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Virgin to launch fastest web connection in UK
- Thread starter Blue Velvet
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Meh. They still can't consistently provide a 2Mb connection to us, and we get capped to ridiculously slow speeds.
yes i agree, seriously with the technology we have there should be 500mbps available. the economy isnt really helping atm though..
I used to be on the 20Mb/s plan, but decided to 'leave' due to the awful downtime and customer service. The connection was vital to our small home business and the pitiful callouts just weren't acceptable; waiting a week only to get a rude pair of technicians turn up to mess around like school children and leave a note tucked under the lines (on a Virgin Media 'you were out' card nonetheless) reading 'any more problems sniff my *****'. Even then customer service initially denied it, but faced with undeniable evidence we were issued an apology.
The line is now on NTL/Telewest business (to use most other companies the house would need another line putting in and modem moved to an inconvenient place, so there really is little choice) who have eight hour call out rather than eight days and generally seem to have better customer service. We never had any problems with the internet while it was NTL. A quick Googling shows my experience isn't unique.
<Rant over>
Nice to see the UK's internet speeds getting quicker, but we still are a bit behind other countries I suppose
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The line is now on NTL/Telewest business (to use most other companies the house would need another line putting in and modem moved to an inconvenient place, so there really is little choice) who have eight hour call out rather than eight days and generally seem to have better customer service. We never had any problems with the internet while it was NTL. A quick Googling shows my experience isn't unique.
<Rant over>
Nice to see the UK's internet speeds getting quicker, but we still are a bit behind other countries I suppose
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Well, on the topic of high speed internet, I've been with Be for several years (was one of the first people to sign up). They've generally been fine, but about once a year, all my email stops working for a few days and they usually don't have a clue.
(apart from vague mutterings about "the way OSX treats email is different from Windows" which seems bollocks from a networking perspective.)
I get about 16meg down and the usual up, which I'm happy with. What do other MR people think of them?
TBH Be are looking overpriced nowadays, and I'm thinking of moving to a different provider to save on the £20 monthlies, but am bit scared of falling down an ISP pit.
(apart from vague mutterings about "the way OSX treats email is different from Windows" which seems bollocks from a networking perspective.)
I get about 16meg down and the usual up, which I'm happy with. What do other MR people think of them?
TBH Be are looking overpriced nowadays, and I'm thinking of moving to a different provider to save on the £20 monthlies, but am bit scared of falling down an ISP pit.
In my experience, the more you pay, the better the service. We had a faultless 3 years on NewNet Pay&Go, but they're unlimited service was far too expensive so we swapped to O2 as we all have O2 mobiles. For the good price of 17 a month, we get 8mb (up to 24 if you live in the right areas), but the service is awful. Customer support answer quickly but don't really have a clue and our connection drops about 4 times a day. Tis really annoying.
Virgin in some areas is also better than in others. At my uni address in Bath, we have Virgin 20mb and it's great. My sister in Clapham has had very bad experiences with it though. So all depends on the area I think.
So, if BE is working, stick with them. Otherwise look at the smaller companies which have had plenty of experience (like Pipex - I only hear good things about these) and avoid O2, Talk Talk, Virgin, BT, etc.
That's my opinion. I'm sure others have had different experiences.
Be is by far the best service I've used. I had them for a year in central Brighton and whilst I only got about 5mbps, it was reliable and never dropped below that speed. I only cancelled with them because I moved to a place where I have no control over the Internet.
I had the 10mbps Virgin connection a couple of years ago again in Brighton and it was awful. 20kbps wasn't uncommon at peak times. They also refused to cancel my connection even after the contract period (they said they would and then just didn't) so I just cancelled the direct debit and ignored their calls.
Virgin are idiots.
I just moved from hove, the same ubr as brighton. I got the full 20mbit, no variation in peak times and pretty much zero downtime.
Not cancelling the contract after your cancellation phone call is standard practice for isps
If you don't get your quoted speed I'm not sure why you're all not phoning up and giving them some grief. You might have to go through a few people (same as any company), but virgin are pretty decent at refunding your sub.