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heavy net user. should I switch from 7.6mbps BT//Eircom to 20mbps UPC?

  • 13-09-2008 11:12AM
    #1
    vibe666
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭


    it might sound like a sill question, after all 20mbps is a lot faster than 6.6mbps (and I'm mxxing out at around 6.5mbps anyway on an ftp download) and although I've been burned by BT more than once I've been burned twice by NTL in Dublin and then again by Chorus when I moved out to Navan so I'm not sure if I want to sell my soul again.

    I'm not going to lie, I'm a very heavy user. I have 3 games consoles and 4 PC's in the house and the BT conneciton spend a lot of it's time working flat out. I got throttled there last week for 'overuse' of the 'unlimited' bandwidth I'm allowed :rolleyes: and I'm pretty sure it'll happen again before long. the current usage page gives me 7 days before I break the (non-existent) cap even though I've been throttled for a week of this month. yesterday it said 11 days. :(

    I'm in the process of switching to the business broadband to try and fix this problem but I don't even know for sure if it will have any difference.

    anyway, I found out that UPC is able to give me 20mbps broadband so I'm wondering if I should switch to them instead.

    UPC are telling me that all their services ARE available in my Area (Johnstown, outside Navan:confused:) inc. 20mbps broadband and their version of Sky+ and I can combine both as well as my home phone which might save me money too.

    BUT dare I let them burn me again? :confused:

    as a heavy user am I better off with UPC/NTL than BT?

    did anyone else even know that they offer 20mbps broadband in Navan or are they just bull$hitting me to get me to sign up? :confused:

    main uses of the internet are:

    email/browsing
    torrenting
    streaming video
    online gaming
    http & ftp downloads
    VoIP & Video calls
    VPN into work and also from work to home
    web/ftp server


Comments

  • #2
    barnicles
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,910 ✭✭✭barnicles


    UPC would be good for you imho


  • #3
    vibe666
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    yeah, I'm thinking so too on the face of it, but there's quite a few "UPC is useless" sort of threads on here too, so I'm not so sure.

    better the devil you know who has screwed you slightly less than the other equally evil devel who's likely to ream you again and again.

    hmmm, not quite as catchy as the old saying. :)


  • #4
    Onikage
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,451 ✭✭✭Onikage


    vibe666 wrote: »
    did anyone else even know that they offer 20mbps broadband in Navan or are they just bull$hitting me to get me to sign up? :confused:

    You can order the broadband by itself so it's not like the situation where E****m can pull a capable/not capable switcheroo and leave you footing the bill for an useless phone service.
    vibe666 wrote: »
    better the devil you know who has screwed you slightly less than the other equally evil devel who's likely to ream you again and again.

    If you are serious about looking into a business package (which as I understand it is over €100 a month), why not look into load balancing? BT on one line, UPC on the other. It can be done with a linux box with two nic's or some dedicated hardware like this.


  • #5
    DECEiFER
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,243 ✭✭✭DECEiFER


    There has been a "xxx is useless" thread for every ISP in the country, at some time or other.

    http://www.upc.ie/internet

    As you can see, 20Mb/s broadband is available. If you want to check if it's available in your area, for verification, then put in your details into the area on the right side of the page to be told what services are available to you.

    Note: The website can often be wrong in telling you what's available. Call UPC on 1908 to confirm it all again. That number is toll free, even from mobiles.


  • #6
    vibe666
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    Onikage wrote: »
    If you are serious about looking into a business package (which as I understand it is over €100 a month), why not look into load balancing?

    BT do business broadband packages almost identical to the residential ones (at the same prices). I'm not talking about a leased line, just a business DSL product.
    DECEiFER wrote: »
    Note: The website can often be wrong in telling you what's available. Call UPC on 1908 to confirm it all again. That number is toll free, even from mobiles.

    that's why I posted the thread. :)

    checked the site and it said yes, called them, did the regular dance on the phone for x amount of time and gave up so I emailed them and they confirmed via email that 20mbps was available to me. I just don't trust them to tell the truth. :D

    I've heard a few people saying that UPC is no good for torrenting due to traffic shaping. I assume that mixing in a little bit of encrypted transport and random ports will fix that if its the case?

    don't want to be spending days on end downloading my linux iso's. ;)


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