New ISP

Along with many, I am now leaving Plusnet....

The service was generally decent, but when there were problems the support
was woeful. I'm a Chartered Computer Engineer, so I know plenty about the
'biz' and more importantly, I know what constitutes good support and
fault-finding ability. PN had neither, but the they still deigned to
patronise me on a regular basis.

I'm not a fan of some of the over-zealous PN bashing that goes on, but I
think it's fair to share my experiences...

Anyway, so now I'm looking for a new host... Cost is an issue in that I am
not prepared to go over-board - £25 - £27 is my intended range. I do plenty
of gaming so I'm looking for quite a nippy package (if there is such a
thing). The PN Premier account was supposed to have a contention ratio of
30:1 rather than 50:1 (if you believe it) but I have seen any home/office
packages that are better than 50:1. I regularly use 12-15Gb bandwidth and
sometimes more. Bearing in mind I'm expecting a 6Mbps link under Max DSL, I
can only assume my usage is going to go up! And finally, I dont need support
often, but I would need a decent email/ticketing system ideally backup up by
a local/national rate number (that actually gets answered).

I first looked to Zen; they have a reasonably priced 8meg package for £25,
but only with 20Gb bandwidth. Not a show stopper, but still a consideration.

I looked at Nildram, and they have a similar package for £26 but with 50Gb
bandwidth. However I heard some murmurs that Nildram are not as good as they
used to be. Is this the generally accepted view?

I also came across NDO which comes recommended by some. They have a 60Gb
package for £25. Unfortunately I know little about them...

Any comments or any suggestions for other ISPs?

CJM

CJM wrote:

> Along with many, I am now leaving Plusnet....
>
> The service was generally decent, but when there were problems the support
> was woeful. I'm a Chartered Computer Engineer, so I know plenty about the
> 'biz' and more importantly, I know what constitutes good support and
> fault-finding ability. PN had neither, but the they still deigned to
> patronise me on a regular basis.
>
> I'm not a fan of some of the over-zealous PN bashing that goes on, but I
> think it's fair to share my experiences...
>
> Anyway, so now I'm looking for a new host... Cost is an issue in that I am
> not prepared to go over-board - £25 - £27 is my intended range. I do plenty
> of gaming so I'm looking for quite a nippy package (if there is such a
> thing). The PN Premier account was supposed to have a contention ratio of
> 30:1 rather than 50:1 (if you believe it) but I have seen any home/office
> packages that are better than 50:1. I regularly use 12-15Gb bandwidth and
> sometimes more. Bearing in mind I'm expecting a 6Mbps link under Max DSL, I
> can only assume my usage is going to go up! And finally, I dont need support
> often, but I would need a decent email/ticketing system ideally backup up by
> a local/national rate number (that actually gets answered).
>
> I first looked to Zen; they have a reasonably priced 8meg package for £25,
> but only with 20Gb bandwidth. Not a show stopper, but still a consideration.
>
> I looked at Nildram, and they have a similar package for £26 but with 50Gb
> bandwidth. However I heard some murmurs that Nildram are not as good as they
> used to be. Is this the generally accepted view?
>
> I also came across NDO which comes recommended by some. They have a 60Gb
> package for £25. Unfortunately I know little about them...
>
> Any comments or any suggestions for other ISPs?

Idnet.

Excellent ISP

Graham - another refugee from Plusnet.

CJM wrote:

> I first looked to Zen; they have a reasonably priced 8meg package for £25,
> but only with 20Gb bandwidth. Not a show stopper, but still a consideration.

Idnet's identically priced Home Max includes 30GB. That's B not b btw ! But no
included news server.


> I looked at Nildram, and they have a similar package for £26 but with 50Gb
> bandwidth. However I heard some murmurs that Nildram are not as good as they
> used to be. Is this the generally accepted view?

This seems to be the perceived wisdom. I looked at them too but they didn't take
LLU MACs.

If Idnet takes your fancy - let me know and a referral makes us both better off
by £10.

Graham

"CJM" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Along with many, I am now leaving Plusnet....
>
> The service was generally decent, but when there were problems the support
> was woeful. I'm a Chartered Computer Engineer, so I know plenty about the
> 'biz' and more importantly, I know what constitutes good support and
> fault-finding ability. PN had neither, but the they still deigned to
> patronise me on a regular basis.
>
> I'm not a fan of some of the over-zealous PN bashing that goes on, but I
> think it's fair to share my experiences...
>
> Anyway, so now I'm looking for a new host... Cost is an issue in that I am
> not prepared to go over-board - £25 - £27 is my intended range. I do
> plenty of gaming so I'm looking for quite a nippy package (if there is
> such a thing). The PN Premier account was supposed to have a contention
> ratio of 30:1 rather than 50:1 (if you believe it) but I have seen any
> home/office packages that are better than 50:1. I regularly use 12-15Gb
> bandwidth and sometimes more. Bearing in mind I'm expecting a 6Mbps link
> under Max DSL, I can only assume my usage is going to go up! And finally,
> I dont need support often, but I would need a decent email/ticketing
> system ideally backup up by a local/national rate number (that actually
> gets answered).
>
> I first looked to Zen; they have a reasonably priced 8meg package for £25,
> but only with 20Gb bandwidth. Not a show stopper, but still a
> consideration.
>
> I looked at Nildram, and they have a similar package for £26 but with 50Gb
> bandwidth. However I heard some murmurs that Nildram are not as good as
> they used to be. Is this the generally accepted view?
>
> I also came across NDO which comes recommended by some. They have a 60Gb
> package for £25. Unfortunately I know little about them...
>
> Any comments or any suggestions for other ISPs?
>
> CJM

I've had no problems with namesco/NDO. I'm only on their 2MB service, which
hasn't dropped out since I got it in May.

Graham

On Wed, 13 Sep 2006 13:00:45 +0100, Eeyore
<(E-Mail Removed) > wrote:

>
>
>CJM wrote:
>
>> I first looked to Zen; they have a reasonably priced 8meg package for £25,
>> but only with 20Gb bandwidth. Not a show stopper, but still a consideration.
>
>Idnet's identically priced Home Max includes 30GB. That's B not b btw ! But no
>included news server.
>
>
>> I looked at Nildram, and they have a similar package for £26 but with 50Gb
>> bandwidth. However I heard some murmurs that Nildram are not as good as they
>> used to be. Is this the generally accepted view?
>
>This seems to be the perceived wisdom. I looked at them too but they didn't take
>LLU MACs.

The probability is that we are all likely to be on LLU [unless with BT] within
the year so this doesn't mean that Nildram will never handle LLU MACs.
Actually it's a bit rich that Nildram currently refuse LLU MACs bearing in
mind their mass migration program for some of their customers!

Under the circumstances hardly a reason to reject Nildram in favour of another
ISP. Yes their support is not as razor sharp as it once was but this is in
line with the general decline of support from all ISPs.
>
>If Idnet takes your fancy - let me know and a referral makes us both better off
>by £10.
>
>Graham

DCB

David Bradley wrote:

> On Wed, 13 Sep 2006 13:00:45 +0100, Eeyore
> <(E-Mail Removed) > wrote:
>
> >CJM wrote:
> >
> >> I first looked to Zen; they have a reasonably priced 8meg package for £25,
> >> but only with 20Gb bandwidth. Not a show stopper, but still a consideration.
> >
> >Idnet's identically priced Home Max includes 30GB. That's B not b btw ! But no
> >included news server.
> >
> >
> >> I looked at Nildram, and they have a similar package for £26 but with 50Gb
> >> bandwidth. However I heard some murmurs that Nildram are not as good as they
> >> used to be. Is this the generally accepted view?
> >
> >This seems to be the perceived wisdom. I looked at them too but they didn't take
> >LLU MACs.
>
> The probability is that we are all likely to be on LLU [unless with BT] within
> the year so this doesn't mean that Nildram will never handle LLU MACs.

I'm sure you're probably right in the long term.

Idnet have however assured me that they have no LLU plans. I dare say they have a
reason for that ! Not least their SLA !


> Actually it's a bit rich that Nildram currently refuse LLU MACs bearing in
> mind their mass migration program for some of their customers!

That's a very pertinent comment and an issue that OFCOM seems keen to address
thankfully.


> Under the circumstances hardly a reason to reject Nildram in favour of another
> ISP. Yes their support is not as razor sharp as it once was but this is in
> line with the general decline of support from all ISPs.

It was a reason for me in my specific case since they couldn't migrate me.

Graham

On 13 Sep 2006 13:00, Eeyore wrote:

>Idnet's identically priced Home Max includes 30GB. That's B not b btw !

I pay a tenner less, for 20 GB allowance *in peak hours* (1800-0000) with a
"fair use policy" (ie "don't go too mad" for the rest of the time).

I've used up 21 GB of downloading from APN Usenet, plus another 5 GB from
another news service, plus another 10+ GB of binary downloading (VMware,
and ISOs) plus a further estimated 5 GB of streaming traffic (in one month)

>But no included news server.

The 14.99 account (and 18.99 account) which I use don't officially offer
access to the news service (Supernews) and the news service is limited
to 2x 128 kbps connections AFAIK, but Usenet may not be important to
the OP. The account I'm on is meant to be lowest priority but is OK: (A
speed test at 19:30 one night from Evolution level 1 can be seen at
this link on ADSLguide http://gnu.vu/?IgHapcvH )

On Wed, 13 Sep 2006 11:11:52 UTC, "CJM" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

> Any comments or any suggestions for other ISPs?

Look at AAISP. Various quite low limits for data volume (I WON'T call it
'bandwidth'), but they apply during office hours. No limits at other
times. Quite nippy outside office hours too.

http://aa.nu

--
[ 7'ism - a condition by which the sufferer experiences an inability
to give concise answers, express reasoned argument or opinion.
Usually accompanied by silly noises and gestures - incurable, early
euthanasia recommended. ]

"Bob Eager" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:176uZD2KcidF-pn2-(E-Mail Removed)...

> Look at AAISP. Various quite low limits for data volume (I WON'T call it
> 'bandwidth'), but they apply during office hours. No limits at other
> times.

I didn't know that, i thought the limits were in general. RTFM I fear.

> Quite nippy outside office hours too.

Any degradation in service as a whole compared to peak times?

On Wed, 13 Sep 2006 19:56:55, Tx2 wrote:

>
>"Bob Eager" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:176uZD2KcidF-pn2-(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>> Look at AAISP. Various quite low limits for data volume (I WON'T call it
>> 'bandwidth'), but they apply during office hours. No limits at other
>> times.
>
>I didn't know that, i thought the limits were in general. RTFM I fear.
>
>> Quite nippy outside office hours too.
>
>Any degradation in service as a whole compared to peak times?

Almost always full-bore for me. I only see increased latency if someone
is doing a massive download from one of the servers here. You can see
from my last year's usage how only the peak download is chargeable, and
how the 10GB carry-forward allowance has acted as a safety net.

Total Metered Tariff

Date Up Down Up Down BF Prepaid Topup
Sep 2006 3.48G 606M 1.91G 278M 0 3.00G 0
Aug 2006 9.32G 2.73G 3.45G 874M 2.07G 3.00G 0
Jul 2006 9.61G 3.33G 3.83G 960M 4.11G 3.00G 0
Jun 2006 25.0G 41.4G 4.03G 3.77G 3.33G 3.00G 0
May 2006 34.9G 59.9G 3.93G 4.18G 2.15G 3.00G 0
Apr 2006 29.0G 63.7G 4.18G 5.15G 0 3.00G 0
Mar 2006 8.35G 5.63G 4.91G 2.54G 0 3.00G 0
Feb 2006 6.02G 5.63G 2.92G 2.26G 0 3.00G 0
Jan 2006 10.8G 5.51G 5.55G 1.34G 0 3.00G 0
Dec 2005 10.7G 4.40G 3.28G 1.29G 0 3.00G 0
Nov 2005 4.13G 5.37G 2.38G 2.51G 0 3.00G 0
Oct 2005 2.36G 4.61G 1.30G 1.77G 0 3.00G 0

--
Jim Crowther. "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up , totally worn out and loudly proclaiming;
WOW!!! What a ride." "It's MY computer!" (tm SMG)