Broadband: which to choose?

[Jessintrouble]

Hi,

I'm moving to a new home and am wondering which broadband to choose, with unlimited download.
I was with Virgin this year however the speed seems not satisfying. I am considering Talk&Talk as they claim they have a 12GB speed in St Andrews when I phoned them, and they seem really cheap.
I am sharing a flat with 2 other people who are heavy downloaders (No BitTorrent though).
Anyone got an idea?

[orudge]

Are there any providers that actually offer "unlimited" downloads these days? Almost all will at least have something in their small print restricting you to a pitiful amount, before then slowing your downloads right now.

I'd still recommend the provider I did a couple of years ago, ADSL24. They are a bit more expensive, and they do have limits, but those limits are very clearly set out (and only apply during certain hours, the rest of the time you can download to your heart's content) - if you want a fast and reliable connection even with people downloading heavily, they'll generally be able to deliver it.

[donpablo]

I'd second that recommendation. Unlimited evening and weekend downloads and a healthy daytime limit that I have never exceeded (or come close too really). Plus the extras and a faultless service, is really worth that little bit extra.

[Fawksie]

Are there any providers that actually offer "unlimited" downloads these days?

Yes, Be (and O2).

I strongly recommend Be Broadband, they beat everyone else on the market in terms of price, their complete lack of traffic management, throttling or usage caps (except on the Be Value package), 3 month contracts, superb customer service, reliability and configurability.

O2's broadband runs on Be's infrastructure and is a good bit cheaper if you are an O2 mobile customer, and don't require Be's extensive line parameter control, free 24 hour phone support and IRC support (which you most probably don't).

ADSL24's LLU product is also resold Be LLU and is considerably more expensive than either of the above. So you need to decide how much you depend on or care about customer service, since that's the only logical difference between the three.

[lost_eden]

Yes, Be (and O2).

I was with O2 in my second year & there was certainly a 'fair usage policy' in the paperwork somewhere. I didn't ever notice coming up against it, but it was there.

[Fawksie]

Yes, it's what we like to summarise as "don't take the piss". However nobody has ever been sanctioned, warned or disconnected from BE for exceeding the FUP, since it's practically impossible to download enough, fast enough, to have a detrimental impact on other customers.

[Timata]

Is BE even available in St. Andrews - their website does not list the exchange?

[Fawksie]

Yes, it should be... search http://www.beusergroup.co.uk/technotes/index.php?title=Exchanges for "ESSTA". An arbitrary 0133447 number from Google says BE is available. If your line is not a BT Wholesale line (BT, Post Office Home Phone, Sky etc.), it will report otherwise, since BE cannot be provided on non-Wholesale lines.