UK broadband providers

http://www.uswitch.com/broadband/providers/

So there is about a dozen broadband providers to choose from!
Back home there was one cable option and one DSL option.

The first option I saw was BT and they had a plan I liked, with unlimited use and even some or unlimited wifi minutes on the go, and I assumed BT would have a big or the best wifi spots network.   BUT, you must get a phone line with then first, AND all I've heard on this board has been negative comments!  So, trusting these comments, I will pass and continue my research.
Basically I think I most likely do not want a phone line, so I will search for an option without the phone line.   I like the wifi minutes inclusion, especially for the first several months here.
I would also not like to pay big connection fees or enter long-term contracts, especially at first, since I will live temporarily in some place for ~3mos before getting a permanent place...   
If anybody else has positive or negative comments about other providers or plans, just let me know, thank you!

What you could do, if your accommodation is only temporary for now, is try to get mobile broadband through a mobile phone company - that way you wouldn't have to pay for connections/phone lines etc. - you pay a monthly fee and get a portable USB 'dongle' which you can plug into your laptop/PC and get internet wherever you are (not sure what the connection speeds are like though).

In terms of broadband providers, in my flat we currently have Virgin Media. We pay one flat monthly fee of about £26 for phone line, digital TV (basic package with not that many channels) and broadband internet. My parents haven't had a BT phone line since 1994 (and the last time I was with BT was in 2002 - in my student house... with slow dial-up internet!), so I couldn't really tell you how good or bad BT are with their broadband services.

Naked, or dry-loop DSL is not available in the UK. If you want DSL, you will need to get analogue phone service and a line from someone, and BT is the most widely used provider.

I've used BT Broadband service for the last few years, and have no overall complaints about the basic service.  But as with just about everything with BT now, customer service is pretty poor if you have problems, and most of the BT "self serve" websites for things are horrendously convoluted and awkward to use.   Technical support is now handled in some far-off call center where you have a good chance of getting somebody who can barely understand you, or you him, so in the event of a problem it can be quite frustrating trying to get things resolved.   That's not to say that some of the other providers are any better.

Remember that in many small-town and rural areas it doesn't matter which ISP you sign up with, your internet access will be over the BT network anyway, since there is no LLU.   The other ISPs simply subcontract the appropriate part out to BT Wholesale.   

Hi NyStacey

Check out http://www.thinkbroadband.com/

This site is everything to do with internet connections and providers etc. UK focussed and has a very busy forum. One of those sections is 'which Home ISP?' and you can read through the various postings. No one company has it all, although quite a few of the top spots are held and change each year by a handful of ISP's.

The Mobile USB dongle idea solution is good - I've posted a few times here on other threads about it - just be mindful that it really depends on the 3G signal you get as to how your surfing experience is - but for general surfing and no bandwidth intensive use and so long as you have a strong 3G signal it could be excellent to have whilst you choose a domestic line and Internet connection on it.

If you are lucky enough to be in a Virgin area, you might want to look at them in terms of not having to have to have a phone line with them and just their internet deal - not sure if that's how they operate, but it's the only other alternative to BT. If you're not in a Virgin area, then for a domestic solution (if the USB 3G dongle isn't as good as you'd like) then you'll have to get a BT line and go for an ADSL ISP.

Hope this helps

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Another problem is that some ISPs can change drastically in the quality of service when bought out by another.   Look at what happened when Pipex was taken over by Tiscali for an example:

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/3373-tiscali-slowly-migrating-pipex-users-to-its-own-platform.html

If you are lucky enough to be in a Virgin area, you might want to look at them in terms of not having to have to have a phone line with them and just their internet deal - not sure if that's how they operate, but it's the only other alternative to BT.

This is an option with Virgin.  We have Virgin only for the internet; we use Vonage for the phone, and Sky for TV.  We haven't had a traditional BT landline in almost 3 years now, and, for us, it works a treat.

virgin lets you check if certain postcode is covered, but I wish there was a reverse lookup or map of the areas covered or not so I knew where to live

I wish there was a reverse lookup or map of the areas covered or not

There are a few maps around which purport to do that, but rather like GSM phone coverage maps, they tend to be so vague as to be of little practical use.

The Uk is used to having temporary travelers so they have solutions for everything.  You will have to stop thinking like we do here and be more flexible.  For instance, it will be easy to give up broadband or DSL in exchange for very easy access dial up that is pay as you go. I know what you are thinking..."dial up !(*@&!&@"  Trust me, when you get to the UK, you will not be an internet junkie like you are here, you will be out physically meeting/talking to people!

There are a few maps around which purport to do that, but rather like GSM phone coverage maps, they tend to be so vague as to be of little practical use.

Yep.  It showed us squarely in a covered area.  Annnnnnd we're not.     After a mess with Sky as well, we ended up with BT DSL as our last resort.  It's not as fast as cable back in the US, but its still more than enough to use skype, vonage and our slingbox regularly.     If anything, I am far more reliant on the internet than before I moved here.  I use it for everything from transportation planning to ordering groceries -- stuff I never did in the states.

Hi ccmail,

I think the points in your post are true..  for 2001 !

Dial up does still exist, however for the last few years, it's really only been those who unfortunatley live too far from ADSL enabled exchanges who have to use them.

There are what's called 'Not Spots' littered throughout the UK where even where broadband has been available for some time in nearby exchanges, the residents on a particular non enabled exchange can't get broadband ADSL services. I live in one of the most densely areas of just outside West London - no digital Cable offering on my road, yet it's available nearby.

The UK doesn't have solutions for everything in view of temporary workers or newly arrived immigrants etc - and Broadband (to keep the focus here) is quickly becoming a 2 tier element espeically with the governments rather unworkable promise to have 2MB internet to everyone in Britain by 2012 - i.e some will get that promised 2MB and others simply wont.

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

dial-up!

i could get over dial-up if I wanted to reminisce the late 90s, but this whole pay-as-you-go thing going on here in another story.
It 'may' sound good... but usually for the same price of a small 'top-up' here, don't we get the 'all-you-can-eat' rate in the US?

(I do see the benefits of some pay-as-you-go situations though)

Hi Nystacey

The home internet provision area - all the ISP's and their products and services mean its very confusing. In a very general gist, the less per month you pay the more likely it is that there's some sort of data limit and bandwidth restriction in place. Even the higher paid ones, will have limits, but thankfully they're set quite high and 'most' users won't really reach them.

On top of that, there is of course the 'fair usage policy' restriction, so even if you pay top whack for a big bandwidth connection if you regularly exceed the limits you'll probably be asked for extra payment for every GB and possibly even be asked to leave their service. Of course, such bandwidth hoggers will claim to be treated unfairly which to an extent is true, but I bet 98% of those will not stump up the cash for a truly large bandwidth service, say like a leased line ! which will give them the potential to download more data than they can even know about !

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

When we moved house and our broadband wasn't up yet used a free dial up service.

http://www.abelgratis.com/abel_gratis.html

It worked well enough until everything was back to normal.  I couldn't download movies or anything, but you can still use IM. 

It was really stressful because I needed to pay my student loan and could only do so online, so we had to use my husband's mobile internet to look up the abel gratis number to connect.