Broadband (new user) in rural Oxfordshire?

SamKnows details for my exchange. It has ADSL and ADSL Max only. None of the LLU operators are present.

I don't yet have Broadband. At the moment I use a 56k dial-up modem to access FreeUK.com over a normal BT land-line, and I typically get 50 - 52k actual speed.

I guess I'll be a fairly light user, at least to begin with, except perhaps when I work from home, which could be 2 or 3 days a month - when I'd be running a PC over a VPN. I guess this means I need a supplier that doesn't over-charge if one goes over the normal allowence in a month, and has a good upgrade path if necessary.

I'm looking for low total cost and competant customer service, if such a combination exists these days! I've no objection in principle to a 12- or 18-month deal if it's worthwhile.

I'm also looking for ways to cut my phone bill (currently BT Weekend package).

A mobile "dongle" is not an option, since the signal is very variable (often non-existant) in my house.

So, what are your recommendations, and why? Thanks in advance.

Have a look at this suggestion, you can upgrade the PN BB on the next billing period.
PN do traffic shape/manage and certain downloads are speed controlled at certain times of the day.
The info is available on their website > http://www.plus.net/

http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/speed_guide/tr...

@OP

Forgot to say you won't get the cheap BB prices from PN as your exchange is not market 3

You'll need to check out if Primus products are suitable for your use.

what is your phone calling pattern - destinations, times, volume.

Are you still in a 12-month contract for the BT landline?

Regarding the broadband, the problem with the cheapest Plusnet package, (10GB peak allowance, unlimited night-time), is this traffic management. (Note the VPN speed). They also charge £5 per 5GB chunk if you go over the 10GB, with no carry-over of any unused part of that. See this page on my website for a bit more info. Or you can limit the excess usage but when you reach whatever limit you set you drop to 128kbps for the rest of the month.

Their "Extra" package gets nearly as expensive as other ISPs, but the traffic management isn't quite as harsh and the allowance fairly generous. Scroll down from the "Value" one for the TM details.

At £19.78 you can get vivaciti Family 30. If you consider that then ask in the Entanet forum about the service for that area, as it can vary from good to adequate depending on where you are. Rarely poor. Monthly contract so easy to move away.

In all cases if you haven't already got ISP-independent email then I suggest you get it. I have a page on my website about it. That makes ISP migration a doddle instead of painful.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Are you still in a 12-month contract for the BT landline?

Not sure. I receive a quarterly bill by post.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Regarding the broadband, the problem with the cheapest Plusnet package, (10GB peak allowance, unlimited night-time), is this traffic management. (Note the VPN speed). They also charge £5 per 5GB chunk if you go over the 10GB, with no carry-over of any unused part of that. See this page on my website for a bit more info. Or you can limit the excess usage but when you reach whatever limit you set you drop to 128kbps for the rest of the month.

5GB chunks sounds a bit harsh. Thanks for pointing that out.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Their "Extra" package gets nearly as expensive as other ISPs, but the traffic management isn't quite as harsh and the allowance fairly generous. Scroll down from the "Value" one for the TM details.

At £19.78 you can get vivaciti Family 30. If you consider that then ask in the Entanet forum about the service for that area, as it can vary from good to adequate depending on where you are. Rarely poor. Monthly contract so easy to move away.

I don't think I'm prepared to pay £240 a year for broadband.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

In all cases if you haven't already got ISP-independent email then I suggest you get it. I have a page on my website about it. That makes ISP migration a doddle instead of painful.

I own my own domain-name (steamage.co.uk) and e-mail to that domain is forwarded, currently to FreeUK.

I have a small web-site on FreeUK, too. I was suprised to see (on Roberto's PlusNet page) that PlusNet don't offer any web space. However, provided I dial-in to FreeUK at least once a month, that arrangement can continue as long as I like.

In reply to a post by yarwell:

what is your phone calling pattern - destinations, times, volume.

Times - mostly weekday evenings, some weekends.

Destinations and volumes - highly erratic: I sometimes go weeks without making more than a few 1-minute local calls, then make 3 or 4 1-hour national calls. Very few mobile calls, except to a couple of regulars (one Orange, one T-Mobile).

BTW, both the providers suggested to me before I posted here (Plus Net and Mad As A Fish) appear to have some tie-up with BT. Can someone explain how independant they are of each other and of their parent, please?

Cheers

Day-to-day Plusnet functions as a wholly owned subsidiary of BT with independent management, equipment, packages and business strategy. Clearly there must be some interaction at senior management/board level.

Madasafish is basically now a division of Plusnet and under direct Plusnet day-to-day control.

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 17-Jan-11 18:21:40)