02/Be

Just thinking aloud here.
As a typical user I want a permanent and reliable connection at around 5 meg for general surfing and World of Warcraft with some downloading.

As were many I was with Pipex ADSL for many years before joining Be last year.

Just recently some "DNS" issues have been problematic restricting surfing but nothing too serious.

But my point is this.

Browsing this site everyone seems to be directed towards 02/Be. What would happen if this company was bought by one of the other majors or fell into trouble through over-subscription?
What other choices are there? If we are now pretty much relying on just a single company aren't things getting a little worrying?

If I was to leave 02/Be where would I go for a similar service?

Eggs.

To avoid the DNS problems with Be/O2 consider using openDNS.

Sky LLU (if you have/want Sky TV) is good.

Entanet are good (although not so good currently if you are forced onto BT's new systems).

Ironic Entanet are better on an older system.
I was advised to change some DNS settings on the Be forum. Many Be users were annoyed because we weren't told about this and needed to muddle it between ourselves. The majority would not have done or known about this of course.

First time I've had concerns about Be though. Through these problems they have come across as very cavalier with their attitude towards their customers, again maybe a sign of over subscription.

I expect Be/O2 are growing fairly rapidly. Hopefully numbers will stabilise at a lot less than network saturation.

Most of the posts I've read support the view that Be/O2 have good customer service, but I suppose you can't really tell until you need to use it yourself.

I suppose customer service is good. They are open to criticism on their forums and don't ban irate posters. When I had a BT line problem their technical department were superb (immediate answer with engineers who quickly adapted to my level of knowledge/expertise).

It's just this latest thing which has annoyed me. They are having problems with their DNS servers and don't seem to be as forthcoming with it as they could be. Emails have now been sent to customers so this is a good response to customer pressure.

Maybe, maybe ... their service has been SO good I am now being over critical.
I'd still absolutely recommend Be to anyone though. Their service suits me perfectly and remember I was on Pipex. I fondly remember Pipex as being faultless.

In reply to:

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What would happen if this company was bought by one of the other majors or fell into trouble through over-subscription?

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You do know O2 and BE are owned by Telefonica (one of the biggest telecomms companies in the World)?
In any case, if they are bought out, and go to pot (like any company Tiscali have bought)....leave.