NTL or BT

Hi all.

My ex is moving into a new house and has the option to choose BT or NTL.

In the past there was a time when I would say go NTL because they were good
at undercutting BT.

However, in today's market with the pressure on BT to open up its lines so
that many companies are competitively fighting each other, I am inclined to
recommend BT to her.

The only area I believe that NTL is currently competitive in is broadband
where for the same uncapped bandwidth they offer free higher transfer rates
and also in some telephone services such as calling features and second
lines.

Is there anything in particular I should take into consideration when
comparing?

I don't think NTL are competitive on Sky packages anymore, but I could be
wrong.

AMO

"NoSpam" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:4130bf67$0$20248$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi all.
>
> My ex is moving into a new house and has the option to choose BT or NTL.
>
> In the past there was a time when I would say go NTL because they were
good
> at undercutting BT.
>
> However, in today's market with the pressure on BT to open up its lines so
> that many companies are competitively fighting each other, I am inclined
to
> recommend BT to her.
>
> The only area I believe that NTL is currently competitive in is broadband
> where for the same uncapped bandwidth they offer free higher transfer
rates
> and also in some telephone services such as calling features and second
> lines.
>
> Is there anything in particular I should take into consideration when
> comparing?
>
> I don't think NTL are competitive on Sky packages anymore, but I could be
> wrong.
>
> AMO
>
>
NTL is no longer competitive on most products. Telephone is more or less the
same price as BT and they sent material out a few days ago to confirm they
are matching the 5p per hour tariff that BT does as standard. You'll be
restricted on ISP's if you use NTL too and call through services.

NTL broadband is a good value product but you'll find cheaper on BT. They
charge £24.99 for 750k but it does have a 1GB daily download limit which
should be more than enough for most people. Have to say that I found NTL
broadband to be excellent. Very little downtime and always high speeds but
it was let down by NTL's billing department over charging.

TV is over priced and not as good as Sky in terms of on screen planning and
navigation but I would say NTL wins on picture quality as you don't get bad
weather interference which I get all the time with Sky.

"Gareth :-) voom" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> NTL is no longer competitive on most products. Telephone is more or less
the
> same price as BT and they sent material out a few days ago to confirm they
> are matching the 5p per hour tariff that BT does as standard. You'll be
> restricted on ISP's if you use NTL too and call through services.

Thanks for the reponse. Is it actually possible to get cable broadband from
NTL without their phone service? I.e. get a BT phone line, but use NTL for
broadband - as I understand it, cable broadband doesn't go along the phone
line like ADSL does - is this correct?

> NTL broadband is a good value product but you'll find cheaper on BT. They
> charge £24.99 for 750k but it does have a 1GB daily download limit which
> should be more than enough for most people. Have to say that I found NTL
> broadband to be excellent. Very little downtime and always high speeds but
> it was let down by NTL's billing department over charging.

Yes, I figured that with the extra bandwidth you can get on NTL, she can
even afford to go for the 150K (now 300K) for £17.99 as in reality so long
as its above 250K, the line is plenty fast enough.

> TV is over priced and not as good as Sky in terms of on screen planning
and
> navigation but I would say NTL wins on picture quality as you don't get
bad
> weather interference which I get all the time with Sky.

Yes, I thought so. I don't think she's going to go for a TV package anyway,
so that's not too much of a problem.

Thanx.

AMO

"NoSpam" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message:

> Thanks for the reponse. Is it actually possible to get cable broadband
from
> NTL without their phone service? I.e. get a BT phone line, but use NTL
for
> broadband - as I understand it, cable broadband doesn't go along the phone
> line like ADSL does - is this correct?
>

Yes, that's exactly what I did. I kept NTL broadband which comes down the
same line as the TV service and I got BT and Sky. You don't have to order a
telephone service to get NTL broadband.

I'd have to say that when BT do make a fault they act apologetic; NTL seem
to make quite a lot of mistakes from level-to-level.

For instance, our cable was left on last time we got it 'disconnected', and
some other random guff, maybe down to an engineer not carrying out an order,
who knows.

Price-wise i'd say BT for now, she'll have a BT line pre-installed in her
house, unless it's a brand-new spanking house! So no new (dodgy!) wiring!

Broadband wise, well you can get broadband on it's own from NTL, and i think
that currently it's better than anything BT offer. Other companies, such as
plus-net, impose download limits of 1gb (per MONTH!) which is ok if ur just
browsing webpages with broadband, but then again do you REALLY need
broadband then?

Your pals usage requirements may mean BT's the best option, remember they
have a light user scheme, for instance! Cash-back!

You need to explain what she's after, BT seem to have better international
options, also, you could use another telecom through a BT line, it's not
like that with NTL, unless with the discount-telecom you can dial an
0800/0500 number to then dial-through on-the-cheap.



"Gareth :-) voom" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> NTL broadband is a good value product but you'll find cheaper on BT. They
> charge £24.99 for 750k but it does have a 1GB daily download limit which
> should be more than enough for most people. Have to say that I found NTL
> broadband to be excellent. Very little downtime and always high speeds but
> it was let down by NTL's billing department over charging.

Yes, you can get broadband from NTL on its own. That's what i do, and have a
BT line seperately.

ADSL means you have to log in everytime you start your computer, with NTL's
cable-modem service you don't ever need to a 'logging-in' procedure. As long
as the modem's on, then you're ready to go!

There's offers such as 'free 60-day broadband trial' available at the
moment. To start off, unless you're planning on downloading LOTS of guff,
then go for the 300k (formally 150k) package at £17.99 per month.

If you can still get it, get free installation. Saves a lot!

NTL's digital television, analogue television, and cable internet services
go through the one wire which enters your house; telephone is however the
same in some respects, that requires a seperate wire into your house, but
you'd not notice that, the engineers set it up so it appears that the one
wire enters your house.

The upload speed on NTL's broadband is capped at 64k for 300k (download)
users, and the upload for 750k download-rating is 128k.

ADSL in comparison, is (UP TO!) 512k down, 256 up.

For easiness i feel NTL's maybe most appropriate, but do look about if
you're unsure!

"NoSpam" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:4130d78a$0$20247$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Thanks for the reponse. Is it actually possible to get cable broadband
> from
> NTL without their phone service? I.e. get a BT phone line, but use NTL
> for
> broadband - as I understand it, cable broadband doesn't go along the phone
> line like ADSL does - is this correct?
> Yes, I figured that with the extra bandwidth you can get on NTL, she can
> even afford to go for the 150K (now 300K) for £17.99 as in reality so long
> as its above 250K, the line is plenty fast enough.
> Yes, I thought so. I don't think she's going to go for a TV package
> anyway,
> so that's not too much of a problem.

Dave wrote:

> ADSL means you have to log in everytime you start your computer,

Not with an ASDL router you don't.

In message <a95Yc.164$(E-Mail Removed)>, Dave
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>ADSL means you have to log in everytime you start your computer,

No it doesn't. An external ethernet riuter or modem acts in exactly the
same way as a cable modem.
--
Pete Devlin
[{//////news03//////at\\\\\secondrow/////co\\\\\uk}]
Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world.
Kaiser Wilhelm

Dave <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
[...]
> ADSL means you have to log in everytime you start your computer,
> with NTL's cable-modem service you don't ever need to a 'logging-in'
> procedure. As long as the modem's on, then you're ready to go!

Erm, there's no *have* involved, but if you cut corners and don't buy
a proper router, choosing instead one of those crappy USB devices that
fake it to look like a dialup modem (and thus you have to "connect"
like you would for dialup), you get exactly what you deserve.

I programmed my ADSL password into my router in March 2002. I've moved
house twice and still haven't actually had to "log in" since. For my
uses, ADSL is to all intents and purposes a cheap leased line.

> ADSL in comparison, is (UP TO!) 512k down, 256 up.

My ADSL must be broken then, as I'm getting 1MB/s on it.

--
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful
servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten
the gift.
- Albert Einstein

Peter Corlett wrote:

> I programmed my ADSL password into my router in March 2002. I've moved
> house twice and still haven't actually had to "log in" since. For my
> uses, ADSL is to all intents and purposes a cheap leased line.
<snip>

Providing that you need a router, most people don't!

--
Colin Copland, Web: http://www.mutleyshome.com

Latest Nokia Downloads & Unlocking, http://tinyurl.com/634bg