Non-cable Broadband

[John]

Hi folks,

I'm going to be living in an area that apparently doesn't have support for Cable broadband soon. This therefore means that I need to call BT to (1) open an account so that (2) I can get the number for my phone line.

Just wondered if anyone else uses non-cable broadband, or are you all fortunate enough to live in cable-enabled areas?

As I will have to pay line rental to BT, I wondered whether it was a sensible idea to use them my Internet too? Or whether this doesn't matter? I'm just thinking that if I have two different providers for my phoneline and internet, they'll be forever arguing with each other as to who's problem it is.

Any help'd be much appreciated. Cheers!

[Win2Win]

Some companies INCLUDE the line rental with the broadband, check the broadband sites.

[paul183195]

i couldnt get cable broadband either . i had to have a phoneline put in by bt,i decided to use them for my internet too, for me personly it was just the easiest option i just get one bill every quarter and i have no complaints with the service they provide.

[John]

Some companies INCLUDE the line rental with the broadband, check the broadband sites.

Yeah - Talk Talk do, as do Tiscali. Does this mean I can avoid BT altogether then? There is a phone line at my flat, but it is currently inactive. I thought BT were the only people who had the power to activate it, regardless of my Internet/phone provider?

Paul, don't you find that BT's prices compared with other provider's are pretty steep? For instance, their cheapest deal - £8.95 for the first three months then £17.99 per month thereafter... it's not exactly pocket money compared with some other providers. Still, you say you are happy with it, and they haven't caused you any problems so far, so I guess they'd get the nod on that. :)

[sparkyminer]

If you want a phone line I think you pretty much got to have BT, I don't have cable just basic £11 a month line rental. Voip phone £8 a month and plusnet 8MB internet £15 a month. It seems to cover all the bases, I think plusnet might limit your peak time downloads to 5GB a month, unlimited off peak.

[John]

Cheers mate, that's not a bad deal on PlusNet, I'll check'em out. I'm not too fussed about having a landline phone to be honest, but this is what's confusing me - I'm unsure whether I have to go through BT or not in order to get some kind of non-cable internet connection.

If I just want non-cable broadband, do I have to touch BT? I need to pay line rental to somebody, in order to get broadband sent down the line, but whether BT activate the line, or whether Tiscali/Talk Talk/whoever else do, I'm baffled by.....

That's what's confusing me! :yikes:

[sparkyminer]

I think it's BT mate except in a very few cases, Hull for instance where you can have Kingston communications or there's one call Bulldog or summat. I'll have a look.

[sparkyminer]

Check this John.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=5895688#post5895688

[sparkyminer]

try these.
http://www.vanillaphone.myeuphonysite.com/

[John]

Thanks for those links Sparky. Euphony look 'nice'. :)

Assuming then, that I need to open an account with BT to then have my line re-ignited, so to speak... this means that I pay apx £12 a month to them for line rental (apparently it's the only way - in order to re-establish the line, I must agree to pay a monthly fee for line rental).

Now, Tiscali and Talk Talk offer line rental services too... have you any idea why these companies get involved in line rental, if BT are to handle it all?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just really puzzled... I've never done this before, and it's a lot more complicated than it should be!

[sparkyminer]

Tiscali looks identical to BT for the line rental. I'd stick with BT for the line rental. I used to be with Tiscali before I joined plusnet. I never had a problem with them, I could get more for less from plusnet. Tiscali also won't give you a MAC code when you want to switch ISP's. Can be awkward without one of those.

[John]

I'll have a think about it tomorrow.....

What I also don't understand is - when you go through the sign-up process on any of these sites, if you click 'JOIN' it asks you to enter your home phone number..... erm..... I don't have a landline, hence why I don't have a home phone number yet..... hence why I'm trying to sign-up! :doh

I feel like I'm missing something and need some kind of baby-speak explanation of it all. :splapme

[John]

Just rang up BT after they failed to call me back the other day. Got my line rental sorted - £12.45 per month including free evening and weekend calls, and my line will be "turned on" on Wednesday. So hopefully sorting out an Internet connection won't be too hard providing that goes to plan. But you know... you just know... that it won't be that straightforward/easy...

[John]

Quick update.....

BT said a week ago that my line will be ready to rock as of 12/09. Rang up today just to check it has been activated and is also visible (please allow 24 hours bla bla), was on hold for 10 minutes, finally got through to someone... "oh, we need to put you through to Customer Services..." Then I got cut off.

To be continued!

Hopefully I'll be online within the next month. :laugh

[Win2Win]

You already are online, you just posted on here :doh .....what was it again you are studying? :rolleyes:

[bigcumba]

You already are online, you just posted on here :doh .....what was it again you are studying? :rolleyes:

"Getting online for Dummies" ? :wink

[frontrunner]

I know I'm a bit late with this but it may help others who may be looking for broadband deals in the future

www.Broadbandsuppliers.co.uk


Frontrunner
:spinning

[John]

They're calling me back on Monday. Fat chance of that... if they do call me, I'll probably congratulate them, or something.

I wish I could get the number for Customer Services directly without having to get put through to them every time I ring. I was on hold for 20 minutes this morning and gave up in the end..... just tried again. :anger

[mathare]

This any use: http://www.saynoto0870.com/companysearch.php ?

[John]

Cheers Mat.

[Mavrick]

BT have now set up a call centre near where I live in Prague. So if my betting suddenly goes down hill you might end up talking to me:D

[John]

Well, that only took 5 weeks to sort out. Not a bad effort at all Mr BT!

[mathare]

Wahey! Welcome back young John :thumbs :D

[Win2Win]

Wahey! Welcome back young John :)

[MattR]

I'm not buying that you both said exactly that :laugh Oh and welcome back John

[scoobydoo]

Welcome back Johnny Boy! :) Hope the job is going well mate...

[John]

Cheers guys, yeah the job is going well thanks!

Hope you're well Rickyboy, I'll be in touch soon. :wink

[wb]

Welcome back John. When's the house warming?