Moving from Pipex to... ?

Hi ladies and gentlemen

I am moving away from Pipex and have received my MAC code already!

Not too sure who to go to next though - have had a look around and have a couple of suggestions but could do with some of your expert help.

I share the broadband with my Dad - we are both light users - occasional web browsing, e-mails, the odd iTunes download and Windows Update.

I don't mind paying a premium for a good service.

ISP must be a monthly contract so if things go downhill I can easily migrate.

Think I am looking for between 3-10gb usage but really have no idea as I don't keep track of my current usage with Pipex.

My router stats are as follows:

Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 1.824
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 11,5 / 16,0
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 31,5 / 58,0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 15,0 / 10,0

NewNet seem to fit the bill quite well for their Home Lite 3gb for �12.95 per month or Home M 12gb for �17.95 per month package.

IDNet also is 5gb for �17.99 per month. This is probably a little bit more than I would like to spend although I would imagine you would get a very good service for this.

Any other suggestions for high quality ISP's, monthly contract for between �10-15+ per month? Would also be useful to have a portal to check my usage and buy extra bandwidth if needed.

Thanks in advance

-p

It would be wise to actually check what ADSL services you can get first before parting with any cash.

LLU providers such as Sky and Be will give you the best speeds, biggest caps or no caps at all - no throttling - and at the lowest cost.

Use the link I have put below and it will tell you exactly what ADSL services you can get by just putting in your post code or phone number (i.e. it may say "Sky LLU" or "Be LLU" - that means you can use Sky or Be and they are an LLU service).

Link to ADSL services checker.

Are there *any* LLU providers that offer 1 month contracts?

Cheers for replying Tony.

I forgot to say I did check that already and only TalkTalk/AOL are available on my exchange.

I was tempted by TalkTalk but I have heard bad things and I'm not keen on 18 month contracts. You get what you pay for I guess.

Look no further, Newnet and IDNet are the best of the bunch for the sort of bandwidth you're looking at. If you need a bit more Entanet resellers can do a 3GB peak/30GB off peak package for �16.50 (or 30GB peak/300GB off peak for �20) and with a long line like yours you will never notice the off peak slowdown.

Regards,
Steve

On Newnet you can set a flexible cap above your allowance, and if you run into that it costs �1.60 per GB for the excess usage.

However, you start getting warning emails at 75% usage, and there is a good online monitor - 2 hour delay for daily and hourly stats.

At any point in the month you can buy cheaper "pre-paid" extra in units of 1,5 or 10GB via the online order system, even after you run into your excess band, and the excess is reduced by the amount you buy - obviously you will buy more than the extra you have used. You will have seen the prices on the right when you looked at the package.

I suggest the Home Lite and see how you get on. There is a one-off charge for upgrading if you find 3GB not enough. Even 3GB pre-paid extra comes in below the 12GB package price, so unless you are consistently well above 3GB then it is best to stay on it.

You can request a MAC online as well if for any reason you think you made a mistake. I believe the expected time to receive it is 10 minutes.

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 27-Feb-08 16:04:15)

Thanks for all the help people.

I've signed up to NewNet Home Lite.

That's what I call decisive. I don't think I have ever decided anything that fast.

Depending how you are for internet expenditure, have you though of getting a domain and email service immediately - i.e. before you migrate. That way you have a much more personal address and can get all your contacts over to it straight away, watch out for any you have missed for the next few days, and nothing to change when you migrate. Ever!.

It's much cheaper than you would think. A domain is �7.50 every 2 years at Purple Cloud and �5 per year for email to go with it. 5 mailboxes, POP3/SMTP, IMAP, Webmail. Up and running within hours. (Don't forget .me.uk domains have more choice than .co.uk).

Let us know what you think of Newnet after a while , and any questions just ask in the Newnet forum.

In reply to:

---

Depending how you are for internet expenditure, have you thought of getting a domain and email service immediately - i.e. before you migrate. That way you have a much more personal address and can get all your contacts over to it straight away, watch out for any you have missed for the next few days, and nothing to change when you migrate. Ever!.

---

Now that's good advice.

I am converting over to my domain/email on 1&1 and found I am registered at 60+site/organisations with Email contacts on top, it takes some time to get fully sorted and to check it's all done OK

Once sorted I'll switch from forwarding to my Pipex address to accessing it direct

I'll be ready for when they P me off and I'll move to BE*

Cheers people.

Rob - I am usually very undecisive but I have read good things about NewNet on this forum and it is a 1 month contract so if it isn't enough bandwidth or they go down hill, I can easily migrate.

I am also sorted with a domain thanks, and will probably just forward to a GMail account temporarily then change the forwarding over to my NewNet e-mail when it is set up. Then if I ever move to another ISP I can just change the forwarding again.

TheBaron - yer, I am not looking forward to changing my registrations with everyone but to be honest none of them are critical to me.

-p