From Zen to Freedom2surf?

Currently on Zen 512kbps. Whilst I've had no problems with them, for
what I do which is pretty much web pages and usenet binaries, I keep
thinking I can get better VFM elsewhere with little noticable
performance hit.

I don't do P2P, so my other uses are really streaming media, radio/TV
etc, websites, static IP would be useful as I often SSH into work and
it'd be nice to be able to lock down works firewall.

If people at work ask who I'd suggest for ADSL I generally tell them
Zen, they look at the price and ask "who else" and I say Metronet,
Pipex, Eclipse and Freedom2surf as of late.

At the moment I'm very tempted by Freedom2Surfs 2mb 50gb cap package at
£25 a month with a usenet subscription, probably to Forte's APN service
which is basically cheap Supernews.

Really I want some opinions, as I said I can't fault Zen but it's
becoming harder and harder to justify £25 for 512kbps when I can get
2mbps for the same money with what seems like a quality ISP with a
sensible amount of data included.

regards
Paul


--
paul <at> spamcop <dot> net

On Sat, 9 Apr 2005 14:48:33 UTC, Paul Hutchings <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

> At the moment I'm very tempted by Freedom2Surfs 2mb 50gb cap package at
> £25 a month with a usenet subscription, probably to Forte's APN service
> which is basically cheap Supernews.

AAISP? 27 quid, with free Usenet via Gradwell. 2Mb/s, as many static IPs
as you need, 3GB cap per month (soft) but only between (roughly) 0800
and 1800 weekdays; unlimited the rest of the time. Excellent tech
support. Web space and free domain name included. Unlimited email
addresses.

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. ]

I am on F2S, I dont use their email or anything but 25quid for 2mb is a
decent price, i use binaries via giganews and i am currently getting speeds
of 238KB/s+

On Sat, 09 Apr 2005 15:48:33 +0100, Paul Hutchings <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>At the moment I'm very tempted by Freedom2Surfs 2mb 50gb cap package at
>£25 a month with a usenet subscription, probably to Forte's APN service
>which is basically cheap Supernews.

I use Freedom2Surf. Support hours are very limited but other than that
it's great. You never really need support!

In article <176uZD2KcidF-pn2-(E-Mail Removed)>,
"Bob Eager" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> AAISP? 27 quid, with free Usenet via Gradwell. 2Mb/s, as many static IPs
> as you need, 3GB cap per month (soft) but only between (roughly) 0800
> and 1800 weekdays; unlimited the rest of the time. Excellent tech
> support. Web space and free domain name included. Unlimited email
> addresses.


Considered them in the past and I don't belive the 3gb tariff would be
enough - I don't want to be "looking over my shoulder" if I have a day
or week off work etc and I'm sure as hell not paying six quid per Gb if
I do go over on the odd occasion :-o

cheers,
Paul
--
paul <at> spamcop <dot> net

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
"mo" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> I am on F2S, I dont use their email or anything but 25quid for 2mb is a
> decent price, i use binaries via giganews and i am currently getting speeds
> of 238KB/s+

That's encouraging.

So far, given it's a monthly package and the free migration and free
regrade to 2mbps I can't see too many reasons not to give them a try, I
don't seem to be able to find many bad reports.

cheers,
Paul
--
paul <at> spamcop <dot> net

On 09 Apr 2005 15:48, Paul Hutchings <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Really I want some opinions, as I said I can't fault Zen but it's
>becoming harder and harder to justify £25 for 512kbps when I can get
>2mbps for the same money with what seems like a quality ISP with a
>sensible amount of data included.

You could add Plus.Net to your list. Their Fair Use policy is about
to come in, which will have monthly limits on *downloads* made between
0800 and 0100 (with uploads uncounted, and downloads 'off peak' in the
early hours of the day also uncounted). Fixed IP is standard on their
Premier account, and speed would be increased (depending on your phone
exchange, and distance to exchange) to (initially) 2000 kbps and later
in the year, on MaxDSL, to 4000 or 8000 kbps. You can migrate to them
for free (and if you don't like their service, under their guarantee,
can move on at low/no cost - depends on charges by subsequent ISP,
as Plus.Net will cover up to 14.99, I think :-)

Their download FUP figures are in tiers, so for 30 GB you'd pay 21.99,
50 GB is 29.99, and there are higher bands (up to 125 GB) but one must
remember that these limits are for 'daytime' use. Not everyone is too
happy with there being such quotas, but their scheme is intended to be
flexible, insofar as only if you exceed the limit 3 months running can
anything happen (they offer options to upgrade to the next tier, while
paying for extra traffic doesn't yet have a price, or a lower speed of
150 kbps for the remainder of the month, is another option).

You can migrate for free, and while they plan to upgrade users to 2000
knps in the near future, you could get that done for a one-off 14.99,
while the upgrade to MaxDSL in future would still be free. (Paying
a fee now for the 2000 kbps upgrade is an option - depends if you can
just wait for BT to fit in the exchange or want it now!). Peter M.


--
Plus.Net <http://tinyurl.com/24ymz>
I recommend them and save some cash.

With a guarantee allowing new users to migrate if they're unhappy!

In article <(E-Mail Removed) t>,
Peter <us-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> You could add Plus.Net to your list. Their Fair Use policy is about
> to come in, which will have monthly limits on *downloads* made between
> 0800 and 0100 (with uploads uncounted, and downloads 'off peak' in the
> early hours of the day also uncounted). Fixed IP is standard on their
> Premier account, and speed would be increased (depending on your phone
> exchange, and distance to exchange) to (initially) 2000 kbps and later
> in the year, on MaxDSL, to 4000 or 8000 kbps. You can migrate to them
> for free (and if you don't like their service, under their guarantee,
> can move on at low/no cost - depends on charges by subsequent ISP,
> as Plus.Net will cover up to 14.99, I think :-)


Just don't get a good feeling about Plusnet. It's irrational and isn't
based on any experience with them just a reaction based on what I've
seen/read here and on various forums.

I think I'm about decided on F2S and Forte's APN usenet service.

cheers,
Paul
--
paul <at> spamcop <dot> net

On 11 Apr 2005 18:42, Paul Hutchings <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Just don't get a good feeling about Plusnet. It's irrational and isn't
>based on any experience with them just a reaction based on what I've
>seen/read here and on various forums.

After the comments of the past six months, when the heaviest downloaders
had their habit 'curtailed', and the current dislike of their fair usage
policy, I cannot say I'm too surprised, though I've yet to be convinced
the policy will affect average users.

>I think I'm about decided on F2S and Forte's APN usenet service.

You could try the Plus.Net 'Essential' account free for a couple of weeks
before making your final decision, to see if the Plus.Net news comes up
to scratch. See <http://www.plus.net/btbroadband/>

My brother-in-law's office connection is on F2S, but I've yet to be sure
whether it is a faulty PSU or equipment at his factory which sometimes
causes the link to fail (they have mail sent direct by SMTP, or not,
when their connection is down!) Peter M.

"Paul Hutchings" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
newsaul-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Currently on Zen 512kbps. Whilst I've had no problems with them, for
> what I do which is pretty much web pages and usenet binaries, I keep
> thinking I can get better VFM elsewhere with little noticable
> performance hit.
>
> I don't do P2P, so my other uses are really streaming media, radio/TV
> etc, websites, static IP would be useful as I often SSH into work and
> it'd be nice to be able to lock down works firewall.
>
> If people at work ask who I'd suggest for ADSL I generally tell them
> Zen, they look at the price and ask "who else" and I say Metronet,
> Pipex, Eclipse and Freedom2surf as of late.
>
> At the moment I'm very tempted by Freedom2Surfs 2mb 50gb cap package
> at
> £25 a month with a usenet subscription, probably to Forte's APN
> service
> which is basically cheap Supernews.
>
> Really I want some opinions, as I said I can't fault Zen but it's
> becoming harder and harder to justify £25 for 512kbps when I can get
> 2mbps for the same money with what seems like a quality ISP with a
> sensible amount of data included.
>
> regards
> Paul
>
>
> --
> paul <at> spamcop <dot> net



I've been using Freedom2Surf for the past 2 years. I recently moved to
the £25/50 GB package, and it's great. I was paying £22.50 with them for
uncapped 512k before they introduced this package. Some other points
worth noting:-

Unmetered from 1am - 6am
Static IP
Free webspace
20 POP3 mailboxes
Extra gigabytes only £1.50 each (if you ever need them....)

They are also about to offer an 8GB service, in partnership with
Easynet. This will be LLU based, so will not be available everywhere.

I have 2 PCs and an Xbox connected through a router, and download a lot.
I have never experienced any downtime at all, and have never lost my
connection. I do tech support for another ISP, but still wouldn't
consider leaving F2S.


Hope this helps

George