Which Internet Provider-Advice needed please.

Hi I am new to this forum.
I live in the Bristol area and looking to get broadband. I currently have no landline but have previously had virgin media installed back in 2009. I'm looking for;
1) Unlimited Internet
2) Superfast internet

I am a heavy user and want to download and play games through my PS3. There will be more than one user at one time in my household using the Internet. I have been reading reviews on various companies but due to there being so many can't decide which provider would best suit me. If I have to have a landline then so be it but I don't want a TV package with this. Any advice would be appreciated thank you.

Welcome .

Please could you put your address into this checker.

Best is to upload the whole page as a screenshot if you can, (edit out the address if it shows), but if that's difficult please tell us at least the exchange name, cabinet number, and the estimated speeds for FTTC and ADSL2+.

You will have to have a landline, unless you use Virgin Media Cable again.

Downstream line
Rate Mbps
WBC ADSL 2+ up to 5 3 to 7.5
ADSL up to 4 2.5 to 7
WBC fixed rate 2
Fixed rate 2

Here are the results after putting in my address.

Iv read Virgin is not truly unlimited and they manage traffic on the 100mb deal??

Virgin Media has trigger levels where your speed is reduced, but it still runs fast in theory.
There is also traffic management for P2P too.

So in theory Virgin 100 Meg would beat any of the ADSL/ADSL2+ options in terms of speed, issue is whether latency/jitter is important, e.g. gaming

Can you give us the exchange please? Or the link to what samknows says. That shows us more alternatives than that first one, which I wanted to see if FTTC/FTTP was there or on its way soon.

MrSaffron knows more about the VM cable side than I.

Exchange name: Filton SSFLT South Gloucestershire South West.

Not good news I'm afraid.

Plenty of choice for unlimited downloads, but no current possibility anything above eight or nine Mbps except on VM cable. The problem with VM cable on that exchange I expect would be bad latency/jitter and possibly congestion, as explained by MrSaffron, with there being no "superfast" alternative.

The figures you gave in an earlier post give a top figure of 7.5Mbps. That normally refers to the connection speed and is conservative, rather than the real world throughput. My 8-9Mbps is an optimistic guess based on that 7.5Mps - again a possible connection speed, not throughput.

I would estimate maximum throughput at about 80% of whatever figure we pluck out of that uncertainty . Superfast that is not!

You could look at Plusnet Unlimited Broadband and calls which has useful traffic management for mixed gaming and heavy downloading, explained here.

Then there is Sky LLU. Similar speeds to Plusnet but so far as I know, no such traffic management. If you believe the explanation I just linked to, which I do, then Sky may be less good for your gaming and not noticeably better for the downloading.

O2/Be LLU are available, and used to be excellent, but difficulties caused possibly by their delayed changeover to a new network are giving rise to frequent reports that look like congestion.

TalkTalk itself wouldn't be a good idea, and C & W don't sell direct. There are a number of resellers that supply packages using the exchange equipment but not always the full system of both. I suggest you look at vivaciti and Aquiss for these, as their offerings are reputed to be better than TT itself.

Orange seems to be slightly resurgent but a horrible mess on the admin side with their EE dual identity .

BT Broadband throttle P2P downloads when busy, and apparently nearly all the time on upload - which slows the download more subtly.

I was actually looking at plusnet. Just absorbing all your info lol thank you so much.

Might be worth investigating FTTC a bit more as it seems its in the area.

Not on her postcode from the look of the BT Wholesale checker.