In reply to a post by tuff:

you can connect your BT supplied modem directly into the PC and create a PPPoE connection

Indeed; but of little use when I've several wi-fi devices, audio & video streaming equipment, a PC, two laptops, two PS3s, an Xbox360 and three original Xboxes all competing for the same internet connection.

Fortunately I don't think I'll need to go out and buy a cable router. I have a Hawking H2WR54G Dual-WAN router with two Ethernet WAN ports which should do the trick.
I bought it a while back when BT lied and said I'd only be able to get 1.5Mbps (which is too low for my needs) and I thought I'd need a cheap way of combining two ADSL connections.

In reply to a post by undecidedadrian:

In reply to a post by DrTeeth:

Another BIG plus is that ADSL 24's tech support is in the UK, that of BT Infinity is in India.

I thought the BT Infinity tech support was based in Newcastle?

Maybe so.. but "Infinity" is BT Retail's product, not ADSL24's

Matt

Note that if the wireless on that Hawking is only 54Mb (G) then you'll stuggle to get above 30Mb (ish) on FTTC over wireless. A wireless-n router is definitely needed on FTTC if you are SYNCing >30Mb

Thanks James but fortunately the wireless devices are two phones, a Kindle and a laptop I use to VPN into the 10Mbps leased line at our office, none of which will need more than about 10Mbps.
Everything which is speed-critical is wired Ethernet (1Gbps between the main PC and my media server, 100Mbps everywhere else).

I would think there's a strong chance I'd sync at or close to the full 40Mbps. The cabinet is 150 metres direct distance and 210 metres by road (and the BT checker estimates 33Mbps).
In time I may switch to an 'N' cable router but for now I think the Hawking will suffice (the saving helps pay for the connection fee).

Office pro peak is 8am to 8pm.

ADSL24 does not have an FUP that will affect me. I have done some SERIOUS off peak downloading. Unlimited means that AFAICT.

Re: BT Infinity tech support. If it is in the UK, I'd be surprised. My understanding is that even the operators are now in India.

DrT

In reply to a post by DrTeeth:

Re: BT Infinity tech support. If it is in the UK, I'd be surprised.

The consensus seems to be it is in Newcastle. Which: undefined.

In reply to a post by nahwiseup:

In reply to a post by DrTeeth:

Any info welcome.

Obviously not welcome enough to return here

DrT

Actually only a few minutes ago did I finally get my MAC from Sky (at the second time of asking) - and sign up with ADSL24.

Thanks for your input, it was appreciated.

What is your download meter?

Just thought I'd post back that I'm now live with ADSL24 today.

Speed test:

http://www.speedtest.net/result/1116869778.png

My latency to the likes of BBC has dropped from low 30 ms to low 20 ms.

I can see this post has since gone other directions, but anyone interested in my journey - so far so good.

Support has been prompt and appreciated so far.

I'm so envious of you people that can get FTTC, being on ADSL1 makes me feel like im in the stone ages!

When considering the various FTTC providers I found myself leaning towards the ADSL24 30 Pro package as a good mix between speed (10Mbps up), limits (30GB / Unlimited @ night) and price. My exchange went live a little while ago, so I decided to go for it.

I then did the usual boring bits; rang my current provider (Be*) and requested my MAC code, put that into the ADSL24 ordering system with a few card / address details and voila! I then got to choose a date for the BT engineer to visit, I chose February the 18th 1pm - 6pm. Great, sorted (or so I thought), so I rang up Be* and told them the cancellation date (18th). All set.

Then I received the "normal" e-mails from ADSL24 upon joining them (on the 9th of Feb):

"Dear Sxxxx Xxxxxxx,

We are pleased to advise you that your order has now been submitted. We will usually have a further update within 24-48 hours containing information such as your activation date, username and other details..."

Great, looks like it's gone through ok. Then I receive this on the 10th of Feb:

"Dear Sxxxx Xxxxxx,

We are pleased to advise you that your order is now being processed.
The estimated activation date of this order is 18th Feb 2011."

Fantastic, so far I've got the date I want, I'm £80~ lighter (install + first month) and no issues! Then, on the 14th of Feb I got this:

"Dear Sxx Mxxxxxxx,

We are pleased to advise you that your order now has a committed activation date.
The confirmed activation date of this order is 18th Feb 2011."

Again, great! So I promptly went and booked the afternoon off work.

Now, on the 18th, I get home at 12:30pm and await the BT engineer's arrival, but at 3:40pm I've not heard a whisper, so I call ADSL24. I asked if the engineer's visit was still definitely on for today, and was told that yes, it was. They also said that they would get in touch with the provisioning service to see if they could get an estimated time of arrival for me; great!

Then the phone rang and I was told it was bad news, uh oh. The customer service rep. (CSR from now on!) told me that there was a mix-up in their system and that the date for the visit was actually the 24th of February (a Thursday). I said that I wasn't particularly happy about this, as I've had to take a half-day off work as holiday and that the date they have given instead is a day I can't do (I can only take off Friday afternoons).

The CSR then said that they would adjust my first bill so that instead of me paying from the 18th, I would be paying from the 24th when the line actually goes live. I was like, "of course you are, why would I be paying for it until it is activated!?". I said that I wasn't happy with the level of service that I had received so far and as a result was thinking of just cancelling the whole thing and going with a different provider. To which I was told "Oh well it'll take even longer to get online then, and BT have 'committed' to installing it now, so if you cancel you will be subject to a charge of roughly £100, plus the non-refundable install fee of £49.99" I was like "WHHHHATTTTT!?".

At which point I asked to speak to a manager, to which I was told there were none there (again, how!?) and that if I wanted to talk to someone about compensation, I should e-mail customer services. Pardon!? E-Mail? What, the thing you need a working internet connection to use!? Fuming at this point I said forget it, I'll call again tomorrow or on Monday to speak to a manager to cancel this thing.

So, so far ADSL24 have given me misinformation on numerous occasions and when I asked if I could cancel the whole thing, they threatened me with a £150 cancellation charge. All I can say is avoid ADSL24 at all costs. I'm thinking of going to the small claims court on Monday if they refuse to refund my installation charge and first months subscription.

Update 5pm 18/02: I've also now just realised that to remove your direct debit details from their system, you have to raise a ticket to get it removed, not just delete the details yourself. So I'm waiting on a CSR to action this, as I do not want ADSL24 having free-reign on my bank account.

Mistakes do happen unfortunately. Why not take the afternoon off and just go with it. Looks like the cheaper, less stressful option.

No real need to cross-post...