Best Provider for cheap, reliable BB.

TerrorFirmer

Hi,

I'm looking at getting a fixed BB line, and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to the best provider between say, Eircom and BT, possibly UPC, but I think they are still unavailable in my area.

There are phone sockets inthe house, but as far as I'm aware, no active phone line, so I'd need that. I see, for example, Eircom offer 'free connection' and 'line rental' with their package, does that mean that the cost I pay is literally just for the BB itself i.e 49.99 a month or whatever? For example, I was looking at this:

http://www.eircom.ie/cgi-bin/bvsm/bveircom/bladerunner/showContent.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1927025362.1252659429@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdadeifflmimgcefeceiedffndffj.0&cid=3MbFriends&site=Res

Say if I didn't want a phoneline, just BB itself, then I'd have to pay a once off connection fee right and line rental? Is that all there is to it? As if I could just do that, in the long run would it be much cheaper to just pay the connection fee/line rental and then go with BB itself like below? How much would line rental be monthly? See that the one below has free connection too...

http://www.eircom.ie/cgi-bin/bvsm/bveircom/bladerunner/showContent.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1927025362.1252659429@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdadeifflmimgcefeceiedffndffj.0&cid=BBHomePlusOnline&site=Res

Basically wondering if 3Mb BB+Line rental is less then buying the 3mb bundle for 49.99 monthly...thanks very much.

Also looking at smart telecom, decent prices - assume I'd have to pay eircom connection free to be able to buy their BB products?

List here, saying for example the 5MB line for 41.97? Would there just be the once off connection free then from eircom to activate the phone line and then 41 per month from then on?

jor el

It's a maze, isn't it. The best deals are normally in the bundled call plans, but if you don't use a phone much (like me), then these are pointless. You'll always pay eircom line rental, but it's often included in the broadband or bundle price. If you choose Smart, then the price they quote is all you pay on a monthly basis, nothing extra.

eircom will need to activate the line, and this could be free, or there could be a fee to pay, depending on what offers they have on. Once installed, you need the phone number (which you'll get straight away) and also the UAN (which you'll have to wait for a bill to see) before you can pick a different supplier.

You can't order from BT anymore, you have to use Vodafone now. Their prices are mainly based around included call packages too.