ADSL ISP Recommendations?
Netizen
We're looking for an inexpensive, basic 512K/256K ADSL connection via an
ISP for a small company. We have our own router, firewall etc. Prefer
fixed IP address. We have done some preliminary research, and come up
with a list of reasonably priced ISPs with decent reputations.
What I'd like to ask is: do you have experience of any of the ISPs
listed below? If so, how would you rate their service in terms of
reliability, tech support, customer service?
edNET
Easynet
Nildram
Or suggest an alternative ISP if you like...
(P.S: - We used to be with Demon but their customer service has
deteriorated so much over the last few years we don't wish to go back to
them)
David Bradley
Nildram, 9.99999 10+ 8
David Bradley
Alan Brown
"Netizen" <net...@nowhere.org> wrote in message
news:1ghciag.1pivtiy63h82oN%net...@nowhere.org...
> Hello all,
>
> We're looking for an inexpensive, basic 512K/256K ADSL connection via an
> ISP for a small company. We have our own router, firewall etc. Prefer
> fixed IP address. We have done some preliminary research, and come up
> with a list of reasonably priced ISPs with decent reputations.
>
> What I'd like to ask is: do you have experience of any of the ISPs
> listed below? If so, how would you rate their service in terms of
> reliability, tech support, customer service?
>
>
I can heartily recomend plus.net. I've been with them for two and a half
years on broadband.
Have a look at their service status page and then press the "Customer
Support Statistics " link. you can see a live report of how many people are
waiting in the queue. I have to say I very rarely phone them. the connection
seems to go on forever.
They have their own usenet group too that Support Staff answer questions on.
If you decide to go with them use " awbrown " as the referal person.
alan
Peter Crosland
I second that. Now ISP is perfect but Plus are better than most.
Sunil Sood
> an ISP for a small company. We have our own router, firewall etc.
> Prefer fixed IP address. We have done some preliminary research, and
> come up with a list of reasonably priced ISPs with decent reputations.
Which part of the country are you in?
> Or suggest an alternative ISP if you like...
As well as your list have a look at:
Zen
Plusnet
http://www.hi-velocity.it/
Bulldog
A&A
It may also be worth you looking at http://www.adslguide.org.uk/ - including
the forums
Regards
Sunil
Stormsinger
>Hello all,
>
>We're looking for an inexpensive, basic 512K/256K ADSL connection via an
>ISP for a small company. We have our own router, firewall etc. Prefer
>fixed IP address. We have done some preliminary research, and come up
>with a list of reasonably priced ISPs with decent reputations.
>
>What I'd like to ask is: do you have experience of any of the ISPs
>listed below? If so, how would you rate their service in terms of
>reliability, tech support, customer service?
>
>
Heard many complaints regarding their news server, so whether this reflects on their
general service I don't know.
>
>Or suggest an alternative ISP if you like...
Prodigynet.
Excellent - and also give superb service.
--
Email addy is a spam trap - Spam will go to a spammer
Please post in the group to reply.
Stormsinger
David Hansen
<hilary...@spamcop.net> wrote this:-
>I've been happy with edNet. [snip]
>Their customer service has been good when I've needed it, and they are
>definitely more techie than, say, Demon. They also didn't sound surprised
>or say phrases like "What's a traceroute?" or "No, 40% packet loss is
>normal" like Blueyonder did :) In short, good service, quick and
>knowledgeable replies, and they're not scared of users who know a bit
>about computers.
Seconded. They are not the cheapest, but I consider the extra well
worth it. For a business some of their competitors are a false
economy, one of their competitors screwed up e-mail for days
recently as they were incapable of managing a move from one server
to another properly.
--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me using the RIP Act 2000.
Graeme
news:Pine.LNX.4.44.040722...@pachabel.ednet.co.uk:
> I've been happy with edNet.
I used edNet when I was in Edinburgh. They provided excellent service and
I'd be more than happy to use them again if I returned.
Graeme
Peter Crosland
No, whatever it might be, it is not me. I do know how to spell my own name!
poster
>I have to say I very rarely phone them.
>They have their own usenet group too that Support Staff answer questions on.
In comparing PN with some others, I would hesitate to recommend them for
business users without knowing what the business was after in terms of
service. As far as usage, having been a user with Claranet, I'd be of
the opinion Clara may be better for a business account and their hosting
and other services seem likely to be more reliable. They have a one-off
fee for fixed IP, unlike some which charge a fee every month for this
'luxury'. I don't know how business users of Easynet rate but I must
declare an interest as I have shars in the company (but have never been
a user, except of the PAYG service from an off-shoot: UK Online). Peter.
poster
>>clara.net
>Heard many complaints regarding their news server, so whether this
>reflects on their general service I don't know.
It doesn't. The Clara news service was launched (as Claranews) in early
Summer of 2001, from memory, at a fee of 20 pounds per year. There was
massive interest for those paying more than 20 quid a month to other
news services (usually USA based) for their 'fix' of binaries, whether
warez, porn, or illicit copies of video or music, and by November of the
same year, Clara had to do something to beef up the news service so it was
more easily scalable. Trials of news server software, modified in house,
went on for what seemed like ages and the complaints you've seen will be
from the hardcore binary lobby, who have seen pricing go up on Claranews
(max fee is around 100 quid a year I think, now) but from time to time a
mediocre news service (though my annual account has not been renewed so
I am out of touch by a few months). I am sure someone else can correct
any factually incorrect aspects. On mail and other services, Claranet is
generally very reliable - I have had mail through their service for 6+
years and only for a week or two, earlier this year (when worms/spam was
at a peak) were there some problems with POP connections, AFAICR). Peter
Alex Hunsley
I used plus.net when I was on ADSL (I'm cable now) and they were very good.
Good website resources and guides, home network friendly (in fact their website
has articles telling you how to set up a home network), and very few problems
or outages.
alex
Alastair
> Hello all,
>
> We're looking for an inexpensive, basic 512K/256K ADSL connection via an
> ISP for a small company. We have our own router, firewall etc. Prefer
> fixed IP address. We have done some preliminary research, and come up
> with a list of reasonably priced ISPs with decent reputations.
>
> What I'd like to ask is: do you have experience of any of the ISPs
> listed below? If so, how would you rate their service in terms of
> reliability, tech support, customer service?
>
> edNET
>
> Easynet
>
> Nildram
>
> clara.net
>
>
> Or suggest an alternative ISP if you like...
For a business I think features, reliability and support are more important
than
price, within reason of course.
After evaluating several ISPs we chose aaisp for ourselves and our clients.
We
have been delighted with the choice.
> (P.S: - We used to be with Demon but their customer service has
> deteriorated so much over the last few years we don't wish to go back to
> them)
Same here.
Alex Bird
> As well as your list have a look at:
>
> Zen <<<<<-----------------------------<<<<<
> Plusnet
> http://www.hi-velocity.it/
> Bulldog
> A&A
Actually we've only had it for a couple of days, but chose it on the
recommendation of several people. It has the fixed IP you're after as
standard, in fact up to 8 IPs for the same price IIRC.
Alex
Netizen
It looks as though we will go to edNET. Not the cheapest, but there is
the advantage that, being based in Edinburgh, we can pop into their
office if need be!
Bob Eager
wrote:
> The entity currently known as David Marsh wrote:
>
> > Are there any other Scottish ISPs worth considering?
> > (Are there any other Scottish ISPs, even? ;-)
>
> How about Zetnet? http://www.zetnet.com/
I used to think they were good - and indeed they were. But with the ill
health of one of the founders, things went downhill. They got their
dialup business plan wrong big time, then accused anyone they considered
might have cost them money as an 'abuser'...I was trying to be a
responsible user, too. They then raised charges with an expensive
pre-pay plan, which meant you had to forecast how many dialup minutes
you woiuld use in a month, and buy it in large blocks. I asked about
ADSL, and they really hadn't thought through a proper policy and were
changing the rules as they went along.
The final straw was that I transferred a domain from elsewhere, since
they offered a 'free' domain with the account. When I wanted to move it,
when I left, they charged me 75 pounds (they had held the tag for just
three months or so and not had to pay any Nominet charges).
I'm glad I gave up with them.
--
Bob Eager
begin a new life...dump Windows!
poster
>They got their dialup business plan wrong big time, then accused anyone
>they considered might have cost them money as an 'abuser'...I was trying
>to be a responsible user, too.
I had moved from Zetnet to use of Callnet800, then was using Freeserve and
BT Internet in parallel for my many hours online (using CTM 2000, a dial-
up connection controller, while it was in beta) but BT pushed me onto that
"heavy user" dial-up number (when most connections were made using FS !),
and final straw came when I had some major problems with connecting to
Zetnet after some new release and I decided not to stick with it as
there were other offers around... soon after I got HH in autumn 2001,
FS offered me a "wires only" trial at 29.99/month and I was happy for 2002
but later wanted a fixed IP and added PlusNet in 2003, and am still happy.
>When I wanted to move it, when I left, they charged me 75 pounds
>I'm glad I gave up with them.
I think I might have seen that price which put me off dealing with them
for any domains at all. Lots of things seemed more costly with them but
most users were pretty loyal and didn't grumble too much. Overall I must
wish them well, but things are tough for any smaller ISPs these days that
are unable to compete on price, unless they offer a lot of 'value added'
that allows one to justify them as being of 'acceptable' cost. Peter M
--
PlusNet - <http://tinyurl.com/24ymz> - recommend it and save a little cash
Depends on account that is opened by new customer, but good value ISP IMO.
Richard Tobin
David Marsh <list...@viewport.uk.fsn.org.UKFSN-is-1-word.invalid> wrote:
>It seems strange that it's not a business sector that seems to have
>thrived here
It seems to be a prime example of a business sector where physical
location makes no difference to the customers at all. Your ADSL
connection is to BT, and if your ISP was in Scotland it might well
just mean sending all the bits to Birmingham and back, before sending
them off to somewhere completely unrelated.
Actually, most employees of ISPs are probably working in call centres,
so they are in fact thriving in central Scotland. Or possibly India.
-- Richard
David Hansen
ric...@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Richard Tobin) wrote this:-
>It seems to be a prime example of a business sector where physical
>location makes no difference to the customers at all.
As a customer of Ednet and several of their competitors the physical
location of the offices makes a big difference to me. If there is a
problem I can go round and see someone. At the moment I am listening
to recorded announcements from one of their competitors, who has
failed to react to several attempts to contact them. The competitor
is very close to having all our business withdrawn from them.
Glasgow is a long way to go.
Richard Tobin
David Hansen <> wrote:
>As a customer of Ednet and several of their competitors the physical
>location of the offices makes a big difference to me. If there is a
>problem I can go round and see someone.
You don't sound like a typical ADSL customer. If my ADSL connection
dies, I'm going to phone up even if the ISP is in Leith! (And if I go
to Leith, and they say "try unplugging your router", I'm not going to
be very happy.)
But the situation would be quite different for, say, colocation.
-- Richard
David Hansen
ric...@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Richard Tobin) wrote this:-
>You don't sound like a typical ADSL customer.
I have no idea if I am or not. However, I do run a small business
and that is what the original questioner was asking about.
Simon Pleasants
wrote:
>> (P.S: - We used to be with Demon but their customer service has
>> deteriorated so much over the last few years we don't wish to go back to
>> them)
>
>Same here.
I'm with Demon for ADSL. The service is fast and extremely reliable.
Their news feed is without doubt the most complete I've ever had from
an included service.
I've only had to phone customer service once and on that occasion I
got straight through (no queues) to someone who provided exactly what
I required quickly, efficiently and sounding like a human, rather than
a call centre robot.
When I compare with other providers on a like for like basis (i.e. no
caps, static IP etc) they are also quite cheap.
Netizen
Yes, that's what I used to think too. I was a Demon customer from 1997
onwards, with no problems, and tremendously loyal. Then last year we had
to move office. Straightforward you would think. Unfortunately the lack
of communication between Demon's techical team, customer service, and
billing was STAGGERING. A dispute over a 'freebie' domain name meant
they were still billing us the ADSL connection for several months after
BT disconnected the line... Their billing section is fantastically
incompetent too, and can't seem to detect when you have made a payment.
In short, it was a complete nightmare.
NEVER AGAIN.
Stormsinger
>> Are you the Peter Crossland from Osgodby?
>
>No, whatever it might be, it is not me. I do know how to spell my own name!
Ah well, just wondered. Excuse the typo too.
Simon Pleasants
<ThereIsNo...@your.newsreader.may.be.broken> wrote:
>Do many people really call ISP call centres all that often?
I would not have thought so, personally. But, like you, I am not a
typical customer. I basically never have to call the ISP.
In the olden days of dial up when I had an account with what is now
NDO (then NetDirect) when it was still a few 486's in someone's front
room and the MD manned the support desk (!) and back then I had to
make the occasional call to query why the whole thing was dead.
These days, my ADSL connection works permanently and calling the ISP
is totally unnecessary - but the quality of telephone support provided
by the ISP is still ranked extremely high on most reviews of ISP's.
Simon Pleasants
>Yes, that's what I used to think too. I was a Demon customer from 1997
>onwards, with no problems, and tremendously loyal. Then last year we had
>to move office. Straightforward you would think. Unfortunately the lack
>of communication between Demon's techical team, customer service, and
>billing was STAGGERING. A dispute over a 'freebie' domain name meant
>they were still billing us the ADSL connection for several months after
>BT disconnected the line... Their billing section is fantastically
>incompetent too, and can't seem to detect when you have made a payment.
>
>In short, it was a complete nightmare.
>
>NEVER AGAIN.
I didn't really think I'd persuade you to re-think :-) but I thought
I'd re-assure other people that they don't ALWAYS get it wrong.
Perhaps my time will come when I actually have to make a change to
something!
GD
(in message <1ghciag.1pivtiy63h82oN%net...@nowhere.org>):
> We're looking for an inexpensive, basic 512K/256K ADSL connection via an
I too appreciate the feedback given on this thread but I have a
further question: which ISPs also have a good service for binaries
newsgroups?
To spare your blushes (and mine), I'm not interested in the
alt.binaries.pictures.naughty.bits type of group. In fact, I only
want to know about abp.aviation (and, to a lesser extent,
abp.military). Long retention time isn't an issue either but
completeness is.
I'd stick with Pipex but they've had a problem since February which
they've done sod all about, namely downloads and uploads which
sometimes peak at glacial speeds.
--
My email address is geod (at) dial dot pipex dot com
You know what to do.
Robert Sneddon
<no....@nowhere.com> writes
>
>To spare your blushes (and mine), I'm not interested in the
>alt.binaries.pictures.naughty.bits type of group.
Yeah, right. We believe you.
> In fact, I only
>want to know about abp.aviation (and, to a lesser extent,
>abp.military). Long retention time isn't an issue either but
>completeness is.
Binaries are a pain in the proverbial for regular ISPs who tend not to
have the Jiant Disk Farms required to store the exabytes of binary
postings that ebb and flow through Usenet each day. Most people I know
of who need access to binaries use non-ISP news services (accessible for
a fee) which specialise in providing binaries. I've heard good things
about Giganews, for example, but never used them myself.
--
Email me via nojay (at) nojay (dot) fsnet (dot) co (dot) uk
This address no longer accepts HTML posts.
Robert Sneddon
Graeme
news:H7QMyQFC...@nojay.fsnet.co.uk:
> Most people I know
> of who need access to binaries use non-ISP news services (accessible for
> a fee) which specialise in providing binaries.
I use www.supernews.com for accessing binary groups and they're pretty
good. Nothing saucy you understand, mainly the BBC binary groups with loads
of Radio 4 programmes in mp3 format. Beats "Listen Again" hands down as
stuff from years back keeps resurfacing.
Graeme
Alex Hunsley
> On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 22:06:26 +0100, Netizen wrote
> (in message <1ghciag.1pivtiy63h82oN%net...@nowhere.org>):
>
>
>>We're looking for an inexpensive, basic 512K/256K ADSL connection via an
>
>
> I too appreciate the feedback given on this thread but I have a
> further question: which ISPs also have a good service for binaries
> newsgroups?
>
> To spare your blushes (and mine), I'm not interested in the
> alt.binaries.pictures.naughty.bits type of group. In fact, I only
> want to know about abp.aviation (and, to a lesser extent,
> abp.military). Long retention time isn't an issue either but
> completeness is.
So where does alt.topless.fly-past fit into this scheme of things? :)
alex
Robert Inder
>>>>> Simon Pleasants writes:
> Subject: Re: ADSL ISP Recommendations?
> Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 09:41:28 +0100
But that would be because
a) typical customers are less than 100% clued up, and
b) on the odd occasion when "the whole thing" does go dead (which,
though rare, is not unknown), the competence of the guy you phone,
and the time it takes to get through, do matter.
Robert.
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