A pick of 3 isps, opinions anyone?

Hi guys
Currently with IDNET getting a lowly 3meg for £14.99 a month with 10gb downloads that im frequently exceeding so end up paying the £1 per gb penalty.
Looking to switch to a cheaper provider and adding phone to them as well.
Currently have Talk Talk LLU, sky non LLU and Orange listed at my exchange.

Obviously LLU would be faster but anything above 3meg is a bonus especially if im paying less
Just wondered what everyones choice would be if you were in the same position.

Used primarily for surfing, downloading now and again mostly ps3 games and online play.
Happy with IDNET service but not the price and speed

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Obviously LLU would be faster but anything above 3meg is a bonus

Not so obviously if you line is truly only capable of 3 Meg.

Orange is no longer LLU; it is now provisioned by BTw and you'll only get ADSL2+ if exchange is 21CN enabled.

What's current router stats?

As XRaySpex says, if your line can only do 3Mbps then LLU won't give you any more. Look at the (non-)difference on this graph.

If you post your line stats as he asks, see here for help, we can see if you should be getting more anyway, but even if we could increase your speed by a couple of Mbps LLU isn't going to help much.

If you can do your larger downloads overnight your best bet could very well be Plusnet.

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 26-Sep-11 21:54:13)

I got these figs ?

noise margin upstream: 23 db
output power downstream: 19 db
attenuation upstream: 14 db

noise margin downstream: 10 db
output power upstream: 12 db
attenuation downstream: 22 db

Actually getting closer to 4mb

[IMG]http://www.speedtest.net/result/1503570454.png[/IMG]

Line stats seem to suggest i can get 8mb?

The attenuation suggests 8Mbps on ADSL(1), and 16-19Mbps on ADSL2+. So something is seriously messed up somewhere. What the attenuation suggests is pretty irrelevant until we find out what the problem is.

We need the connection speeds from the stats as well. Might be called bandwidth. Also it would be a great help if you tell us the exchange.

Are you running speed tests wired or wirelessly? What OS is on your computer?

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

The attenuation suggests 8Mbps on ADSL(1), and 16-19Mbps on ADSL2+. So something is seriously messed up somewhere. What the attenuation suggests is pretty irrelevant until we find out what the problem is.

We need the connection speeds from the stats as well. Might be called bandwidth. Also it would be a great help if you tell us the exchange.

Are you running speed tests wired or wirelessly? What OS is on your computer?

Running the test wirelessly

Exchange is :

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/SWTEZ

Sorry forgot to say running win xp home

Just did network test on PS3 and getting 5.8meg, hardwired into router via LAN

You still haven't given us the connection speeds, only speed test resuts which are no use for what we need, to give you a more accurate estimate.

But!

Wireless on XP always needs tuning. Download TCP Optimizer and run it. That should bring your wireless up to speed.

You cannot get more than 8Mbps at that exchange except through TalkTalk or one of its resellers such as vivaciti and xilo/uno. TalkTalk is the cheapest way, and you would get a huge speed increase with them, as long as you have done the TCP Optimizer thing. More than double what you are getting with the PS3.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

You still haven't given us the connection speeds, only speed test resuts which are no use for what we need, to give you a more accurate estimate.

But!

Wireless on XP always needs tuning. Download TCP Optimizer and run it. That should bring your wireless up to speed.

You cannot get more than 8Mbps at that exchange except through TalkTalk or one of its resellers such as vivaciti and xilo/uno. TalkTalk is the cheapest way, and you would get a huge speed increase with them, as long as you have done the TCP Optimizer thing. More than double what you are getting with the PS3.

Ok thanks for that, i dont know how to access connection speed status, i get this on my router front page :

Interface Status Rate
DSL Up 8128 kbps / 448 kbps
LAN Up 100M/FullDuplex
WLAN Active 54M

Talktalk is the clear choice here or at least an isp that uses there kit like surfwise products.

Thanks, i was swaying toward talktalk but am a bit wary of the bad press they get.
Also my brother has just switched to them and his router is continually dropping out on the dsl line, TT say its down to the phone extension cable not being able to handle 12 meg that they're trying to shove down it, i remain sceptical until he extends the lan cable rather than the phone cable, then we shall see

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Interface Status Rate
DSL Up 8128 kbps / 448 kbps

FYI: That is your connection or sync speed and is of far more significance than speed test speeds.

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Thanks, i was swaying toward talktalk but am a bit wary of the bad press they get.
Also my brother has just switched to them and his router is continually dropping out on the dsl line, TT say its down to the phone extension cable not being able to handle 12 meg that they're trying to shove down it, i remain sceptical until he extends the lan cable rather than the phone cable, then we shall see

My other property has had talktalk LLU for around 9 months and its pretty good so far the router they sent is not so great though so i'm using my own (Thompson 585v8)

That shows your line is quite a bit better than you thought, and the speed issues may be down to you running things over wifi. You may have a low profile, do you keep turning your router on and off to try to improve things?

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Just did network test on PS3 and getting 5.8meg, hardwired into router via LAN

Hi anon, is DSL Up 8128 kbps / 448 kbps your actual router sync speed? I got that when I was on 8Meg Max, it is the maximum sync on that service. Do not consider Orange unless your exchange has been converted to 21CN WBC as they no longer use LLU.

21CN WBC https://www.btwholesale.com/pages/static/Community/B...

If money isn't an object and you want speeds of at least 15 meg and want brilliant customer service then join Xilo (enter your no and look for talk pro service which is based on TalkTalk LLU)

If money is an object but not the main priority, then go fo vivaciti who again will offer you at least 15 meg on TalkTalk LLU based network. Very good customer provided again.

If you want cheap as chips broadband and don't mind using forums for decent support and want 15 meg broadband speeds then go with TalkTalk direct. Their plus package allows you to download at least 100gb before they raise an eyebrow. P2P traffc is dynamically throttled by TalkTalk but all other protocols run full speed 24/7.

If you are happy receiving sub-8 meg speeds with good customer service on a BT (spit) based ADSL1 service then stay with IDNet

In reply to a post by vivaciti:

That shows your line is quite a bit better than you thought, and the speed issues may be down to you running things over wifi. You may have a low profile, do you keep turning your router on and off to try to improve things?

Hi thanks for replyin, no i never switch off router except if i get any connection issues that tbh rarely happens.

In reply to a post by baby_frogmella:

If money isn't an object and you want speeds of at least 15 meg and want brilliant customer service then join Xilo (enter your no and look for talk pro service which is based on TalkTalk LLU)

If money is an object but not the main priority, then go fo vivaciti who again will offer you at least 15 meg on TalkTalk LLU based network. Very good customer provided again.

If you want cheap as chips broadband and don't mind using forums for decent support and want 15 meg broadband speeds then go with TalkTalk direct. Their plus package allows you to download at least 100gb before they raise an eyebrow. P2P traffc is dynamically throttled by TalkTalk but all other protocols run full speed 24/7.

If you are happy receiving sub-8 meg speeds with good customer service on a BT (spit) based ADSL1 service then stay with IDNet

Money isnt an object but paying a premium for idnet with slower speeds is a bit of a pain
vivaciti can offer talktalk llu? how does that work then?

Just checked xilo and while it sounds exactly what i want for BB i stand to save more by switching both my phone and BB to talk talk so think i'll sign up on the half price deal tonight.

Many thanks for all of your input

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Just checked xilo and while it sounds exactly what i want for BB i stand to save more by switching both my phone and BB to talk talk so think i'll sign up on the half price deal tonight.

Many thanks for all of your input

Good decision! Assuming you don't have any line issues, you'll get line speeds 24/7 with with no slowdown in the evenings as TalkTalk have ample bandwidth capacity on their LLU network (thanks to them throttling P2P rapists). Also when you go live, don't forget to register on the TalkTalk forum to get good support. If you have any problems registering, use this to get in touch with them. Look out for the lovely Emma OCE on the forums as she's able to fix everything

Welcome to the UK's most hated ISP

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Just checked xilo and while it sounds exactly what i want for BB i stand to save more by switching both my phone and BB to talk talk so think i'll sign up on the half price deal tonight.

Many thanks for all of your input

Don't forget you must run TCPOptimizer to sort out your wireless speeds. It corrects duff settings inside Windows XP. You will still be hamstrung even on TalkTalk until you do.

You should be getting 6-7Mbps on IDNet. If you run the BT Performance Tester and post the full results as far down as the end of the upload speeds, it will tell us if you have another problem.

Just thought i'd update this, now connected with Talk Talk, 1 st day speeds 13meg which was nice 2nd day speeds 13 meg, 3rd day speeds are jumping all over the place from 300kbps up to 3meg with a disconnect last night.
Tried to register on forum and got a message saying my account number didnt exist so had to use the contact us form.
Rung someone today and asked a foreign person with a faint grasp of the english language to call me back and was told they cannot do this so asked to be put through to cancellations and was put through to yet another person who could not speak the language so hung up.

ANYONE CONSIDERING MOVING TO TALK TALK, DO NOT DO IT!!

I had been with IDNet for 3 years without a hitch, you get what you pay for i guess.

Nightmare .

Apparently the uselessness of the phone help at TT is well known, but there is a TalkTalk in-house forum you can join, and the reps on that are apparently very good.

So see if you can find that, and keep us posted. Good luck .

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

3rd day speeds are jumping all over the place from 300kbps up to 3meg with a disconnect last night.

Monitor your router stats as the first priority before your speedtest results which are are of secondary significance.

It would be be nice if they actually replied to my email from this morning to say i cant register due to their fantastic system telling me my account number and phone number is not valid to allow me to register for thr forums, unbelievable!

Ah, I missed the bit about not being able to register on their forum.

If you register here, which is good as you don't get spam and lose many adverts, you will be able to post in the TT forum here. I don't know if their reps come here, but I'm sure someone will help, even if just by raising an issue for you over there.

You could always send a PM to TTS and hopefully get some response ..... maybe at the start of the week rather than over the weekend.

In reply to a post by Apprentice:

You could always send a PM to TTS and hopefully get some response ..... maybe at the start of the week rather than over the weekend.

Has to register to send PMs .

But yes, a PM is easiest. Like I said, I didn't know whether they have reps here, but clearly they are active .

Has to register to send PMs tongue.

I know and you're right but I ..... err forgot briefly

Personally I think the powers that be should rethink and forget about anons it's sooo 20th C

There's no issues surely with signing up to a forum with a user-name etc etc.. nowadays is there?
If people want help they will sign up, just look at the PN Community site for example.

I expect he will, now he knows there is a possible TT rep with a brain available. I think for most people it is just laziness, and many sites bombard you with junk mail as well. So we have to tewll them this one doesn't .

Very occasionally I end up here not logged in, and its awful.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I expect he will, now he knows there is a possible TT rep with a brain available. I think for most people it is just laziness, and many sites bombard you with junk mail as well. So we have to tewll them this one doesn't .

Very occasionally I end up here not logged in, and its awful.

???

I know it's Friday night, time for another Mortlach

In reply to a post by Apprentice:

Has to register to send PMs tongue.

I know and you're right but I ..... err forgot briefly

Personally I think the powers that be should rethink and forget about anons it's sooo 20th C

There's no issues surely with signing up to a forum with a user-name etc etc.. nowadays is there?
If people want help they will sign up, just look at the PN Community site for example.

So what your saying is i should register on an outside forum in order to contact Talk Talk because i cant gain access to their own forum as their system wont let me register there because i dont exist on their system that is flawed and inefficient?

Thanks for the advice

For the others who have helped me just an update : I got back up to speeds of 14meg last night but this morning is back down to 3meg this morning and no response from numerous messages to support, i will continue to update

So what your saying is i should register on an outside forum in order to contact Talk Talk because i cant gain access to their own forum as their system wont let me register there because i dont exist on their system that is flawed and inefficient?

Yes! You came for advice .

Unless you merely wish to rant here, in which case feel free, but if you are still stuck in a few days ....

and no response from numerous messages to support

If you don't get any reply from TT support in a reasonable time it would be worth trying what I suggested.

Edited by Apprentice (Sat 15-Oct-11 16:32:40)

Hi All,

If any customers have problems registering on the TalkTalk Members site please use the TTMF Contact Us Email address. Please note we aim to reach all emails recieved within 48-72 hours.

Regards

Mark

and you want speeds of at least 15 meg

I've noticed you post similar before, how can an ISP offer you at least 15 meg, if your line is too long to produce those speeds ?