Wi-Fi setup for a flat?

Hi all,

I am moving to London from Houston, Tx this upcoming Wednesday! (Aug. 29th!)  Just trying to get a few last minute details sorted out. 

I have already found & rented a flat, but I am pretty sure there will not be any type of wi-fi or internet access once I get there.

Any suggestions?  Is it the same as setting up wi-fi here in the US?  Is there a certain company that is best/cheapest/most reliable?

Any suggestions?  Is it the same as setting up wi-fi here in the US?  Is there a certain company that is best/cheapest/most reliable?

It's pretty much the same as setting it up in the US.  Whatever ISP you choose will check to see if the flat has a BT (British Telecom) land line installed.  If there's not one, you'll have to get one installed.  I'm sure they can set that up for you, but I don't know how expensive it is.

If there is a BT line, then it's just a matter of picking an ISP and ordering broadband.  Most of them throw in a wireless router with a new account (I've never heard of one that doesn't).  It usually takes about 10 days or so from the time you call and order the service for it to be turned on.

I had Sky broadband for the first couple of years I lived in the UK, and Sky sucked.  The speed was terrible, the line dropped out all the time, and they totally screwed up moving our service from one house to another when we moved.  (Search my posts for "sky" and you should find a few good rants.)

Later we switched to Plusnet, and they've been great.  The service is cheap, when it dropped out a couple of times at our last house, they were very good about getting someone out to check what the problem was and getting it fixed, and when we moved a few weeks ago they got all aspects of moving our service from one house to the other exactly right, and exactly when they said they would.  I recommend them highly.

This website is a good one for finding a deal which will work for you (click on the phones, TV, & broadband tab):

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/

It's pretty much the same as setting it up in the US.  Whatever ISP you choose will check to see if the flat has a BT (British Telecom) land line installed.  If there's not one, you'll have to get one installed.  I'm sure they can set that up for you, but I don't know how expensive it is.

You don't always need a BT line - it depends on the company. If you go with Virgin Media, they will provide you with a Virgin phone line, not a BT one (as they provide their services through their own lines, not BT). So if you don't have a BT line when you move in, it won't matter, and if you already have a BT line, it will need to be disconnected and then Virgin Media will install their own one.

You don't always need a BT line - it depends on the company. If you go with Virgin Media, they will provide you with a Virgin phone line, not a BT one (as they provide their services through their own lines, not BT).

Cool.  I've never lived anywhere where Virgin was available, and always wondered if they were any good or not.

Cool.  I've never lived anywhere where Virgin was available, and always wondered if they were any good or not.

Virgin Media is the cable provider (I'm sure you already know, just for the benefit of the OP), I have cable broadband through them and no complaints, they just tripled my speed to 60mbps. Had to upgrade me to a combined modem/router which was free.
But many flats don't have cable hook up, more likely to be Sky Satellite for additional TV channels.

Hi,

Do also look into getting a '3' Mi-Fi device.

http://store.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband/MiFi

You could get a pre paid one rightaway at £135 which means no waiting for any of the other 'fixed line' type services.

I rent out my flat, and there's a hassle if I want a Virgin Media connection as it means digging up the outside area to lay the cable, then there's hassle in how to share it amongst the six flats. I've given up trying to get it connected so I leave the cost of the BT line/connection to my tenants and they pay for an Internet subscription, however as they are long term tenants, they haven't minded signing up for 12 months (perhaps more?!), but if you potentially envisage you may move I'd say definitely do the '3' mobile internet solution.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Thanks everyone!  It seems that I already have a BT line in my flat, but it has no phone number ().

I checked Virgin Media broadband, because I was thinking that since I already have a mobile phone & use skype, that I don't really need a land line.  Virgin has some special fibre-crazy cable that does not need a land line to install broadband.  But, alas, my post code does not have this fibre-crazy cable installed yet.  So, that is a no go.

I am going to keep researching, but I am leaning towards setting up a land line and broadband with BT (BT seems the most common company to use).  And, BT has "openzone" wifi in my area (which is what I am using now).  It is a little costly, but I am glad that I can use it until my broadband is hooked up.  BT has definitely scored points with me with having an openzone, how cool!  My friend was like "So, wifi is just floating around in the air?" and I said "yes, you just have to pay a bit to reach up and grab it."  The sooner I can get home broadband the better though, like I said, BT's openzone isn't exactly free.

I am going to look into every recommendation each of you posted!  Thanks a lot.

Thanks everyone!  It seems that I already have a BT line in my flat, but it has no phone number ().

That's fine - it's just the phone line connection you need. You can't get a number until you pay for a phone service - either through BT, or through a TV/broadband company (when I got Sky, they provided me with a phone line service and number through the BT line).

I checked Virgin Media broadband, because I was thinking that since I already have a mobile phone & use skype, that I don't really need a land line.  Virgin has some special fibre-crazy cable that does not need a land line to install broadband.  But, alas, my post code does not have this fibre-crazy cable installed yet.  So, that is a no go.

Yes, Virgin broadband doesn't use the phone line at all (I forgot that part)... however, as you have discovered, you need to be in an area where the cable is installed. They did a massive cable installation in my home town back in about 1994, but some areas still don't have it.

I only got a phone line with Virgin Media because it was cheaper to get the phone/broadband/TV bundle than just the TV/broadband bundle and no phone.

Does the UK have fiber optics yet? We are lucky to live in Chattanooga right now and we have fiber optic internet and our speeds are 100 Mbps for $70/month and are super spoiled. I have a feeling we are not going to get anything near that in the UK.

If fiber optics are not available yet, is there a plan for in the future?

Does the UK have fiber optics yet? We are lucky to live in Chattanooga right now and we have fiber optic internet and our speeds are 100 Mbps for $70/month and are super spoiled. I have a feeling we are not going to get anything near that in the UK.

If fiber optics are not available yet, is there a plan for in the future?

I have Virgin fibre-optic broadband.
They do different packages of 30, 60 or 100 Mb. 
It's not available in all areas, but you could go to their website, enter your postcode, and they can tell you if it's available there. http://www.virginmedia.com/

High speed internet is in most places by now, I think. Most places down here in Cornwall, anyway. And it'll cost you a hell of a lot less than $70! The only drawback is that you then have monthly data usage caps. For us, it's not worth it as we use a lot of data, so we're not upgrading to high speed.

If you know the post code of where you're going to live you can check what's available in that area on this site: http://www.broadband.co.uk/compare/

If you don't know the post code, pick one from whatever town/area you're thinking about to give you an idea.

I have Virgin fibre-optic broadband.
They do different packages of 30, 60 or 100 Mb. 
It's not available in all areas, but you could go to their website, enter your postcode, and they can tell you if it's available there. http://www.virginmedia.com/

thanks we re unsure right now what part of the country we want to settle in. Thinking about taking a year to travel and see what part we just fall in love with.

High speed internet is in most places by now, I think. Most places down here in Cornwall, anyway. And it'll cost you a hell of a lot less than $70! The only drawback is that you then have monthly data usage caps. For us, it's not worth it as we use a lot of data, so we're not upgrading to high speed.

The $70 includes home phone( unlimited local calls and no data caps and no line rental)
I am not sure what speeds you have but if it is not the super high speed we have and includes home phone then you are comparing apples to oranges. I don't see anything comparable at the price we pay on the above sites. So it looks like to get some thing close to what we have here it is going to be about 82 pounds a month with line rental(what ever that is)

The $70 includes home phone( unlimited local calls and no data caps and no line rental)
I am not sure what speeds you have but if it is not the super high speed we have and includes home phone then you are comparing apples to oranges. I don't see anything comparable at the price we pay on the above sites. So it looks like to get some thing close to what we have here it is going to be about 82 pounds a month with line rental(what ever that is)

Virgin Media offer 100 MB unlimited fibre optic broadband with no phone line for £29.75 for the first 3 months, then £34.75 after that. If you want a phone line too, then it's £32.15 per month for the first 6 months (£18.25 for the broadband, £13.90 for the phone line), rising to £39.40 after that (£25.50 for the broadband, £13.90 for the phone line)... so it's still less than $70, even after 6 months and with the phone line rental included.

I pay £40 per month for all my Sky services, and I think that is expensive for what I get!

For £40 a month I get:

- Phone line rental with unlimited free calls after 7pm and all weekend

- 10MB unlimited broadband (not fibre optic because I'm with Sky - my area doesn't have great internet speeds so not much point paying for a faster connection)

- Digital satellite TV with 200 TV channels, about 100 radio stations, plus HD box and Sky Plus (like TiVo). I only get the free HD channels, but I could pay £10 extra per month for 21 more HD channels if I wanted to. I could also pay extra for the movies or sports packages as well, but I don't see the point.

oh well, whatever.
at least you know that fibre-optic broadband exists in the UK.