BT Broadband Newsgroup Access

Hello group

I am strongly considering moving over to BT broadband when I Move to my new
property and as I need to access the service using VPN etc for work from
home on more than one day per week I AM going to opt for BT Broadband Single
(I think). Have managed to gather all the facts from a combination of this
NG, Google and BT themselves but have one remaining question.

Can I access newsgroups for free as part of this package - I am with NTL at
the moment and have free newsgroups access which is just okay so wondered if
there are similar settings I can put into my newsreader to access from BT
when I Move over to hem

Also any other facts / advice which we could share would be more than
welcomed

Cheers

> I am strongly considering moving over to BT broadband when I Move to my new
> property and as I need to access the service using VPN etc for work from
> home on more than one day per week I AM going to opt for BT Broadband Single
> (I think). Have managed to gather all the facts from a combination of this
> NG, Google and BT themselves but have one remaining question.
>
> Can I access newsgroups for free as part of this package - I am with NTL at
> the moment and have free newsgroups access which is just okay so wondered if
> there are similar settings I can put into my newsreader to access from BT
> when I Move over to hem
>
> Also any other facts / advice which we could share would be more than
> welcomed

I too am considering BT Broadband Option 3 but compared to other ISP's
there seems to be a lack of information, recommendation and discussion.
Perhaps this indicates an ISP with no problems.
I have heard that BT have actually improved their newsgroups recently but, again, the
info is scratchy and often contradictive.

Also their own websites / publications are a nightmare, different offers all over the
place
but lack technical info. like you and I require. There seems to be remnant web sites
of
BT Yahoo , Openworld , Basic etc. ... all very confusing

Can anyone point to a good, informative user group / forum ? even ADSL guide's
BT forum is not that well used.

Personally I am going to wait until the MaxDSL products are announced, especially
as BT only have12 month contracts.

Chris

Ozzie wrote:

> I too am considering BT Broadband Option 3 but compared to other ISP's
> there seems to be a lack of information,

BT Option 3 is ok as long as you are able to set up the machine and need
no hand holding. Where it falls down is the appauling customer care from
Manjit and Sanjit in India. 'Cor blymy me Mister smyth have yu
reinstalled your soft waring and done a restart indeedy'


> especially
> as BT only have12 month contracts.

You can be your arse they will still charge you £55 to move elsewhere if
you don't stay a year.

Matthew wrote:
> Hello group
>
> I am strongly considering moving over to BT broadband when I Move to
> my new property and as I need to access the service using VPN etc for
> work from home on more than one day per week I AM going to opt for BT
> Broadband Single (I think). Have managed to gather all the facts
> from a combination of this NG, Google and BT themselves but have one
> remaining question.
>
> Can I access newsgroups for free as part of this package - I am with
> NTL at the moment and have free newsgroups access which is just okay
> so wondered if there are similar settings I can put into my
> newsreader to access from BT when I Move over to hem
>
> Also any other facts / advice which we could share would be more than
> welcomed
>
> Cheers

Matthew,

With regards to your newsgroup question see below - As recently announced by
BT Yahoo broadband:


Title: "Improvements to Newsgroup service"

From Wednesday 22nd March 2006 we will be changing to a new newsgroup
service. From that date you will see an increase in the number of newsgroups
available (e.g. from about 40,000 to over 100,000 newsgroups) and longer
article retention time. Speed improvements are also likely, depending on
time of day and download size. If you download multipart binarys you should
also see improvements.

Typical retention rates will be increased to:
* ~62 days in multi-part binary newsgroups
* ~62 days in single-part binary newsgroups
* 987 days in text newsgroups
* 99%+ completion rate

You do not need to change any settings in your newsgroup reader (e.g.
Outlook Express). You should only see an improvement in service. Because of
the increased retention time, you may see many more unread messages from
previous weeks.

Regards,

Andrew

BT Broadband Support

Brian G on BT Yahoo broadband Option 3

"Brian G" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Matthew wrote:
>> Hello group
>>
>> I am strongly considering moving over to BT broadband when I Move to
>> my new property and as I need to access the service using VPN etc for
>> work from home on more than one day per week I AM going to opt for BT
>> Broadband Single (I think). Have managed to gather all the facts
>> from a combination of this NG, Google and BT themselves but have one
>> remaining question.
>>
>> Can I access newsgroups for free as part of this package - I am with
>> NTL at the moment and have free newsgroups access which is just okay
>> so wondered if there are similar settings I can put into my
>> newsreader to access from BT when I Move over to hem
>>
>> Also any other facts / advice which we could share would be more than
>> welcomed
>>
>> Cheers
>
> Matthew,
>
> With regards to your newsgroup question see below - As recently announced
> by
> BT Yahoo broadband:
>
>
> Title: "Improvements to Newsgroup service"
>
> From Wednesday 22nd March 2006 we will be changing to a new newsgroup
> service. From that date you will see an increase in the number of
> newsgroups
> available (e.g. from about 40,000 to over 100,000 newsgroups) and longer
> article retention time. Speed improvements are also likely, depending on
> time of day and download size. If you download multipart binarys you
> should
> also see improvements.
>
> Typical retention rates will be increased to:
> * ~62 days in multi-part binary newsgroups
> * ~62 days in single-part binary newsgroups
> * 987 days in text newsgroups
> * 99%+ completion rate
>
> You do not need to change any settings in your newsgroup reader (e.g.
> Outlook Express). You should only see an improvement in service. Because
> of
> the increased retention time, you may see many more unread messages from
> previous weeks.
>
> Regards,
>
> Andrew
>
> BT Broadband Support
>
> Brian G on BT Yahoo broadband Option 3
>
>

BT Yahoo! are fine and yes the newsgroups are supposed to be improved from
next week.

There are the usual problems experienced like slow download speeds, some
latency issues in certain areas, very little information on service status
or network status, poor outsourced support.
It is also a little pricey compared to other ISPs and although there is a
usage cap, there is absolutely no way to monitor it yourself other than
install 3rd party software.

I personally was extremely happy with BT BB up until November last year -
there was a big outage and my service has never been the same since -
average speeds have been aroung 900kbps most of the time. I'm probably
going to try elsewhere soon, so am not too bothered ATM.

The major issue for me is the 12 month contract if you migrate to ADSL Max -
this has not yet been confirmed by BT, as they have not released any info on
the products yet. It is however likely. Also they could be quite late into
the market with Max products - traditionally they have sat back a bit and
let the other ISPs take up first.

I'm on BT Yahoo! BB Option 3

Nicola