Networks Which broadband service to go for?

Okay, I move house in seven days

To Newcastle.

I was initially going to sign up to Telewest's broadband and telephone package (free national and local calls evenings and weekends and a 512k line) buuuuut....I just did a postcode check and we can't get it :/

BT Broadband say they do it but does anyone rate them at all?

Does anyone know of a provider in the Newcastle area (I ain't giving my postcode out ) who would do a similar package for around £45-50/month?

Aaaaaannnnd...

What exactly do I need to share the connection between 3 PCs? My PC, my flatmates and my file server when I get around to building it...Networks are the one thing I've never played around with.

I can get a switch for £cheap from a friend so would I just plug the cable modem into the switch and then have a network card in each PC to connect to the switch using Cat5?

Thanks

*n

 

http://www.adslguide.org

For £45-£50 you can get a very good 2Mb service. Adslguide have a handy rate and compare feature.

As for sharing the connection, you cant just use a switch on it's own. You'll need a router of some sort.

/EDIT: If you are really prepared to pay £50 monthly, Bulldog do a good AllTime 2Mb service. Since you'll be sharing the connection, you might want something faster than 512k.
I'm moving to Bulldog's 2Mb service soon (from BTOpenworld) because they've just upgraded my exchange.

 

£45-50...may be able to stretch to £60.

But that's including the phone line (free evenings and weekends preferred )

*n

 

Well BT do a free evenings and weekends phone line for £17.50/month (inc. vat linky)

Bulldog's 2Mb is £49+vat

All in you're looking at £75/month. Looks like you better stick with 512k/1Mb.

 

512 was all I wanted with maybe upgrading to 1meg later

...Thinking to just get everything through BT.

*n

 

Ok, a switch is no good cos you've gotta have something with a mac address (NIC) connected to the cable-modem (it's a form of authentication) or something that will spoof a MAC address - switchs can't do this so you'll either need a router, or the 'main' PC to have 2 NICs, one to the modem, and one connected to a switch, with all the other PCs connected to that.

Naturally, a router is much less complicated

 

Hmmm...

Methinks that getting the phone line sorted first then checking which ISP to go for will be the best bet.

Seing as all the ISPs I've checked want a phone number first...

...Nildram looks good, anyone got experience with them or others?

*n

 

Ta, Rich.

Just that I can get a 24 way switch that was liberated from a very well known Newcastle based ship building company by their head of IT cheap...

How much for a Router that'll connect up to 5 or 6 machines for LAN action?

*n

 

For the love of god don't "just get everything through BT", you'll regret it. The top 3 ADSL ISP's at the moment seem to be Eclipse, Nildram and Zen. Check out what they're offering.

Doesn't really matter if you get a router with 1 or 8 ports. You can just connect a switch to it (maybe the one you 'acquired' ) and you've instantly got x many ports. Make sense?

 

K.

So I'ma consult with the other two in the house then get the £17.50 BT phoneline thinger...

...Then decide on an ISP.

Thanks for simplifying the router thing for me - I failed to think laterally entirely there.

*n

 

Don't go with BTopenwound or broadband, anything with BT in the title and ISP do not go well (being a btopenwound customer).
Nildram and pipex have fairly good reps, but as someone has already said go visit adslguide for more views on the isps or try www.ispreview.co.uk

 

I'd phone Telewest first, just to double check you can't get it.. I've known it to be wrong on more than one occasion.

 

if its a choice between 512 up and 256 up

always go for the 256 or above

uploading can cripple you if youv'e got a few machines attached

especially if any of you are usign file sharing programs

i had a wireless service where i got 512/512 and it was great
60k uploads

always had spare bandwidth to game or whatever

now with the telewest (i moved) ive got the 1 meg and downloading is great
but upping kills it all the time for me
specially as the gf likes kazaa open

 

TBH, I don't think Penski is interested in upload speeds.. knowing his previous posts I don't think kazaa is high on his list

That said, I can't think of any reason for higher upload speeds anyway and it seems a little unsettling to go for 512k up just so you can upload out of kazza.

I have the 2Mb cable service and could quite happily only use 128k up because I never upload anything.

 

i dont up on kazaa
cant be assed

but if i want to send photos and stuff to friends
its still laggs everythign else up

if u start uploading 15 - 50 mb photoshop files it starts to slow everythign down

depends what ur doign with the connection

 

I'm going to be sending a lot of big files...and recieveing.

24/96 .wavs are biiiiiiig

Kazaa ain't my thing at all and I can live fine with 256 up

Ta.

*n

 

for some feedback on Nildram...

I recently joined them on the 512 route and im highly impressed with their service, I have no complaints watsoever about their service. The only downtime I have experienced was 10 mins last night, but that might of been me being stupid .

Nildram, Highly Recommended

 

Pretty sure I'ma go with Nildram.

£60 installation.

£29.99/month.

£75 router...plus £10 delivery...plus VAT (abstrads)

2x£8.50 meecrofeelters. (Tim Curry voice)

£200 off the blocks...farrrrrrrkkkk

*n Wherrrr ees ver meecrofeelm?

 

As pointed out by others "say no to openwoe"

Also check out adsl guide. Tis a very informative and helpful site and hte forums are full of great peeps - i used to post there regularly. There are lots of people that will tell you the best at the moment, but the thing is it is just at the moment.

I have been with Pipex since Feb 2002 while they were doing a free install offer (iirc they are offereing free modems at the mo...) i was within the first few people to take up their service and on the whole have been Very pleased. There were a few probs at the begining that were addressed as quickly as possible but i'd be lying if i said it was not a pain in the arse. There have also been a few problems more recently that i wasnt effected by but they prove their commitment by frequenting the adslguide forums when there are network problems. On the whole i would give them 9.5 / 10.

HTH

Cheebs

[edit]
23.99 monthly, £50 intall iirc free modem and Internet connection sharing will do you for now also..... cheapness

 

Broadband - Newcastle

Hey!

I live in Durham (just down the road from Newcastle) and I use freedom2surf. Never had a problem, they don't care about file sharing or if you charge your neigbours to connect to it via your network or something. They're perfect basically.

They do basic broadband for under £20 a month - makes BT dial-up look EXPENSIVE! For the money that you're willing to pay you can get 1Mb easily. Take a look at http://www.freedom2surf.net/


Sweet,


Chewie