New Home... Broadband Needed - Advice Please.

I have just moved into my own place and at the parents we were on ZeN. It was great and the service was brilliant, however now I need to sort my own internet out. People have been saying just to go with BT but I just don't know as I've heard so many bad things about the,/

I am trying to not pay an activation cost as it will save me �50 (ish) and that's quite a bit at the moment with other bills etc... I do not want to pay more than �24.99 a month and I am not bothered about getting phone calls or anything like that or even a free router as already have one.

I was thinking about ZeN but its �47 to activate and you also get a 20GB limit. Now the limit never used to bother me on ZeN at home but I am now going to be sharing the Internet with a mate and I just don't know what his usage will be like so an unlimited (or maybe 40GB/50GB limit) provider seems the best bet.

One thing to note is that a static IP would be nice so I can VPN in from work, however not essential but having it would be good... also a contract of 12 months or less is essential (monthly would be nice, but not many around?) nothing more than 12 for definite though.

I have been scouting around on here and on the Internet and have come across Demon who seem to offer a good upto 8mb package with no limits and a small monthly cost of �17.99 and again no activation fee which is exactly what I need. I realise this does not have a static IP but I could go on the higher package of �22.99 (still in budget) and get this.

Any help and advice on what to do would be great... I would like to get something sorted and ready to order as soon as my new line is activate which should be very soon.

Thanks in advance
Darren

Freeola are doing a discounted activation charge (�9.99) http://freeola.com

Are they a good ISP? I have never heard of them before and they do not appear on the compare ISP's page on this site... I have had a look at their cap's and they seem fair to be honest as most usage will be from say 6pm onwards and then on weekends so can't see the 25GB ever getting used, also £9.99 for activation is fine, Its not free (which I wanted) but its not exactly much and I can live with it.

The idea of upto 8 static IP's sounds good, however not sure I would know how to manage more than 1 or why I would need more than one? Would I point all traffic on one to say my Mac/PC and then all traffic on another to say my Xbox? Lastly no min contract is definately an advantage.

Anymore info on Freeola would be great and also any replies from others about other ISP's would be useful too.

Cheers

One other question - how are Freeola for gaming?

I should have stated that playing the 360 online is a must requirement for the package I need.

Hi there,

Perhaps our Broadband Your Way Option 3 account would suit? You get 20GB to use during the 8am - midnight period, with overnight usage free (ideal for larger downloads).

We prioritise gaming traffic on our networks at all times, so your Xbox gaming will be fine.

We offer monthly contracts on all accounts, and you can get free activation if you stay for a year. If you did decide to leave within the year you would simply have to pay the �40 activation fee.

I believe Freeola are an Entanet reseller like ADSL24 and vivaciti. Entanet resellers are not listed separately on this site so look in the Entanet forum. (See here for a rating).

This post is very relevant to you.

Thanks for the reply... I am thinking I will go with Freeola to start and then think about moving to adsl24 in a month. This should allow me to get the cheaper £9.99 activation fee and then allow me to reduce the monthly bill by £5 due to changing.

Sound like the best plan?