Switching ISP.

[PaulMacC]

I'm looking for an ISP who will provide speeds up to 50mbps. I have BT right now and they only offer up to 8mbps where I'm living. Virgin have fibre optic here so I can get 50mbps. Should I? I dont want to have to change phone provider though cause my parents are picky. I need a cheap ISP who will give me 50mbps w/o a phone line - plus some costs would be nice.
many thnx

[Recursion]

VM don't need a phone line for fibre... surely?

Can I ask why you want 50 meg anyways? (I know someone will flame me for simply asking.. so don't.)

[Tomm]

Very few providers offer anything near 50mbps. If you can get VM 50mbps where you live and want that kind of speed you should go for it.

[PaulMacC]

Robbie told me to go with Be?
Anyone else vouche

[Recursion]

Be is supposed to be fantastic.

[N!ck]

Be are doing bonded lines as well, but only for current customers at the moment while they're testing.

Also, if you have a decent line make sure you get Be to put you on the fastpath profile/disable interleaving.

[Tomm]

Be are very good, however at present they only offer a upto 24mbps service and it depends alot on your line quality.

[N!ck]

Be are very good, however at present they only offer a upto 24mbps service and it depends alot on your line quality.
Up to 48Mbps with bonded lines :). And Be offer great upload speeds compared to most other ISPs.

[Tomm]

Apart from it requires you to purchase another physical phone line from BT, specifically setup in the exchange and for you to operate two modems :P


Up to 48Mbps with bonded lines :). And Be offer great upload speeds compared to most other ISPs.

[Flisker]

I would say Be (www.bethere.co.uk) they are a fantastic ISP from what I've heard.

[PaulMacC]

How would I go about canceling my current ISP's contract and switching.

[Tomm]

Phone them up and request a MAC code.

[PaulMacC]

How much will it cost to switch to Be if I already have a BT line. I want their best package but how long will it take?
So I phone BT, cancel my contract, ask for a MAC code and phone Be say I want your internet, give them details and then wut

[N!ck]

Are they available on your line/at your exchange? How far away is your exchange? http://samknows.com/broadband/search.php?page=availability-exchange-search

Do you need the top package (extra upload speed)? You actually get slightly faster download on the second to top because the Pro uses some of the download frequencies for upload.

You phone BT. Ask for the MAC - they have to give it to you. Phone Be/apply online and give them your MAC. Pay some money. Wait for your Be stuff to come in the post (a few days to a week I think). Go.

You pay just the fee for Be unless BT decide to throw some cancellation fee at you.

[PaulMacC]

Be is available in my area although I have a few more questions.


We're currently on a contract with BT, how much would the cancellation fee be?
How long would it take to set up from myself receiving the Be equipment.
BT says my line can get 8mbps maximum, will this effect Be's promise of 20mbps on my line as it says on their website.
My dad pays all his bills at a paypoint, they basically invoice and he pays the money at a point. Do Be offer this?
How much is installation for Be, if I wanted to buy their 12 month contract right now how much would it cost. Any installation fees or would I just pay £21 a month for the pro package.
Who do I phone from BT and what do I say for cancellation of packages and MAC code.

Many thanks.

[Tomm]

You'll be charged according to the following table for each month remaining on your current contract:
http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/dynamicmodules/pagecontentfooter/pageContentFooterPopup.jsp?pagecontentfooter_popup id=26746&s_cid=con_FURL_termcharges

Typically you get the equipment before the actual setup date and you get a text message saying when you are able to hook it all up (At least my Dad did with Be).

Estimates are estimates. You'll only find out when you actually get the service.

Be offer credit/debit card or direct debit only as payment options

There are only setup fees on their short term contracts not the 12 month ones.

Don't cancel your account directly. Just request a MAC code. This way you'll still be able to use your current BT broadband right up till the moment you switch to Be (Typically a 2hr downtime). BT, if they play nice, should automatically cancel your broadband when you switch. However, if they don't, once you are transferred call them up and cancel your account (And pay the cancellation fee).

[PaulMacC]

Okay, I think I will be able to get Be if I pay with my own Debit Card. The only problem being that I'm afraid that I'll be charged when I have nothing in my account. I suppose if I am getting £60 EMA every 2 weeks then that should cover the cost and if worst comes to worst I can always ask my dad for £25 to put into my account. When I buy the Be contract does it pay for all 12 months or does it just take £22 for that month and then I pay £22 every month.

[Tomm]

It is monthly.

[N!ck]

Be is available in my area although I have a few more questions.


We're currently on a contract with BT, how much would the cancellation fee be?
How long would it take to set up from myself receiving the Be equipment.
BT says my line can get 8mbps maximum, will this effect Be's promise of 20mbps on my line as it says on their website.
My dad pays all his bills at a paypoint, they basically invoice and he pays the money at a point. Do Be offer this?
How much is installation for Be, if I wanted to buy their 12 month contract right now how much would it cost. Any installation fees or would I just pay £21 a month for the pro package.
Who do I phone from BT and what do I say for cancellation of packages and MAC code.

Many thanks.

1. I don't know but it depends on how long you have left.
2. Not long. Your BT internet will end at the same day your Be internet starts. You will have recieved the equipment from Be before this time and you will not be long without internet access when you switch (an hour or two max).
3.The best indication of the speed you get would be to look at your line's attenuation (look for that in your router's status) then look at this graph http://www.beforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6490 ADSL2+ attenuation will be a little higher than the ADSL attenuation your router shows. Look how far from the exchange you are as well (see the Samknows link I posted earlier).
4. Not a clue.
5. You just pay the monthly fee. No installation. You pay once per month not all in one go. You can also get Be on 3 month contracts but it is a few pounds more per month.
6. The number is here http://bt.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/bt.cfg/php/enduser/cci/bt_afdpage.php?p_sid=TMsuu4Sj&cat_lvl1=346&cat_lvl2=401&cat_lvl3=781&p_cv=3.781&p_cats=346,401,781&p_param=p_afd_subject=I%20want%20to%20close%20my%2 0account%20&p_afd_inc_router=BTBroadband&[email protected]&p_afd_form_id=contactus_send_broadband_close&p_afd_customer_classification=enquiry&p_afd_customer_category=BTBB%20Closing%20Account&p_afd_cat_lvl1=346&p_afd_cat_lvl2=401&p_afd_cat_lvl3=402&p_source=helpandsupport they will try to keep you buy offering you deals so expect it. Make sure you asc for the MAC code. Once Be have the code they are the ones who actually cancel/close the old connection.

You may want to check out this forum http://www.beforum.co.uk/

[Flisker]

I really want to move to Be but BT are going to take forever to upgrade my exchange to handle ADSL2+ speeds and then try and get Be to put their equipment in the exchange is another factor.

I hate being stuck on 8mb with limited ISP's to choose from.

Thing is my line can handle a lot more than 8mb to be honest because below is my line attenuation...

My Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]:2.0 / 4.0

[N!ck]

I really want to move to Be but BT are going to take forever to upgrade my exchange to handle ADSL2+ speeds and then try and get Be to put their equipment in the exchange is another factor.

I hate being stuck on 8mb with limited ISP's to choose from.

Thing is my line can handle a lot more than 8mb to be honest because below is my line attenuation...

My Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]:2.0 / 4.0

Are you pretty much next door to your exchange or something?

[Flisker]

Are you pretty much next door to your exchange or something?
Yea about 54meters away from it :)

[PaulMacC]

Anyone make a rough estimate of what download and upload speed I'll get.
Line attenuation (Down/Up)15.0 dB / 9.0 dB
I'm buying the BE Pro package (24mbps DL, 2.5mbps UL) as soon as BT send me my MAC code. The guy from BT on twitter told me to email him my details w/ BT account number and he'd give me it but that was like 3 hours ago. Suppose I'll get it within 1-2 days.

[N!ck]

Anyone make a rough estimate of what download and upload speed I'll get.
Line attenuation (Down/Up)15.0 dB / 9.0 dB
I'm buying the BE Pro package (24mbps DL, 2.5mbps UL) as soon as BT send me my MAC code. The guy from BT on twitter told me to email him my details w/ BT account number and he'd give me it but that was like 3 hours ago. Suppose I'll get it within 1-2 days.

Stream speed at around 18Mbps, actual speedtest at around 15Mbps. Rough estimate.

[PaulMacC]

Any word about upload. I'm hoping it will be above 1mbps.

[N!ck]

Probably around 2Mbps with achievable upload speeds of around 220KB/s.

[PaulMacC]

The only reason I'm upgrading is because BT is rubbish for download speed and I want to get host more on console, it's primarily based on upload speed. My friend from Hungary has like 10mbps download and an insane 50mbps upload speed and he'll get host every game. On the other hand the average upload speed here is something below 1mbps so anything above that is a plus as my friend has 1.5mbps and he'll get host every 7/10 games

[N!ck]

Once you get it request to be put on fastpath. That will decrease your ping, meaning you're even more likely to get host.

[Robbie]

Once you get it request to be put on fastpath. That will decrease your ping, meaning you're even more likely to get host.

You can do that in the member centre these days. They call it 'Gaming Mode' and you can turn it on and off.

[PaulMacC]

Looks like I'm not going to be able to order before the weekend. So slow with the custom service within BT.

[Flisker]

Funny that, I've just signed up to BT (moving from O2).

[PaulMacC]

Funny that, I've just signed up to BT (moving from O2).
Bad choice. Maximum speed you going to get is 8mbps, they say 20mbps but I've yet to see someone with 20mbps.

[N!ck]

He was on O2 access which is not proper O2/Be.

And the max people can get on Be is 24,576 Kbps.

[PaulMacC]

You reckon if they dont send the MAC code via email tomorrow I should just ring them up and get it instantly there. I dont know if they'll take me serious since I'm 16, will I have to get my dad on or will it be alright if I have the details.

[Flisker]

Bad choice. Maximum speed you going to get is 8mbps, they say 20mbps but I've yet to see someone with 20mbps.
My exchange can only handle 8MB anyway :) It cant be as bad as what I'm getting at the moment anyway;
http://www.speedtest.net/result/690335781.png

[Recursion]

You reckon if they dont send the MAC code via email tomorrow I should just ring them up and get it instantly there. I dont know if they'll take me serious since I'm 16, will I have to get my dad on or will it be alright if I have the details.

They won't care what age you are as long as you have all the details they need.

[PaulMacC]

Order has been placed, there is no cancellation fees with BT as I've been out of contract since November 11th. How long until it is fully up and working 7-10 days I assume?

[Flisker]

up to 2 weeks (sometimes)

[Recursion]

Bad choice. Maximum speed you going to get is 8mbps, they say 20mbps but I've yet to see someone with 20mbps.

Just to let you know, you won't get 20mbp/s, you will get UP TO 20mbps, you will get 8mbp/s or less unless you live right next to the exchange and your exchange has the required hardware.

[PaulMacC]

Just to let you know, you won't get 20mbp/s, you will get UP TO 20mbps, you will get 8mbp/s or less unless you live right next to the exchange and your exchange has the required hardware.
Yeah, they ran my line attenuation thing, 18mbps and 1-2mbps upload.

[PaulMacC]

Didnt want to create a new thread. I ordered Friday, does anyone know when they will charge my card and when they will send me the router or set it up?

[Flisker]

Soon. O2 took 2 weeks to set up my connection.

[PaulMacC]

I ordered on Friday. They said the payment would be charged tomorrow. Although they said something on their forums about phoning them to confirm payment details if this does not happen. Is there any need for this if it charges me anyway?