Broadband Providers in Kintyre

[chuckle]

Which Broadband provider is the best/most reliable in Kintyre? Want to know if we need to change before we move, currently TalkTalk - all opinions gratefully received. Thanks.

[scotty]

I have been using Plusnet for a couple of Years now and have not had any problems unlike my previous provider Orange. Also when i moved house their customer service was excellent .

[Mr.Everready]

Nildram at home, it's been down for about an hour in total in 3 years. Connects at about 6.5mb.

BT at work, don't think it's ever been down.

[EileenH]

I'm with pipex/carphone warehouse. It's £30 a month for rental, all calls and broadband. No problem except my son plays these internet games every night and says it goes off every night at 10.20. I think maybe it's because he's been at these games for hours on end though.

[Beachcomber]

Not on Kintyre anymore but when we were we were with BT. Since moving we've stuck with BT despite them being dearer than some other providers.

[Mr.Everready]

I'm with pipex/carphone warehouse. It's £30 a month for rental, all calls and broadband. No problem except my son plays these internet games every night and says it goes off every night at 10.20. I think maybe it's because he's been at these games for hours on end though.

It shouldn't be cutting off, it'll only slow down if you go over their fair usage amount.

give them a call and ask them why it's cutting off.

[giantredwood]

Despite who you pay for your broadband services in Kintyre, the sole 'true' provider is BT. As far as I can see all the exchanges in Kintyre have no other companies equipment installed in them. So no matter who you are subscribed to, be it Plusnet, Orange, Talktalk etc, these companies are only hiring the lines and equipment from BT. To check which companies have equipment installed in your local exchange go to http://www.samknows.com/broadband/ and do an exchange search.

[Mr.Everready]

You still go through your ISPs servers though. If they're down/rubbish/congested then it's best to know about it.

[EileenH]

I don't get in touch with Pipex 'cause every time I've phoned in the past I've got through to India or somewhere and neither of us knows what the other is saying! If I was to get someone in Britain it would be fine!

[Ship called Dignity]

How much do people pay? I stuck with AOL just because I've been with them for years and it was £9.99 and in general the service was always good.

I found out this month they have put it up to £17.50 per month! I'm also finding I amhaving to reboot my router quite alot as I lose the connection. Haven't looked into that too much but not sure if that is to do with the AOL or the router. Wondering also if the webcam now has an impact on all of this as it is pretty popular.

On another note I phoned Sky the other day having read about their Sky TV, Broadband and Telephone package for £18.50. When I phoned I was told I didn't qualify. So I would be a min of £17.50 for Sky, £11 for my phone and £17.50 for my Broadband! Why? Because I don't stay within 5km of a BT exchange! I argued that I did and it was clear these people are just robots. The fella kept on saying "Yes, that is right" Yes, you are right"

Interesting to read about potential upgrades to Broaband in rural communites. This was on the For Argyll site

http://forargyll.com/2009/09/swiwnney-a ... ral-areas/

Cabinet Secretary for Finance, John Swinney, has announced today that Scotland’s rural areas are to have their telephone exchanges upgraded, providing increased access to broadband.

The Finance Secretary was speaking after talks with BT aimed at securing increased broadband capacity in some remote areas where access is not currently possible. Mr Swinney said: ‘While Scotland has high levels of broadband availability, the Scottish Government and BT recognise the frustration felt in some rural communities where people are unable to obtain a service.

‘After exploring the many challenges with BT, we are pleased that a way forward has been found allowing an exchange upgrade programme to take place. This will enable more residents and businesses to benefit from a broadband service which people in most areas of Scotland already enjoy’.

The exchanges to be upgraded are expected to be agreed in the coming weeks, following further discussions between the Scottish Government and BT. Exchanges operating at or approaching capacity will be given early consideration.

This development follows the completion earlier this year of a separate Scottish Government project to extend affordable broadband services. 2,100 businesses and households are now benefiting from that initiative.

Highlands and Islands MSP, Dave Thompson has welcomed the development, delighted that telephone exchanges in the region will now be upgraded.

[Mr.Everready]

Distance from the exchange has nothing to do with the Sky BB offer. No one in Campbeltown can get it, it's an exchange issue.

If you look on samknows you will see a red X against LLU services. Until the exchange is undundled ( opened up to other providers ) you won't get any of these inclusive offers.

[maxmix]

Distance from the exchange has nothing to do with the Sky BB offer. No one in Campbeltown can get it, it's an exchange issue.

If you look on samknows you will see a red X against LLU services. Until the exchange is undundled ( opened up to other providers ) you won't get any of these inclusive offers.

Quite correct.... The Sky bundle's are a bit of a con in the West coast.... Ayrshire is the same ATM.... Tried to get my mother a package in Girvan, 20 mins from Ayr exact same story..... No mater what..... Sky want another £17.50 PM on top of any package....

maxmix

Stick with BT if you can here in Argyll, they same to be the best on average, on saying that i'm not with them, but anymore hassle form Tiscali and i'm changing.... (Been OK now for the past year after my 2 letters of complaint etc)

[jdcarra]

I have been with Tiscali broadband for the last 4 years.

The only and annoying complaint is if anything goes wrong you cannot speak to anyone in the UK, your call is taken at a call centre in say India.Trying to explain your fault can be a long and costly business to you being on the line for ages.
Clear of running snags my system shows a connection of 7.5Mbps which is strange as the exchange as far as i know puts out a max of 6.4.When it is working it is great.

The cost of my broadband with unlimited usage,free uk landline calls is £19.99 a month

Maxmix
What problems were you having?

[maxmix]

Just download speeds in the Evening... But all sorted a while back now....

BTW I had to call billing last week, I did call at lunchtime, got through straight away and to a UK call centre....

If you call on any technical query (I've had to a couple of times when in someone's house setting up their BB etc) you are straight through to Bangalore in India.... All Tech support is in Asia now.....

maxmix

[EileenH]

I used to be with Tiscali. I changed to Pipex and ever since I've been getting telephone bills from Tiscali even though my telephone was never provided by them. This dates back to 2005. When I finally convinced them that I never had my telephone with them the bills stopped. 6 months later they started again. They said it was for my mobile which is and always has been payt! Still getting the bills, so be warned if your tempted to go with Tiscali.