Cannot decide which package.

Yorky

From the dazzling array of broadband/voip/phone providers available I'm finding it difficult to make comparisons. My last phonebill(for two months) was €270 consisting of (ex VAT):

€40 line rental
€110 internet dial-up ( 108 hours approx.)
€21.50 local calls
€13 national calls
€5 or less for each of the other catgories of calls.

Obviously the main expense is on internet access- can anyone recommend provider(s) or packages based upon my usage pattern?

Thanks in advance.

slave1

where are you?

Yorky

North East

Duiske

Check your line here, and assuming you can actually get broadband, you should take a look at BT. Their broadband prices are between €35-€50 (inc line rental and vat).

I can't get over that €110 for dail-up. Including vat, thats over 6 times the cheapest always on BB package. Absolutely sickening for the thousands who are still in that situation.

zuma

Yorky wrote:

North East

A little more specefic please as in what town.

Peopel are not going to stalk you if you tell them which town you live in...hahaha!!!

zuma

Duiske_Lad wrote:

Check your line here, and assuming you can actually get broadband, you should take a look at BT. Their broadband prices are between €35-€50 (inc line rental and vat).

I can't get over that €110 for dail-up. Including vat, thats over 6 times the cheapest always on BB package. Absolutely sickening for the thousands who are still in that situation.

My last DialUp bill was over €130excl VAT in Sept 2004.
It was the reason I ran out to get broadband!

My guess is that the average expendature on DialUp is far more than BB......which translates into a MASSIVE profit for eircom as DialUp users wont use a fraction of the data as BB users and its doesnt require millions to be spent upgrading exchanges.

DialUP = WinWin for Eircom!

Sapele

Before you consider using BT take a look at the threads detailing the large amount of billing problems members have had with the esatBT billing system. I've just left BT and feel it's the best move I’ve ever made. Overcharging by BT happens a lot - getting the cash back is EXTREMELY difficult. I now realise peace of mind is worth a few euros a month at least. From what I can see NTL, Smart and Digiweb are worth investigating now.

is_that_so

I have seen four providers in action and these are my comments on them

UTV - stay away
Netsource - originally business only but recently bought over by Magnet(I think) OK . Good service but packages not great value.

Digiweb- My current ISP , I like them and the packages suit me - not a massive downloader.

Eircom. A few people I have done work for, swear by Eircom.
Easy to set up. They may not be the absolute cheapest but they have a guaranteed 10 days set up. I have also found support good .

Overall my advice is don't go for the cheapest package.
Look at all the possible options and pick a package that suits you.

Duiske

I guess with Eircom, he could go for BB home starter - €30, Talk Anytime - €40 (inc line rental), and given that his mobile, int'l calls are virtually nothing, he should come out with a bi-monthly bill of around €150 (inc vat). Less than half what he is paying now. BT would be cheaper, but as Sapele points out, their billing system leaves a lot to be desired.

Skyuser

Why didn't you have flat-rate dial-up? You could have paid €25 instead of €110 for the same amount of hours.

bk

Go for BT. 2mb for €40 per month including line rental. For an extra €15 or €20 (I'm not sure which) you can get BT Talk Plus which will give you unlimited local and national (landline) phone calls at any time.

zuma

Skyuser wrote:

Why didn't you have flat-rate dial-up? You could have paid €25 instead of €110 for the same amount of hours.

Only a small percentage of people use "Flat-Rate" packages.

I would love to know the exact percentage....I think it was something like 5:1 if i remember from IrelandOfflines forum

federerfan

Whatever money you save on BT will be out weighed by the amount of time you will spend on the phone chasing fraudulent over billing.

Lifes too short.

Go somewhere else...


Fedfan