[RESOLVED] Cable Internet in the UK

[mendhak]

After a recent issue with a rogue dialler which cost us £1600, my dad is now adamant about getting cable internet instead of DSL.

Any reccommendations for Cable Internet companies? What speeds to they offer and how much do they usually cost?

[Valleysboy1978]

I heard of a company called bulldog that offers 8MB broadband, not sure if they do cable.
Probably NTL is your best bet.

[thegreatone]

Ouch, i didn't realise that they had managed to affect DSL modems as well, oh well, this is where routers are handy

Well, speeds range from slow to 10mbps, and around here i think its Telewest who are the main provider.

http://www.telewest.co.uk/websales/s...lpos=menu_left

[mendhak]

OK, I called up NTL as you mentioned, and they gave me these prices:

1 mb - 17.99
2 mb - 24.99
10 mb - 37.99

Do you think they're reasonable?

They also mentioned that they're the only providers of cable internet, is this true?

What are the catches with their service?

[Valleysboy1978]

It's about the same as broadband as that's what I'm paying on AOL.
Don't think they're the only provider, probably the MAIN provider, but not the only.

[vbcode1980]

http://www.gruntled.co.uk/broadband/

[wiz126]

I don't live in the UK so i have NO CLUE

[si_the_geek]

OK, I called up NTL as you mentioned, and they gave me these prices:

1 mb - 17.99
2 mb - 24.99
10 mb - 37.99

Do you think they're reasonable?

They also mentioned that they're the only providers of cable internet, is this true?

What are the catches with their service?

They aren't the only cable provider, but may be the only one in your area (they tend to have agreed regions that they cover, so that cable can get more customers than Sky).

The prices are ok I guess, I'm with Telewest on their basic package, 2mb for 17.99 (and I do actually get 2mb!).

[dglienna]

I can't get 10mb here, but settle on >2 (as opposed to <1.5) for about $25/mo

[visualAd]

You do know that rouge diallers cannot use ADSL modems? - They need a dial-up modem and if you get cable and still have a dial-up modem plugged in and you some how aquire anoth dialler, you'll be in the same position.

[visualAd]

The best thing to do is buy a router, with which the ADSL or Cable modem must go through, and conenct any computers via the computer - and take out all your dialup modems

[yrwyddfa]

For cable internet the two big providers are Telewest, and NTL. I'd pick either because they've recently announced a merger.

[mendhak]

You do know that rouge diallers cannot use ADSL modems? - They need a dial-up modem and if you get cable and still have a dial-up modem plugged in and you some how aquire anoth dialler, you'll be in the same position.

Apparently BT disagrees with you... We do have a USB ADSL modem, obviously plugged into the phone lines, and it did make all those nasty calls.

[mendhak]

They aren't the only cable provider, but may be the only one in your area (they tend to have agreed regions that they cover, so that cable can get more customers than Sky).

The prices are ok I guess, I'm with Telewest on their basic package, 2mb for 17.99 (and I do actually get 2mb!).

Telewest cable? For the price of NTL's 1MB package?

[jo0ls]

I have telewest, which recently went up to 10MBit, they are pretty good. ADSL is about to get a speed hike with adsl2, if your local exchange is close to your house then you can get the most benefit from ADSL2 as the bandwidth drops off as distance creeps up.
Look at : http://www.adslguide.org.uk/isps/compare.asp as you can compare customer satisfaction for all providers (cable too).
When NTL said they are the only provider they probably mean that in your area if you want cable you will have to use them - you wont have various cables running past your house to choose from.

Look at zen adsl, they always have mucho satisfaction in those ratings.

[si_the_geek]

Telewest cable? For the price of NTL's 1MB package?

Yep, officialy it is only 512, but everybody is being upgraded by January - mine was done last week.

It looks as tho Telewest & NTL are offering very similar packages, so I don't think you'll be losing out with either one (and a merger certainly looks possible).

Oh, and even tho TW officially say they will only support you if it is a problem with the line/modem, they helped me fix an issue with my firewall which stopped me getting a connection sometimes.

[yrwyddfa]

I use telewest. Their telephone support is appalling as I don't expect to know more than their engineers about their system works. Conversely, the same is true about NTL according to a work colleague who uses them.

That said. Telewest's actual service is pretty good (I'm on the 4Mb service, now) and other people who use ADSL of around the same speed have no where near the performance.

Cable internet is certainly very good. The bandwidth comes from good architecture as oppose to odd tricks to fit the bandwidth on the copper wire (if you recall you need to buy Cat5e that supports, say 1Gb bandwidth; the copper in the BT local loop in some cases is decades old and probably can't even natively support say 1Mb - and you're sharing it with you neighbours, too)

So, even at the most purest level, you should always get a better service from cable than you could ever get from piggybacking copper wire.

[Valleysboy1978]

Most of the time the telephone support is appalling as they are mostly in India. I had a call at 3am to ask if my service was acceptable, he couldn't quite grasp it was 3am in the UK

Either of the cable companies Telewest or NTL is a good bet. Think they also have some facility on their site where you put in your postcode and they tell you what speed cable you can have

[visualAd]

Apparently BT disagrees with you... We do have a USB ADSL modem, obviously plugged into the phone lines, and it did make all those nasty calls.

That is strange, ADSL modems dial up using a different numbering system . Unless the modem is capable of sending normal dialing tones down the wire, but then you would also need to have it plugged into both sockets in the ADSL splitter.

[mendhak]

That is strange, ADSL modems dial up using a different numbering system . Unless the modem is capable of sending normal dialing tones down the wire, but then you would also need to have it plugged into both sockets in the ADSL splitter.

Yes, that's what I thought. And I don't know how it did happen, but we are using both sockets in the ADSL splitter device.

[mendhak]

Everyone, thanks for your input. I'm not feeling so apprehensive about getting cable now, and NTL it'll be.

[visualAd]

Yes, that's what I thought. And I don't know how it did happen, but we are using both sockets in the ADSL splitter device.

I guess the modem has dial-up capabilities too. I do believe it is up to the telecom's companies to reimburse for rogue diallers. It might be worth getting in contact with OFTEL before paying up.

[agmorgan]

I use Telewest and I pay £14.99 a month for 2MB AND cable TV (no Sports or Movies)

[Muddy]

rogue dialer on ASDL surprises me too ... kinda hard (tho not impossible) to believe
I guess there is no chance that this rogue dialer was actually a temporary house (or party) guest(s) who liked 900 numbers? Or a "clip on" theft from outside your house?
I dont know about the UK, but in the US you can have your ADSL plugged into a dedicated phone line (with its own number) with long distance and any other type of toll calls disallowed, making it virtually impossible to make toll calls .... just another option to consider.