broadband recommendations??

btothec

Hi,
I'm trying to find out which Broadband operator is the best value...my phoneline is currently with eircom but I hear if I move to some companies such as Digiweb the cost of my line rental is included in the cost of the broadband and therefore may be cheaper overall. But that then raises the issue of their phone call charges....
Can anyone recommend one company over another for overall value for money...ie, monthly charges, have you been tied to a contract you hate, quality of service, unlimited download or have you just been very happy with a certain company etc.
I reckon the best way to find this out is from customers reactions and experiences instead of listening to sales jargon so would greatly appreciate any pointers,

Thanks a mill

murrayj

btothec wrote:

Hi,
I'm trying to find out which Broadband operator is the best value...my phoneline is currently with eircom but I hear if I move to some companies such as Digiweb the cost of my line rental is included in the cost of the broadband and therefore may be cheaper overall. But that then raises the issue of their phone call charges....
Can anyone recommend one company over another for overall value for money...ie, monthly charges, have you been tied to a contract you hate, quality of service, unlimited download or have you just been very happy with a certain company etc.
I reckon the best way to find this out is from customers reactions and experiences instead of listening to sales jargon so would greatly appreciate any pointers,

Thanks a mill

My advice is don't make your decision just based on price. Like anything else, there is an element of paying for what you get. Have a look at this Board or the Board survey, and you will discover that in general the cheapest packages on offer tend to also attract the greatest level of customer dissatisfaction.

I know they attract a lot of abuse, but I would strongly recommend eircom. Perhaps not the cheapest, but I have had excellent service. I have had some experience of trying to get connected to the smaller guys in the school where I teach, and would recommend you stay well clear of them.

DSL is the best Broadband technology because it guarantees you a dedicated cable all the way to your exchange. Only use wireless if you have no other option. It can be ok when there arent too many users. Cable can also be ok when there aren't too many users, but as the numbers of users builds up, expect more contention than you would get on DSL, as the cable path is shared. Cable can also suffer when the guy up the road decides to paint his eaves - because everyone is sharing the same cable - and in Ireland most cable networks are strung along the eaves of houses.

paulm17781

I use NTL (cable) and I have found it cheaper, faster and more reliable than ADSL (phone line). If you can get cable BB in your area I would recommend that. Smart also offer a very attractive DSL package. It's a good product and an excellent price but sign ups can be tedious...

Foxwood

btothec wrote:

But that then raises the issue of their phone call charges....

Nobody charges more for phone calls than eircom does.

sock puppet

I have digiweb metro and they have been pretty reliable so far. There were some problems with their phone service at first but they have it sorted now.

spurious

Once you get to Smart they're excellent. The problem is getting Eircom to let you get to them.