Want to change isp

Hi
Please bear with me as i'm a bit of a noob to how changing ISP works.
I'm on BT Classic which i've been on for about 6 years and i'd like to change to BE Broadband.
We have two phonelines in the house and the one upstairs is what I plug my modem in to.
A few questions:
We rent the line from BT, if I change isp do I still pay for this or do I pay for BE line rental?
I'm thinking of choosing BE unlimited, what speed could I get?
The router you get with the package says 802.11 b/g, my laptop has 802.11 b/g/n, will it work?
Could someone give me a step by step on how to change isp?

Thanks

Changing ISP is The MAC Process
You choose whether to keep your line rental & calls with BT or switch it to Be. you don't save much with Be, say 80p / month, dependant on plan.

Are you sure you can get Be? Put your phone # in SamKnows: UK Exchange Search and post the resultant link.

Speed: Post your router stats and we will tell.

An N laptop will work with a G router. You probably won't need better unless you have loads of PCs doing loads of transfers.

Thanks for the reply.
I don't use a router, I have an ancient Voyager usb modem. How would I find out the specs?

Is it on the drop-down list here?

Have you checked you can get Be Broadband at all? It isn't available at all exchanges. If you haven't, put your phone number into this checker and post us the link to the result.

The line/modem stats would give us a very good idea what speed you could get. This tool on the same site as the above lets you drill down to your address to get an estimate, but that one tends to be unreliable. (Usually shows too low).

Dunno! Don't they provide some Diagnostic software from which you can get Status?

What about my other Qs?

I checked and I can get BE.
I found some stats on my modem:
local/remote attenuation 46.5/23.5 dB
SNR Margin 17.5dB

There were no other stats than that

and I am approx 979 meters from the exchange.

your stats point to a line length more like 4km

Are you paying two lots of line rental ? if you don't need two lines you could economise down to one.

At https://www.bethere.co.uk/web/beportal/homepage there is a speed prediction

Process ? ask your current ISP for a MAC because you wish to migrate to another provider, sign up with Be and give them the MAC.

It struck me that 979 is a very precise approximation as well .

We have two phone sockets, one downstairs, one up (which I plug the modem in to) does that mean we're paying for two lines? (I don't pay the bill)
Be said I could probably get around 8mb

Have you just got one phone number, or two?

If just one and a phone rings in either (or both) socket(s) when you call that number, then you have a single line with a master socket and an extension socket.

Yea, we only have one number. Thanks for clearing that up
If be is saying I could get up to 8mb speed is it worth going for the unlimited option or should I just choose the value?

Value. That runs up to 12Mbps anyway so you will soon see what your maximum is, and it may even be uncapped for the first few days.

Don't forget that if you clear cookies and go in through TopCashBack or Quidco, you stand to get £40/£35 cash back.

thanks robertos
Another question. When I change provider is there a period where I have no internet access?

You may experience a brief period of no service when they're physically switching your line to Be's HDF equipment, but this won't be more than 15-20minutes and you may not be online at the time this process takes place as most people are at work in the day

Thanks
Another noob question
If I switch to BE does that mean i'm automatically upgraded to adsl2? (as I believe i'm on adsl atm)

Be only do ADSL2+ as standard, providing they can accommodate you.

EDIT: Note the "+"; ADSL2 without it is a inferior beast!

Edited by XRaySpeX (Mon 28-Feb-11 01:32:34)

Ok thanks
what do I put in this box so I can find out how fast I can get?

What box? Where?

You mean your phone # in the Be Availability Checker?

EDIT: From your stats, you could get about 7 Meg on ADSL2+

Edited by XRaySpeX (Mon 28-Feb-11 22:59:07)

You are looking at between 5Mbps and 7.5Mbps.

When you gave us your stats, you didn't give the connection speed. If you can post a new set with connection speed, attenuation and noise margin we can narrow the range a little, and also form an opinion on whether we need to clean up your phone wiring.

An estimate from the Be website will be less accurate as they (have to) rely on a notably unreliable BT database.

Oh yes, a link would probably help:

http://www.dslzoneuk.net/maxspeed2.php

LOL. You put the attenuation in, (like it says). Yours is 46.5dB from your earlier post.

Much joy with the result . It's even less use than the Be/BT checker.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

When you gave us your stats, you didn't give the connection speed.

Think he implied his modem doesn't show it.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

When you gave us your stats, you didn't give the connection speed.

Think he implied his modem doesn't show it.

Something will, perhaps the modem icon in the task bar, or the internet connection status in Windows.

Yes, you are right. Windows Dial-Up Connection Status should show it, but he probably won't know where to look.

BTW: His ADSL2+ Attn. may only be 49 dB and he might get only 6 Meg; less than ADSL1/2.

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