Broadband

Started by Arthur_Friend, October 07, 2013, 04:12:53 PM

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Arthur_Friend

Does anybody have any recommendations for high speed broadband provider in Belfast area? Not interested in phone or satellite tv just t'internet.

All suggestions/advice appreciated.

trileacman

Have you tried the neighbour's?
Fantasy Rugby World Cup Champion 2011,
Fantasy 6 Nations Champion 2014

Arthur_Friend

Yes, I have actually  ;D No joy!

tintin25

Lads,

Anyone taken out BT infinity 12 month contract with 40gb usage?

Would this be enough? Looking to get broadband sorted in the house where I live with two others.

Cold tea

I have BT infinity with unlimited usage, it really depends what everyone is using it for.  I would be downloading large patches daily.

tintin25

I'd prob take the unlimited but don't wanna be tied down to 18 months

The Worker

Many in the north have sky broadband? What do ye make of it?

Hereiam

Anyone in the north have any dealing with Vodafone for broadband and landline calls. Had signed up for it as it seemed to be working out cheaper than BT but on reflection now i think it might have been a mistake. The fact that its 15p for a connection charge everytime u make a call is bugging me.

LeoMc

Has anyone ever tried out the Satellite broadband?
BT is poor and I have no line of site for Wireless.

Hereiam

I did Fionn. I let it go on through and so far so good. With BT i was only gettin 5MB but with vodafone it is 11MB so happy days.

LeoMc

Quote from: Fionntamhnach on May 25, 2016, 03:14:14 PM
Within Belfast, your main options are for either Virgin Media or via landline telephone. Despite all the talk of "fibre broadband" most of it is fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) with a copper line then delivering to your home. Only a small minority of places have actual fibre broadband to the premises.

Mobile broadband is an option, but is rather limited. EE are doing a deal right now for 4G broadband with 50GB data limit per month (which gets hard capped, so you don't get bill-shock) for around £30-35 IIRC, none of the other operators up here are touching that at present. More useful for those in places where FTTC services or ADSL in general isn't great, rather than in Belfast, or if you travel a lot and need large data amounts.

Don't consider satellite broadband unless it's an utter last resort.


The likes of Sky, TalkTalk & Vodafone use the same infrastructure as BT (Openreach) to deliver broadband & phone to your house from the exchange. Most providers will look to contract you for a minimum of 12 months at least. Plusnet & Zen offer rolling 30-day broadband contracts, but these are more expensive than those for 12 or 18 month contracts. Plusnet have some good offers on at present for their ADSL service which is only subject to a 12 month minimum term (£2.50 per month for the minimum 12 month term plus your line rental). You could get some cashback as well if you order it through Quidco or TopCashBack.

My own phone & broadband at present is with The Phone Co-Op, it uses TalkTalk's backhaul so you must be on an exchange that has TalkTalk's broadband equipment (I'm pretty sure all the exchanges in Belfast do). ADSL BB is £4 per month for the first 6 months, £8 pm after that, 12 month minimum contract only and I've prepaid my line rental of £150 for the year (eq. £12.50 per month) on sign up plus I get a £1 per month credit for using my own router. Happy enough with their service so far.

Cheers Fionn. I am in a border area with no 4G and patch enough mobile signal. This is what led to me querying Satellite.

LeoMc

Quote from: Fionntamhnach on May 26, 2016, 11:40:29 AM
Quote from: LeoMc on May 26, 2016, 08:31:39 AMCheers Fionn. I am in a border area with no 4G and patch enough mobile signal. This is what led to me querying Satellite.
Even EE's 3G mobile broadband isn't too bad if you have a good signal, and they tend to have pretty good outdoor coverage across the north now. I've been able to hit 10Mbps download speeds with them on 3G alone. A few people I've recommended EE too for general phone use have been all very happy with them.
I would be mainly looking to have broadband in my office. Is there any sort of ariel or receiver type device can be used to improve pick up of 3g to a fixed indoor point or router?

LeoMc

I do indeed get a good signal from Monaghan. Would I need PAYG rather than a fixed contract due to being on the wrong side of the border?
Is there any easy way to determine which network is providing the best signal before actually buying a dongle?

armaghniac

Quote from: LeoMc on May 26, 2016, 05:40:16 PM
I do indeed get a good signal from Monaghan. Would I need PAYG rather than a fixed contract due to being on the wrong side of the border?
Is there any easy way to determine which network is providing the best signal before actually buying a dongle?

You should be able to get a contract.
One way is to get an unlocked SIM free dongle and a try a few prepaid SIMS and see which works best.
But even an unlocked phone with 4G capability and a couple of SIMS would show something, or even a NI phone that can roam on these networks (not all can use all though).
If at first you don't succeed, then goto Plan B

parttimeexile

Quote from: Hereiam on May 23, 2016, 12:06:11 PM
Anyone in the north have any dealing with Vodafone for broadband and landline calls. Had signed up for it as it seemed to be working out cheaper than BT but on reflection now i think it might have been a mistake. The fact that its 15p for a connection charge everytime u make a call is bugging me.
EE have a deal called 4GEE where you can get 50GB download monthly and you get a small device called an mini osprey 2 which has a sim in it for £27 a month. I use this at home and can stream films and all. Measuring up to 30MB speed and I live in the sticks and I mean really in the sticks but have good 4G service on EE luckily.