excess of 1.2 million customers now. I am with Sky and it was the best move I have ever made. Nice fast connection - very reliable - plus I am quids in.

Edited by deleted (Mon 03-Mar-08 17:50:02)

is your friend using the (allegedly) p!ss poor sky connect @ �17/month? if so, its a totally different service.

Reverse migrations are free.

A cease and reprovide from a FMPF costs �125

In reply to:

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My line is connected tomorrow so I will be able to get full details for you all to help

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The figures you get for the number from the checkers/estimators will almost certainly be the ones for wherever it was connected to before.

It can take from a couple of days to weeks for the databases to all get updated with its new location.

If you give BT a ring once your line has been installed, they will sometimes update their database quicker for you.

Does anyone know why companies have no record of my telephone line being with BT now. I have spoke to BT and they confirm it is up and running?

You said in an earlier post that it was being connected on the 4th. If it was then or later it is quite possible it doesn't show up on the checkers yet.

It can take a few days to weeks for it to show, and when it does it might give the speed estimate for wherever it ended before. That takes a while to update as well.

Useless isn't it!

Who do you want to got to? Just try to sweet-talk them by explaining the situation. They should still be able to order I would have thought.

Edit:- Have you any order or installation documentation? Let them see it, and ring you on the number.

Edited by RobertoS (Tue 11-Mar-08 13:45:25)

I have been on to BT and they have made a balls up of my line they have connected me but using a diffrent number tahn they gave.........so i have to wait for them to fix it great start eh

LOL!

What's wrong with the number they actually connected you with? Or is that something else they can't cope with, altering your account to match it?

Anyway, good luck.

Ok folks so here is a update. After being issue a number I did not want from BT I requested my existing number 4 times over the period of weeks! So I have cancelled my BT account and I am sticking with Virgin

A few of you mentioned doing test to let you know how my connection is behaving how do I get this info for you to asses and tell me what is going on lol.