which ISP for ADSL? edinburgh/fountainbridge

Hi all,
I'm finally leaving virgin broadband, following their recent (possibly still ongoing) outage. They're not even competent enough to give a real estimate of how long a fix will take, they repeatedly state 4hrs (I believe all their tickets state 4hrs, no matter what the actual problem is), and they repeatedly refuse to even comment on this inaccurate estimate issue when I ask.

So, looking for an ADSL provider. I'm not far from this exchange:
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/ESFOU

Considering AAISP currently.

Things that would be bonuses:

1) a company that can actually give useful information when a fault occurs, like "when do you really think it will be fixed by"?
2) a company that won't route me to a far-off country when I ring for support
3) no capping rubbish. Don't mind paying per gigabytes etc or having a GB allowance

I'm not a huge downloader, but occaisonally will download large files (like linux distros). Ping time is important, as I play online games sometimes.
I don't tend to download a lot in the daytime, more evening and weekend.

(Although obiously a torrent left running might be running at daytime, but if this was an issue, I'd have things downloading evening only.)

Any opinions/ideas gratefully received!

If you are actually connected via this exchange your choices are simple. It's Sky if you have Sky TV or O2/Be if you don't.
If you choose O2, sign up via Quidco.

Edited by Deadbeat (Mon 13-Jul-09 17:04:11)

Thanks for your reply deadbeat.

I can see from the samknows page (link I posted) that O2/Be are available, and AAISP is not, and I take it that's where you get your advice from?
Howeer, AAISP themselves think they could give my ADSL, when I use their service checker (put in my postcode/phone number).

So I am now confused!

Samknows list LLU ISPs that are available. All other ISPs including AAISP are available everywhere as it uses IPstream via BT.

AAISP will be available over the BT Wholesale network as will just about every other ISP. O2 /Be and Sky have an LLU presence at your exchange and therefore have their own equipment installed. This allows them to offer a superior and cheaper service.

Thanks for your replies everyone!
I just got a reply from AAISP clarifying exactly the same point (nice prompt reply).

So is the quality/price difference between LLU and wholesale big enough to warrant going with a LLU service? I guess so...

I'm finding scare stories online about O2 having disconnection problems, e.g.:

http://www.broadband-help.com/providers/reviews/176

Anyone can comment on this? I play games online, so this wouldn't be good...

In reply to a post by occular:

Thanks for your replies everyone!
I just got a reply from AAISP clarifying exactly the same point (nice prompt reply).

So is the quality/price difference between LLU and wholesale big enough to warrant going with a LLU service? I guess so...

I can only speak for O2 but the service is truly unlimited so there's no need to be looking over your shoulder. Customer/tech support is UK based and effective. They don't use the BTw profiling system so you'll get the maximum speed which can be, depending upon the package you choose and your line characteristics, up to 24M down/1.3M up. The only drawback that I can find is the 12 month contract but I'm not considering going anywhere else!
If you sign up via Quidco (See the O2 section of these forums), you'll get cashback on top of any deal that O2 have on offer. It could work out at a ridiculously low outgoing for the sum of the first 12 months - Particularly so for the quality of service.

In reply to a post by occular:

I'm finding scare stories online about O2 having disconnection problems, e.g.:

http://www.broadband-help.com/providers/reviews/176

Anyone can comment on this? I play games online, so this wouldn't be good...

That will be the O2 Access service which is delivered over the BTw network from non LLU'd exchanges. Your exchange is LLU enabled for O2 so you won't see these problems.

As you've got C&W at your exchange you might want to look at Xilo? On their Pro 16 H it's £14.99/month.

I am going over to them this Friday, so far support have been very prompt in any questions, or if you can wait, I will let you know how I get on with them over the next week or so.

I know they currently have an offer on with a 50% discount on both BT and LLU migrates... (£5.50 BT and £20 LLU) - coupon: DSLMIG

No FUP, port blocking or throttling, I am currently with Vivaciti LLU (21.85 a month hence the change) through C&W and it's been brilliant, nice pings and consistent speeds, albeit on my rather long line! I am hoping for the same through Xilo.

Best thing about it is no BT profiling! That restricted me to about 1mb, now on just over 2mb.

Edited by deleted (Mon 13-Jul-09 19:25:17)