ISP with generous bandwidth allowance

macplaxton

Hi,

I'm looking to change ISP at the house here. It is currently with BT Ireland and is a basic 1024/128 ADSL line with 10GB cap.

I've just moved over from the UK and looking for a 2048/256 unlimited.

I've never been in bother with the two UK ISPs I was with over usage. In past months I've used:

Date|UL|DL|Total
February 2006|3.222 GB|1.672 GB|4.894 GB
March 2006|7.930 GB|5.978 GB|13.908 GB
April 2006|308.79 MB|2.822 GB|3.124 GB
May 2006|1.937 GB|3.917 GB|5.854 GB
June 2006|10.278 GB|5.756 GB|16.034 GB
July 2006|5.831 GB|7.510 GB|13.341 GB
August 2006|32.830 GB|12.587 GB|45.417 GB
September 2006|37.628 GB|11.607 GB|49.234 GB
October 2006|39.751 GB|15.675 GB|55.427 GB
November 2006|31.539 GB|11.476 GB|43.015 GB
December 2006|38.864 GB|12.593 GB|51.456 GB
January 2007|50.077 GB|29.227 GB|79.304 GB
February 2007|59.076 GB|25.299 GB|84.375 GB
March 2007|43.372 GB|17.866 GB|61.238 GB
April 2007|55.909 GB|25.662 GB|81.571 GB
May 2007|31.393 GB|24.238 GB|55.631 GB
June 2007|551.38 MB|1.318 GB|1.856 GB

That usage was on a 6GB download limit with Virgin Media and I never got a single email telling me to shift-up a package or shift off

The type of use I will be putting the line to is email/surfing/voip/p2p.

Suggestions on providers that might accomodate me please!

Cheers,
Rich

jor el

Upgrade to the BT 2M/256k package with a 20G cap. BT don't charge for going over anyway so you should be OK. I'm on 30G cap and normally hit about 80G a month.

UTV offer an upgrade to a 100G cap for €6 a month extra, though their policies and procedures and treatment of customers seem to be very questionable so I wouldn't actually recommend them.

Smart Telecom are the only company I know of that don't have a cap.

mickoneill30

Irish Broadband don't have a cap. If you're looking at them only try the Breeze products. Their Ripwave products have a bad rep. Their products have the same speed uploads & downloads so if you're a big uploader they're handy.

event

eircom dont charge for caps either, afaik

bittihuduga

ICE telecom have unlimited download limit

JNive

Magnet ADSL2+ ( need to contact them directly to get that, if you are lucky ) is 100GB cap and 150GB cap for the 8mbps service.

dub45

No one should recommend BT to any newcomer without warning said person of BT's atrocious reputation on billing. At least then the person can make up their mind fully appraised of the facts.

Do a search on BT and billing.

watty

Digiweb don't charge for over cap, but if over you are throttled about 100k till under cap for a day or two. Cap is calculated on the last 30 days every day. Cap is dependent on package.

Some ISPs have no cap but have "fair use" which means it isn't unlimited. Some without cap or unlimited are so slow that cap is irrelevent.

jor el

dub45 wrote:

No one should recommend BT to any newcomer without warning said person of BT's atrocious reputation on billing. At least then the person can make up their mind fully appraised of the facts.

Do a search on BT and billing.

But he said the house already has BT 1M broadband so it would be easier to stick with them then try changing.

macplaxton

Many thanks for the suggestions. I will look into the packages mentioned. BT made a mess of the billing at the start, but it was sorted out. It's out of the six month contract, but I seem to remember that there was a €125 deposit on it as it was a rented dwelling.

If transferring ISP, should I cancel, or should I transfer? By that I mean in the UK you get a MAC code issued to transfer, so BT Wholesale don't disconnect it at the exchange, and double charge (for disconnection and reconnection)

Cheers,
Rich

JNive

ireland has never heard of the term transfer lol.

But anyways, if you are transfering from one Eircom reseller to another ( BT, Eircom, Imagine, Perlico, UTV and some others ) then i believe the transfer is fairly quick, however as far as i know, you need to cancel with your original provider, and if it isnt eircom, obtain a cancellation number from them ( this disconnection is purely a software disconnect, your line remains connected to the DSLAM in the exchange at all times )

You then order from your new provider, using your UAC ( universal account number, obtainable from your original supplier, and used by eircom wholesale to identify your line ). And they may require your cancellation number as proof that you have no active service.

If you are transferring to either Smart Telecom or Magnet Entertainment, then thats LLU and requires you to completely cancel your BT service ( but do not cancel your actual line, just all packages provided on it ). Then you order from Smart or Magnet and they physically move your line onto their equipment. This process can take up to 2 or 3 weeks in most circumstances.

With Magnet you have the option of bringing your original Phone number with you.

macplaxton

Thanks, the UAC number is what I need to know about. Cheers

deklet

Avoid Digiweb like the plague. Not only do they throttle you, they send you mails trying to get you to upgrade. Terrible billing system, sullen and insolent accounting staff. Dreadful.

dub45

jor el wrote:

But he said the house already has BT 1M broadband so it would be easier to stick with them then try changing.

Irrespective of whether its in the house or not you were still recommending that he stay with them without warning of the potential consequences for health and wealth:)