Which? says NTL is the worst broadband ISP

-------------------- QUOTE --------------------------
Don't buy

NTL was one of the worst broadband providers in last year’s survey
and was also rated well below average on every point this time.

The links to our Best Buys above show only some of the companies and
packages available. For a wider range of options please check our
tables for companies offering the following - 512kbps services,
capped and uncapped. And services faster than 512kbps, both capped
and uncapped.

There are many other broadband suppliers that we weren’t able to
gather information about in the survey, so we can’t say whether they
should be Best Buys. But we’ve collected details of their services so
that you can compare the biggest range of ISPs possible.

Updated February 2006

-------------------- END QUOTE --------------------------
http://www.which.co.uk/ec/broadband/bb_bbg.jsp

On Thu, 02 Feb 2006 02:48:10 GMT, Mister C <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:


>
>-------------------- END QUOTE --------------------------
>http://www.which.co.uk/ec/broadband/bb_bbg.jsp
Could you let us have your user name and password so that we can all
log on and see this password protected item?

> -------------------- QUOTE --------------------------
> Don't buy
>
> NTL was one of the worst broadband providers in last year's survey
> and was also rated well below average on every point this time.
>
> The links to our Best Buys above show only some of the companies and
> packages available. For a wider range of options please check our
> tables for companies offering the following - 512kbps services,
> capped and uncapped. And services faster than 512kbps, both capped
> and uncapped.
>
> There are many other broadband suppliers that we weren't able to
> gather information about in the survey, so we can't say whether they
> should be Best Buys. But we've collected details of their services so
> that you can compare the biggest range of ISPs possible.
>
> Updated February 2006
>
> -------------------- END QUOTE --------------------------
> http://www.which.co.uk/ec/broadband/bb_bbg.jsp

NTL is not all bad in my experience.

I am NOT an employee of NTL and would be delighted to knock them if I got
the chance as they built 2 big ignorant distribution boxes at the side of my
house which attract grafitti. However ....

Scenario - Christmas Eve (2005) morning (Saturday)
Problem - new Wireless Network won't work
Wireless Supplier diagnoses problem with NTL modem
NTL agree with this diagnosis over the telephhone
NTL book engineer to come out & replace modem
I am resigned to not having the network running until after Christmas
NTL assure me engineer will be with me Christmas Eve afternoon
I get the salt out!!
NTL engineer arrives 1 hour ahead of promised time
NTL engineer replaces modem, registers it with network & leaves latest
software
I get wireless network up and running within 15 minutes of his departure
All is well in my household. EVERYTHING is working as it should
Did I mention it was Christmas Eve & Saturday?
There is a Santa Claus!!

As far as connectivity etc is concerned there has been little or no
downtime. My children would be the first to let me know if there were
problems in that respect. Anytime I have had to contact support (which is
extremely rare) I have managed to get things sorted with the minimum of fuss
& delay.

For what it is worth I am based in Belfast.

Later .....

David

--
(E-Mail Removed)

David K wrote:
> I am NOT an employee of NTL and would be delighted to knock them if I
> got the chance as they built 2 big ignorant distribution boxes at the
> side of my house which attract grafitti. However ....
>
> Scenario - Christmas Eve (2005) morning (Saturday)
> Problem - new Wireless Network won't work
> Wireless Supplier diagnoses problem with NTL modem
> NTL agree with this diagnosis over the telephhone
> NTL book engineer to come out & replace modem
> I am resigned to not having the network running until after Christmas
> NTL assure me engineer will be with me Christmas Eve afternoon
> I get the salt out!!
> NTL engineer arrives 1 hour ahead of promised time
> NTL engineer replaces modem, registers it with network & leaves latest
> software
> I get wireless network up and running within 15 minutes of his
> departure All is well in my household. EVERYTHING is working as it
> should Did I mention it was Christmas Eve & Saturday?
> There is a Santa Claus!!

Thats an impressive service considering the time of year.

Beck wrote:
> David K wrote:
>> I am NOT an employee of NTL and would be delighted to knock them if I
>> got the chance as they built 2 big ignorant distribution boxes at the
>> side of my house which attract grafitti. However ....
>>
>> Scenario - Christmas Eve (2005) morning (Saturday)
>> Problem - new Wireless Network won't work
>> Wireless Supplier diagnoses problem with NTL modem
>> NTL agree with this diagnosis over the telephhone
>> NTL book engineer to come out & replace modem
>> I am resigned to not having the network running until after Christmas
>> NTL assure me engineer will be with me Christmas Eve afternoon
>> I get the salt out!!
>> NTL engineer arrives 1 hour ahead of promised time
>> NTL engineer replaces modem, registers it with network & leaves
>> latest software
>> I get wireless network up and running within 15 minutes of his
>> departure All is well in my household. EVERYTHING is working as it
>> should Did I mention it was Christmas Eve & Saturday?
>> There is a Santa Claus!!
>
> Thats an impressive service considering the time of year.

I was truly astounded at their response. Although I would suggest it would
have been impressive whatever the time of year.

That's why I felt it worth posting. Credit where credit is due etc.......

David


--
(E-Mail Removed)

David K wrote:
> I was truly astounded at their response. Although I would suggest it
> would have been impressive whatever the time of year.
>
> That's why I felt it worth posting. Credit where credit is due
> etc.......

Indeed. People are very vocal when it comes to complaining but very rarely
mention if they have a good service.

Beck wrote:

> Indeed. People are very vocal when it comes to complaining but
> very rarely mention if they have a good service.

One bit of good service from BTW/PN was for my sister's ADSL to
be up and running at least 48 hours before the suggested time
(of "after 12:00 on 24/12/2005" which I felt might become a
date of 28/12 or 29/12 and have missed her birthday), and RM
for a package posted on Monday 19/12 to have arrived 23/12 :-)

Peter M wrote:

> posted on Monday 19/12 to have arrived 23/12 :-)

oops - it was there on 21/12 and in use the same
or the next day - she was certainly online before
Friday, once she had fitted the PCI ethernet card,
with a few hints from me over the phone :-) Peter.

In message <(E-Mail Removed)> of Thu, 2 Feb
2006 08:42:17 in uk.telecom.broadband, chappycheeky
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>On Thu, 02 Feb 2006 02:48:10 GMT, Mister C <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>
>>
>>-------------------- END QUOTE --------------------------
>>http://www.which.co.uk/ec/broadband/bb_bbg.jsp
>Could you let us have your user name and password so that we can all
>log on and see this password protected item?

Can't! Can cut and paste!
How can there be more than one best buy?

Broadband: Best Buy guidePrint this page | Back


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Moving up to broadband could be cheaper than you think – our Best Buy
broadband services start at just £11.75 a month.

Our latest survey shows that more and more people are moving to
broadband and that overall standards are high. Our Best Buys don’t
just have to do very well for overall customer satisfaction – they
also have to score top marks for service and be more than average for
ease of set-up, connection speed, reliability and technical support.



MetroNet did very well in every key area. Its pricing is complex, but
customers gave it top marks for value. Its standard 512Kbps service
starts at £11.75 a month for 400MB, after which it is Pay As You Go.
However there is a maximum payment limit of £22.75, which equates to
about 5GB usage. Usage over this level is free. It also offers 1Mbps and
2Mbps packages with various usage levels.



Freedom 2 Surf scored well in all categories and was rated above average
for support. Its 2GB-capped up to8Mbps service costs from £14.99 a
month but isn’t metered between 1am and 6am – useful if you’re a
night owl. It also rated highly on value for money.



Zen Internet did well on most points, but at £24.99 a month for a
standard 512Kbps service it’s certainly on the pricey side.



Nildram was rated only average on value for money but did well on all
other key points. Its Broadband 2 Go service gives 2.5GB for £15.99 a
month – as with all ISPs the speed depends on your local exchange but
is up to 8Mbps. For £19.99 a month you can get a 512Kbps service. There
is a monthly fair use quota at this speed during peak hours of 8am to
midnight, but you get unlimited off peak use. Both packages are
available on monthly contracts.



Eclipse did well in most key categories, although it didn’t score as
highly as some other Best Buys for value for money. It offers speeds of
up to 2Mbps, depending on your local exchange. Its 1GB capped package
costs £14.99 a month, with 5GB for an extra £5.



PlusNet scored well on all the main ratings. Its Broadband Plus service
comes at speeds of up to 2Mbps for £14.99 a month. Technically
there’s no cap on usage, but PlusNet states that the product is not
suitable for data heavy applications or large downloads, so we regard
this as a form of cap.



Waitrose with a 2Mbps service for £18.99 a month, and Force 9, with
capped and uncapped services from £14.99 a month, scored well in most
areas, although we didn’t have enough replies from people who’d used
their technical support to rate this.



Don't buy

NTLwas one of the worst broadband providers in last year’s survey and
was also rated well below average on every point this time.



The links to our Best Buys above show only some of the companies and
packages available. For a wider range of options please check our tables
for companies offering the following - 512kbps services, capped and
uncapped. And services faster than 512kbps, both capped and uncapped.



There are many other broadband suppliers that we weren’t able to
gather information about in the survey, so we can’t say whether they
should be Best Buys. But we’ve collected details of their services so
that you can compare the biggest range of ISPs possible.
--
Walter Briscoe

Peter M wrote:
> Peter M wrote:
>
>> posted on Monday 19/12 to have arrived 23/12 :-)
>
> oops - it was there on 21/12 and in use the same
> or the next day - she was certainly online before
> Friday, once she had fitted the PCI ethernet card,
> with a few hints from me over the phone :-) Peter.

My initial adsl connection (btyahoo) was ready 2-3 days before it should
have been