Sky, BT or Other?

Ok so i'm currently with Entanet (via UKFSN) and to be honest UKFSN support is dire (I mean it doesn't exist - even when you PM via this forum) so I'm leaving for pastures new.

I'm looking between either:
Sky Broadband Connect for �17 per month

or

4BT Connect Unlimited option (on 12 month contract) - �24.86 per month

or

Other - offer suggestions comparable to the above services.

Now it would normally be a no brainer as I'd usually go for the cheapest but here is the snag.

1) I used to get approx 600kb d/l speeds at it's highest level but that last about 3-4 months and since then get no more than 200kb. If I were to go with BT at least I could nag them to come out and sort the line as it's all with them. I have tried the BT speed tester thing but for some reason it wont allow me to log in. And to be fair my technical knowledge is limited. At least BT offer a home setup too with their broadband package AND offer openzone minutes.

2) I have no idea when my exchange will be unbundled, I wouldn't like to sign up to a 12 month contract if my exchange will be unbundled by March and I can start using cheaper services at the same speeds (or better) through the likes of sky, be there etc.

3) Ideally I'd like a service that provides Dynamic IP ranges rather than fixed, this used to be the majority of services but now it seems no one does them unless you go with AOL and use their proxy servers. Do either Sky or BT offer dynamic IPs?

4) My useage per month ranges between 4gb and 12gb (max) depending on what I d/l and I have started using itunes quite a bit more which is why sometimes I'm getting higher d/l some months.

Thanks in advance of your help

According to Sam Knows: http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/SLWS
The only LLU operator at my exhcnage in talk talk. I have checked their site and they say they could offer me up to 4.5 meg with their service. Would that mean I'd have my phone like taken over by TalkTalk? New telephone number etc?

Are they any good?

I'd stick with Entanet, the ISPs you are thinking of are not renowned for their helpfulness. Perhaps if you detailed your line problems and posted your router stats you'd get some practical help? See http://www.dslzoneuk.net/adsl_line_stats.php

Newnet Home M says it is dynamic IP, but it may be sticky. The allowance is the total of down and up. You can pre-buy chunks in the months you go over the allowance (you can pre-buy even after you go over as long as you do it before the end of the month, and you can set an over-usage limit yourself as well). Note the monthly contract price is �17.56pm, not the �16.59 which is annual/12.

I think I need a different Entanet provider in that case. One who can offer the services I require.
What specifically are the problems (if any) with BT and Sky?

You suggest you have a line problem (the download speed decrease from approximately 600 kbps to 200 kbps). That line problem will migrate with you to your next ISP. Entanet have a better reputation for sorting problems than BT or Sky.

It would be nice to know the nature of the line problem which Entanet have failed to address in 3-4 months.

As John asked for earlier, your line stats could help us think about why you aren't getting the speed you expect, and also the full results from a BT Speed Test.

WRT to BT and Sky I haven't any recent experience (BT around the start of the decade on a 512k service and moving to Prodigynet who were a good ISP at that time was a revelation wrt customer service). But these comparisons may help.

It would also be a good idea to browse the forums of both on this site. Bear in mind that Sky Connect at one time was nowhere near as good as the LLU service, I haven't looked recently.

Re ukfsn, I think someone else may have put in to migrate from them to another Entanet reseller (ADSL24) today, because they are unhappy with the support at ukfsn.

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 29-Dec-08 18:16:36)

3) BT Broadband is dynamic IP.

might be an idea to fully read their website(has the answers to your question/s)

I'm in the same situation as you with regards to only having talktalk llu at my exchange), I'm not wanting to risk moving to them after reading horror stories about their cs(or lack there of) + my experience with them couple of years back trying to cancle after they'd miss sold to my parents(cpw guy told my parents that the broadband was free when infact we'd have to pay �10/month as it wasn't available in our area at the time).

what are the usage requirements?

aaisp might be a good bet. They are the only isp I have had who really do pressure BT on line faults.

I would like to get the line issues corrected also. However I can't use the BT speed checker as it wont allow me to log in. Something about username or password issues but I can't remember the email address/password combination from my original use of the service.

The BT speed tester doesn't want your ISP username/password that you use for accessing your account details.

It wants the sign-in username from your router, which you should be able to see.

It's still worth your while to post your router stats. See http://www.dslzoneuk.net/adsl_line_stats.php for how to do so.

Finally got logged in
However the page gets stuck as follows and wont go any further
Click Me

Edited by Lothario (Tue 30-Dec-08 16:59:26)

Connection Speed
Downstream: 2560 kbps
Upstream: 448 kbps

Line Attenuation
Downstream: 35.0 db
Upstream: 17.5 db

Noise Margin
Downstream: 11.9 db
Upstream: 21.0 db

I don't know how ukfn does it, but with adsl24 when you sign in to your account details on their website you have [email protected](username being what you chose). it is that which you put into the username in your router & what you need to put in for the bt speed tester.

what are you putting in to get the message with the joe.blogs etc bit?

Sorry just edited my post with some more info

In reply to:

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Finally got logged in
However the page gets stuck as follows and wont go any further
Click Me

---

make sure you don't have anything d/ling, only your browser open etc. it should only take a couple of mins if that. but looking at your pic it looks like you've got a 2mb profile at the moment.

OK it looks like there was a firefox compatibility issue as I managed to get a test result.
However I forgot to remove the mrs from the internet and she was happily using itunes to convert some CD's downstairs (while accessing the web for track listings).

Anyway results are as follows:

In reply to:

---

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test: -provides background information.
Your DSL connection rate: 2560 kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP profile for your line is - 2000 kbps
Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 1616 kbps

If you wish to discuss these results please contact your ISP.

If you are experiencing problems with specific applications, servers or websites please contact your ISP for assistance.

Your test has completed please close this window to exit the performance tester.

---

Will do another test in 3 hours with nothing connected to be sure.
However at present, can anyone make head or tail of these results?

In reply to:

---

OK it looks like there was a firefox compatibility issue as I managed to get a test result.
However I forgot to remove the mrs from the internet and she was happily using itunes to convert some CD's downstairs (while accessing the web for track listings).

Anyway results are as follows:

In reply to:

---

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test: -provides background information.
Your DSL connection rate: 2560 kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP profile for your line is - 2000 kbps
Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 1616 kbps

If you wish to discuss these results please contact your ISP.

If you are experiencing problems with specific applications, servers or websites please contact your ISP for assistance.

Your test has completed please close this window to exit the performance tester.

---

Will do another test in 3 hours with nothing connected to be sure.
However at present, can anyone make head or tail of these results?

---

as I said you have 2mb profile so the highest result you'll get is like 1.9mb(~1900kbps), which equates to ~200kb/s when you d/l something.

you said you were getting 600kb/s d/l, which means your profile was 6mb(router sync of ~6.5mb). try restarting your router to see if you can get a higher sync, if the router then can hold that synce between75mins-5days the profile will increase and you'll be able to d/l faster.

I'll leave it to someone with more knowledge to explain further.

Thanks for that. I actually used to reboot the router nightly so could that be an issue do you think?

It has now been turned on for at least 2 weeks solid though since moving somewhere else in the house.

A 2000kbps profile is pretty correct for a 2560kbps sync rate.

The question becomes why are you syncing so poorly.

Perhaps an extension is unfiltered or a filter has gone phut. Have a look at http://www.dslzoneuk.net/socket.php?type=html to see if there is a problem with your wiring.

If you have a test socket within your BT master socket it would be extremely useful to know the stats when your router is plugged in there.

Cheers for that. Have asked this question in Enta forum now as so not to swamp Which ISP section with unnecessary queries until I have all the facts.

You've been a big help, thanks.

You need to sync as near to midday as possible at this time of year to get full sync speed. As two others have said the profile is correct for the sync speed. But the noise margin in your stats implies either you have had line trouble, or when you sync'ed 2 weeks ago things were noisy.

If there is no-one around at that time, do it as late as possible in the morning, and tell us the time.

You must do a re-sync before there can be any improvement. Time as above . Even then your profile (which is what actually limits your speed) will take a fair while to update. See this table and the explanations above and below it. Please take your stats immediately after your next re-sync as an important figure (the noise margin) starts changing after that.

Edited by RobertoS (Tue 30-Dec-08 20:15:23)

mine is giving 15db for the noise margin for some reason(normally like 5-6db), it was ok after I fitted the I-Plate and the sync rose to 3.5mb. but its been disconnecting and reconnecting daily(multiple times a day in a number of cases) and has had theip profile down to 135kbps a couple of times(currently at 500kbps).