To NTL or not to NTL

[happynoodleboy]

OK the new flat I'm moving into is in a block which is wired for NTL.

I've been checking NTL out and whilst I want their TV service and maybe even the phone, I'm not sure about their internet service:

The new service tiers for 2005 will be:
300kpbs @ £15.99 (cap threshold not stated)
1Mbps @£17.99 5GB a month cap
2Mbps @ £24.99 30GB a month cap
3Mpbs @ £37.99 40GB a month cap

I HATE the idea of a cap. I've been running netmeter over the last few days and that estimates my dowloads at 53Gb per month... Ooops...
I'd have to go for the 2Mps option as the 1Mbps is taking the piss (5Gb per month- I get throught that just playing CS)... but then i would still be worrying about the cap all the time!

The problem is- because the whole block is wired I'm not sure I could even get another ISP. And then what's the procedure? Do I first need to get a BT line and then another line put in?

Confusing and annoying. I wish I could just stay with telewest. They aint got none of this cap shite!

[Jo3_Pinneapples[CYM]]

have you asked telewest if they can give you a line ??
if they cant go for NTL as they have played fair by me

[happynoodleboy]

Yeah telewest said nope- its one or the other- they carve the country up...

[Poopie]

yeah, my new apt block is also wired for NTL. and NTL seems expensive to me. From what I understand, if your phone exchange is wired for BT Broadband, you can get any ISP you want. If it isn't you gotta get NTL as your provider.

[MIsc^|^decoy]

hmm cap sucks. i get 512/1mbps/2mbps/3mbps with no cap

although the 2 mb line costs 149 euro and the 3mb 199


dont u get blueyonder service there?

[Poopie]

thats telewest...

[Soup Dragon]

If you do go down the ntl route try and get a separate cable modem. I was with ntl for 2 years and connected through the set top box, nothing but problems for me, dropped connection 3-4 times most nights when it was really bad. had 7 'engineers' out over 3 months each said something different. friends with cable modem had no problems at all.

[jimbob]

Had NTL for years with no probs....apart from the fact that the 1Mbps gave me a worse ping than the 300kbps so I saved myself a few quid and now only use the 300 and have an average ping of between 20 and 30 which plays pretty well.

[Zeph]

I thoroughly recommend the 750k service from NTL, has never done me wrong. And it is being upgraded to 2MBit for free within the next few months, think about it like this, if you have the NTL TV, you get your Line rental included in the price, and the internet is £24.99/month. If you go for BT then your line rental is about £11, and THEN your net is £20-25/month and THEN you have to pay extra for TV.

[Jo3_Pinneapples[CYM]]

like soup said but you'll find that they only give you the cable modem now as the set top box has proved to be useless

[humancoin]

NTL caps have not been set in stone, i.e. they will be hard caps. I doubt they will be hard caps, there will be warnings for excessive users, and thats about it - for a good few months anyway.

Currently i have ntl, i was worried about going with them, as i have heard all the stories, but they have been very good imo.

Check ADSL prices, but you will need a BT phone line. The best thing to get will probably be sky, plus adsl, but that will be expensive, when you add them all together.

[happynoodleboy]

Sky not allowed. Thats why they had the whole place wired for NTL (no ugly dishes).

I think I'll give NTL a spin. Seems like the least hassle (I've got enough shite to sort out with the move) and I'll just have to hope the caps arent too closely monitored.

[Zeph]

Taken from www.cableforum.co.uk


ntl broadband upgrade speeds from 8th March
# Saturday, March 5, 2005 by Mick Ramsden

We have again, received further reliable information regarding the long awaited ntl broadband speed upgrades. From 8th March 2005, 1MB, 2MB and 3MB broadband speed connections will be launched. ntl will be contacting existing customers and informing them of these upgrades.
It is important to note, that the majority of 750K and 1.5MB customers will be upgraded over the coming weeks. But some networks, in some areas need further upgrades, to ensure that all customers will eventually receive the speed upgrades though this might take some months.

Customers on the 750K package or 1.5MB package, will receive a FREE automatic upgrade to 2MB and 3MB. 750K customers with a black PACE Set top box and want to change to the new 2MB speed, need to arrange with ntl a Set top box swap, this will be a free swap.

Note that those 750K broadband customers with a black PACE Set top box, will receive a FREE automatic upgrade to 1MB if they do not arrange a Set top box swap as the black pace set top boxes are only able to provide the maximum of 1MB speed connection. Also note that there will be no change to the usage allowance (1GB daily).

300K customers will not be upgraded automatically. Customers can upgrade to 1MB if they accept a 3GB monthly usage allowance. Customers can either upgrade online or by calling customer services.

Once customers have upgraded to the new speeds, they will be unable to change back to the old speeds. Existing customers on 300K, 750K and 1.5MB cannot move between old speeds.

Just to remind customers of the upgrades and prices and usage allowances of these new speeds:-

300K 1MB Price: £17.99 Usage allowance: 3GB Monthly
750K 2MB Price: £24.99 Usage allowance: 1GB Daily
1.5MB 3MB Price: £37.99 Usage allowance: 1GB Daily
Upload rates are as previously mentioned:-

1MB = 100K
2MB = 200K
3MB = 300K

Customers who exceed their usage allowance with the 1GB daily usage allowance may be contacted by ntl if their usage becomes excessive that it affects quality of service for other broadband customers. Customers on the 1MB connection with 3GB monthly usage, ntl will be monitoring and will identify those who exceed their usage allowance very often, however they will not be enforcing this allowance until later this year.

[humancoin]

I think NTL know the shit that will be caused if they start enforcing a hard cap.

[happynoodleboy]

...until later this year...


What exactly is the point of upping the bandwidth if you're not going to up the download limits? This strikes me as idiotic! And what if you do download stuff legally... If I have to reinstall steam/HL2 that would mean I have to do it over a week...

Grrr....

[1984]

NTL have been fine for me. I was worried when I signed up cos heard a few bad things, but went for NTL because I pretty much had little else choice especially when considering the cost. But the service has been reliable and fast enough, and I do tend to download an awful lot of stuff and have yet to have an issue with caps.

I believe the way it works is they firstly only give you a warning if you are seriously going way over the limit and doing it often, they wont just cut you off for going 1MB over the limit one time.

One piece of advice tho', if you're getting all 3 services (TV, Net, Phone) like I've got, try and time when you order it because the TV in particular seems to change price for new customers all the time. The day I signed up the cheap small TV package was £9.99, and the 'all standard without any premium' package was £19.99. The very next day both prices had gone up by £10 per month, so try and get it when it's cheap ;)

[BattleFieldRelics]

I'm with Nildram which are always voted no.1 in the adsl guides (which is why I went with them in the first place)

They are owned by pipex.

They do 2Mbps @ £25.99 50GB a month cap as opposed to your 2Mbps @ £24.99 30GB a month cap and are very reliable. Let me know if you want any further info.

[George]

PROS and CONS for NTL

PROS
We have 5 users on a 750kbps connection, all students so downloading so much illegal rubbish every day. Dunno how much we download but we all download a good few movies a month and we've never been stopped due to a cap.
This service is free with the NTL Cable package, so all comes to just less than £30 a month.
Always have good download speeds and never lost connection over 8 months so far.

CONS
The Customer Service for NTL is f-ing awful. Probably the worst I've ever witnessed.
If when the rep eventually answers, he/she doesn't like your problem, they put you back in the queue for someone else. And even though they're a phoneline supplier, they will not phone you back.
They take 3 weeks to fix the line if it gets cut etc....


Basically, the service is great, but good luck............................

[Poopie]

omg, upload speeds suck!
so does the 1gb a day cap. No way am I going with ntl now.

[Scooter]

i have ntl and ive never had a problem......but dont use their correct connect installer thing, that is crap.

Im on 750k and am looking forward to my 2mb free upgrade....cheers for pointing that out zeph :D

[Zeph]

Actually, having phoned customer support only a few days ago, ive found its improved no end over recent times.

[George]

I waited 2 years and made 12 phone calls to get my £21.34 back off them. Every time I phoned they said "Cheque's in the post" and they had lied. Complained via OFCOM to get it back in the end.

I'll take your word for it Zeph, but wish me luck for when I close my account with them again in June............god help me

[Soup Dragon]

to be honest I am contemplating returning to ntl (this time with a modem rather than a set top box!) as BT are not sure if my line will go to 2mb. got an e-mail telling me initial testing was not conclusive and to prepare myself for not being able to be upgraded. I find it hard to believe as i live in one of the most densely populated areas of england that their infrastructure is so out dated. I could understand if I lived somewhere out of the way. And ntl are £2 a month cheaper for 2mb.

[bernardo]

I'm on NTL 1.5Mb here in Dublin never got a problem very good services.

[CharlotteChurch]

The Customer Service for NTL is f-ing awful. Probably the worst I've ever witnessed.

4 months after quitting my contract with ntl they were still sending me bills and threatening me with legal action if I didn't pay them. In the end they finally admitted it was their fault. No compensation of course.

Great network, over 3 years I had virtually no downtime and only changed IP once. Customer service is better in terms of answering (before you just got put in a 50 min queue), but they are complete dumbasses when you do talk to them.

[Jo3_Pinneapples[CYM]]

george do you take your contract out in june or when you start back at uni??
cause you agreed to have NTL services for a whole 12mts.....

[Scooter]

Well i just upgraded to 2mb and i have to say i was pleasantly suprised, from the second i picked up the phone to the time i had 2mb was about 3 an a half mins. very fast service.