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Any Bulldog Broadband users??

G

gangst

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 27, 2004
614
0
UK
Hi,

I'm thinking about going ahead and gettin Bulldog Broadband 8mb service , but really am not sure whether to go ahead with it. I read a thread the other day 'ISP's in the UK' or something similar and all I really got was a mixed response.
I rang Bulldog and inquired and theey came to the conclusion that getting a new line installed would be best, but do Bulldog routinely live up to their 8mb promise? Is the service reliable, and easy to connect to? Are download speeds near 800kb/s or nowhere near? etc.
Bulldog tell me that the service is really reliable but I'm just not sure quite yet.
I've checked the adslguide but that didn't really help to much, but just added to my confusion.

Thanks for any input.
 
the line is quite sensitive, make sure you use short phone cables and keep cables away from other equipment, your download speed will depend on the server, most will hit around 150KBps but you can have 7 or so files going at that speed at the same time, i regularly hit 1MBps on bit torrent.
 
Hector said:
the line is quite sensitive, make sure you use short phone cables and keep cables away from other equipment, your download speed will depend on the server, most will hit around 150KBps but you can have 7 or so files going at that speed at the same time, i regularly hit 1MBps on bit torrent.
Click to expand...

Do you use a wireless router or modem into your Mac? I'll take your advice and use short wires, but I was planning to use a wireless router, would this make the line more sensitive?

thanks for the feedback so far.
 
once the connection hits ethernet there are no issues unless you have dodgy hardware, i have a d-link router connected to an APX, the router crashes on hot days.

if i were you i'd get them to check the quality of the line before they install it, mine can be a little dodgy at peak times and a freind of mine had the same problem but he called them up and they boosted the power on the line and now it is ok.
 
I'm in sunny central Guildford, probably only around 800 yards from the exchange, and I was amazed - having signed up for 4 mbits - to have 8 mbits available on my router the day I got connected.

In reality, it's quite hard to use all of that 8 mbits: on Day One, I had Azureus downloading around 200-250 kbytes/sec, plus Software Update, plus the download of the whole of Apple's QuickTime HD gallery. To be honest, it was pretty impressive. Since then, I've downloaded several hundred gigabytes of material plus software updates and whole load more besides - no issues.

The only issues I have had are that Bulldog's call waiting signal is way too intrusive, and they once seemed to change their DNS settings without warning which was a bit of a worry. Also, people on other phone networks occasionally get a really crackly line when talking to me - but that gets solved by just dialling them again.

In other words, if you're going over to Bulldog/C&W's voice service as well, you may have some issues that are little more than annoyances - if you're "data only", I've found it great value for money.
 
gangst said:
Hi,

I'm thinking about going ahead and gettin Bulldog Broadband 8mb service , but really am not sure whether to go ahead with it. I read a thread the other day 'ISP's in the UK' or something similar and all I really got was a mixed response.
I rang Bulldog and inquired and theey came to the conclusion that getting a new line installed would be best, but do Bulldog routinely live up to their 8mb promise? Is the service reliable, and easy to connect to? Are download speeds near 800kb/s or nowhere near? etc.
Bulldog tell me that the service is really reliable but I'm just not sure quite yet.
I've checked the adslguide but that didn't really help to much, but just added to my confusion.

Thanks for any input.
Click to expand...

Don't do it. Bulldog are at the mercy of BT and BT are screwing them. Their customer service is woeful and they are exceptionally unhelpful in most cases. Read the other thread in this section and choose someone with a better than terrible rep.

My 2 Pence... (again!).
 
MCCFR said:
I'm in sunny central Guildford, probably only around 800 yards from the exchange, and I was amazed - having signed up for 4 mbits - to have 8 mbits available on my router the day I got connected.

In reality, it's quite hard to use all of that 8 mbits: on Day One, I had Azureus downloading around 200-250 kbytes/sec, plus Software Update, plus the download of the whole of Apple's QuickTime HD gallery. To be honest, it was pretty impressive. Since then, I've downloaded several hundred gigabytes of material plus software updates and whole load more besides - no issues.

The only issues I have had are that Bulldog's call waiting signal is way too intrusive, and they once seemed to change their DNS settings without warning which was a bit of a worry. Also, people on other phone networks occasionally get a really crackly line when talking to me - but that gets solved by just dialling them again.

In other words, if you're going over to Bulldog/C&W's voice service as well, you may have some issues that are little more than annoyances - if you're "data only", I've found it great value for money.
Click to expand...

When I spoke on the phone to Bulldog I only enquired about broadband, then the salesperson asked about telephone, which I said I wasn't interested in, but he made the phone service sound patchy to say the least.
 
Hmmm, if it was BullDAWG I'd say definitely go for it... woof!

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
Bulldog, Shocking !

I stupidly signed up with Bulldog. I'm not REALLY stupid, I administer a network of powerbooks ( & a couple of pc's for my sins), God what rubbish. Bulldog have reduced me to a dribbling wreck. I'm begging BT to take me back to 2MB. The actiontec wireless access point worked for 5 mins at 8MB & then left me in a customer service hell that you can't even imagine. My glorious Airport network hovers redundant... DON'T GO NEAR BULLDOG ! They are truly the worst company I have ever dealt with
 
Avoid bulldog like the plague, it is nothing but trouble, have a look at UKonline or any other broadband distributor who offers unlimited downloads,

SHadOW
 
I'm with Bulldog in SE london and i've no real complaints about the connection itself. On one occasion it stopped working briefly but came back on line within 24 hours. Better still in 4 months i haven't paid a penny for it. They bill me and i try to pay but they can't handle teh call volume. If you get through to customer service they tell you that it is a billing thing and that you need to speak to finance and then your call is disconnected due to high call volume. I have emailed them repeatedly to no avail. But i recently got a letter promising improved levels of customer service so we shall see.

Connection speed is around 4Mbps which feels bloody quick, god knows what it would be like if i actually could get all 8!
 
I have been with Bulldog for about 2 years. Originally they were an excellent small ISP - award-winning I believe. But since the takeover by Cable & Wireless their customer service has gone out of the window. I am still on the same 2MB package using my BT line that i originally signed up to, since I refuse to switch over to using their 8MB service (this involves switching to a C&W phone line).

Back in June I lost my service for over a day, which might not sound like long but when you work from home you NEED fully working broadband! It took me 25 hours of constant re-dialling to finally get through to their so-called help line and the problem turned out to be that they had changed their DNS server settings without telling their customers. No message on the support web page, no recorded message on the phone line, no emails sent out prior to the change. I complained and they promised me 1/2 month's rebate the following month... and surprise surprise, it's September and I'm still waiting for that rebate.

Overall i'd say i've been very happy with the service - apart from that one+ day in June... but their customer service *really* sucks. I used to have a C&W phone service a few years ago and that was appalling so ended up switching back to BT.
 
I tried to switch to them. Spent a month waiting, didn't reply to emails, never could talk to a real person on the phone so in the end I wondered why I had to put up with this. My current ISP, Pipex, replies to emails within 24 hours and I can talk to a real person whenever I want. They aren't as fast as Bulldog but hey, at least they installed the service in reasonable time!
 
They reply to their emails, they just don't actually do anything. Like i said i shouldn't complain i have yet to give them any money, inspite of emails along the lines of:
I really want to pay my bill, please help me!

My most concerted effort was a 90 minute phone call, i stopped it when the clocked struck 17.30 and their billing line technically closed. Must be a great job working their, take the phone off teh hook and go to sleep!
 
i heard something big was happening with Bulldog. some sort of investigation. do not touch.
 
Customer service is terrible (but they promise it's getting better). The actual connection is great once you get it. I've seen mine peak at over 1MB/s (i.e. slightly faster than the maximum it should be capable of). Large updates from good servers (Apple say) regularly get above 900k/s :D
 
*drools at the idea of 8mb dsl*

i had bulldog 2mb on a normal BT line. it was great. no problems. but that was just before C&W bought them out. so far as i know, the guys in that house now use them and have no trouble.
 
do not go with bulldog, seriously, they are rubbish. I joined them in April and by May i went back to BT. On the first day I had no connection - this lasted for 4 days. The service is unreliable. By week 2 my landline did not work - i reported the fault 3 times! - and nothing got done to fix it. I was on hold for over an hour every time i rang. I am deadly serious, if you go with bulldog you will deserve everything you get!!! I eventually gave up calling them and got BT to reconnect me. Even after that I got a bill for nearly £200!!! - luckily i work accross the road from their head office so i got the phone number and spoke to a person on the inside who sorted it out and cancelled my bill.
 
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