Broadband Options

MiniSparks

MiniSparks

Bronze Level Poster
Hey guys,

I have a question regarding broadband and I hope this is the right place to ask and that it's ok that I do! I'm currently with BT and I'm on the most basic package with the lowest speeds. I'm unable to upgrade my package as my area doesn't have Fibre available. I have more than 5+ devices connected to the Wi-Fi at times and it struggles. Online gaming is a major issue and generally done when the house is either empty or when everyone has went to sleep lol. I've had a look around but I thought it would be helpful to hear thoughts from you guys of who is good, who I should avoid etc.

Any thoughts would be a huge help. :)
 
S

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
In my experience Virgin have been best by a country mile with BT coming in second trailing in the distance. Then Sky being the absolutely worst bottom of the barrel garbage internet laying dead and stinking up the place on the floor.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
It depends whereabouts you are as to weather you’ll get anything other than BT and resellers like sky, ee, talk talk etc etc, they just use BT lines so the max BT can give you is the max they can supply also.

forst thing to do is go onto virgins website to see if there is fiber in your area, if not then you’re restricted to BT or mobile data.
 
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Cobblers

Cobblers

Enthusiast
I've got Gig1 with Virgin Media... up to normal 50% advertised speed, which is inline with their expectations. With my new system (so download/upload capacity increasing) I reckon this will only increase further.

That said, the Hub4 router isn't the best... so I recently fitted mine out recently with the TP Link Deco M4 (3 pack) and wifi is just immense (also tested with Virgin's Hub3 router). This has increased the wifi strength so much (in a room about 30 ft away from router) that gaming on Rainbow Six Siege has meant pings have gone from 50+ average (via a homeplug, so ethernet, but through house wiring) down to below 30 just through WiFi alone. The wifi from Hub 3 wasn't as strong as using the HomePlug, hence why things from a gaming perspective were getting a little annoying... plus the constant drops of connection.

In one of my rooms was getting about 10mb p/s download through STEAM or 50-70 mb through Speedtest.net, since the Deco M4 went in those speeds have increased to 150mb-170mb and ping all throughout the house is -30.

The router was due to be moved from one room into another so both my son and I could be hardwired to the net... but I've cancelled that as any issues we had (pre Hub 4 turning up) have gone away. I may well still get it done, but these guys here have got me spending so much money that I'm going to wait and do it in the summer instead.

It depends though, Virgin locally to where i am is all you can get, so I'm lucky the package I have is available to my house. BT for example, would be an ADSL connection and we're so far from the exchange that I'd max out at a 20-30mb connection. I would consider BT were I able to get their top high speed package, but that isn't likely for years - if ever.
 
MiniSparks

MiniSparks

Bronze Level Poster
Virgin tells me it can give me speeds 7 times faster than BT. I've just checked PlusNet and they can only offer me the same as BT which are D/L speeds of 1.5mb - 3.5mb. The last time I was in Curry's, the guy tried to convince me to switch to Virgin there and then but I said no and that I would look at my options and do some research. I've been with BT for as long as I can remember but with my Wi-Fi struggling, my new PC on it's way and no clue when BT will be rolling out Fibre in my area, I don't think I can continue to stay with them.

I looked into Virgin and it seems they're a good shout but from what I've read, their customer service is lacking? But this is why I came here. I wouldn't be able to get Gig1 but I can get M500 or M600 which is a fibre line.
 
Cobblers

Cobblers

Enthusiast
Well Plusnet will just resell on BT?

Regards Virgin customer service, they are fine so long as you know what you are talking about. If they sense you don't know much they will fob you off to get rid of you. I will always call their bluff or explain that "that is rubbish" and they start to act differently. It shouldn't be that way, but hey, rarely do you get good customer service these days.

But check out Mesh WiFi - great stuff.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
MiniSparks said:
Virgin tells me it can give me speeds 7 times faster than BT. I've just checked PlusNet and they can only offer me the same as BT which are D/L speeds of 1.5mb - 3.5mb. The last time I was in Curry's, the guy tried to convince me to switch to Virgin there and then but I said no and that I would look at my options and do some research. I've been with BT for as long as I can remember but with my Wi-Fi struggling, my new PC on it's way and no clue when BT will be rolling out Fibre in my area, I don't think I can continue to stay with them.

I looked into Virgin and it seems they're a good shout but from what I've read, their customer service is lacking? But this is why I came here. I wouldn't be able to get Gig1 but I can get M500 or M600 which is a fibre line.
Click to expand...
Plusnet is just BT.

I'd definitely go with virgin then, even with their customer service they're still streets ahead of BT.
 
Cobblers

Cobblers

Enthusiast
Virgin will also strangle low priced connections. V500, V600 and Gig1 connections don't do that.

Check the detailed spec of each connection to see what suits you best. They are pretty good if you need to up or downgrade for any reason.
 
MiniSparks

MiniSparks

Bronze Level Poster
Sounds like Virgin is the winner. I'll look into them over the next few days and see what I come up with. At the moment there's no set up fees either so that's pretty good.

Thanks guys. As usual you've been a huge help. :)
 
Citrus_9

Citrus_9

Expert
MiniSparks said:
Virgin tells me it can give me speeds 7 times faster than BT. I've just checked PlusNet and they can only offer me the same as BT which are D/L speeds of 1.5mb - 3.5mb. The last time I was in Curry's, the guy tried to convince me to switch to Virgin there and then but I said no and that I would look at my options and do some research. I've been with BT for as long as I can remember but with my Wi-Fi struggling, my new PC on it's way and no clue when BT will be rolling out Fibre in my area, I don't think I can continue to stay with them.

I looked into Virgin and it seems they're a good shout but from what I've read, their customer service is lacking? But this is why I came here. I wouldn't be able to get Gig1 but I can get M500 or M600 which is a fibre line.
Click to expand...
If you're not on a fixed contract with BT, try a trial period with Virgin Media and if you don't like, cancel them. I think they give first 30 days period to cancel a contract with no additional fees when you return them their modem.

I personally hate Virgin media because they hold a monopoly with high prices and twice lower than advertised speeds in Ireland. In newer house states there sometimes even no alternatives. This is why I'm on a VM 500mbps plan but "enjoying" only a 100Mbps/50 speed on average which is 5 times less than advertised.

I'd use an ethernet cable as much as I can if I were you. Try a powerline adapter - for me works really well as wifi weakens if you're distanced from the modem.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Citrus_9 said:
I'd use an ethernet cable as much as I can if I were you. Try a powerline adapter - for me works really well as wifi weakens if you're distanced from the modem.
Click to expand...
This is no longer the case with Mesh wifi, that's why they're so good, also much faster than ethernet.

The only time ethernet is a better option is when you need low latency.
 
Cobblers

Cobblers

Enthusiast
The Powerline adaptors aren't a bad option, but depends on the quality of the wiring, which is where it falls down at my house due to it being quite old.
 
Citrus_9

Citrus_9

Expert
Cobblers said:
The Powerline adaptors aren't a bad option, but depends on the quality of the wiring, which is where it falls down at my house due to it being quite old.
Click to expand...
I was afraid of it too and wasn't sure if I'll get it work, but haven't disappointed.

But mushy, smushy, mashed, smashed wifi sounds tasty too!
 
Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Where i live, this side of town virgin doesn't exist so i'm with sky, and i think it's a shame that BT have such a monopoly & i've told their reps that on more than one occasion, in fact they have given up contacting me, the only semi good thing about BT is EE, if BT was the last choice on the planet for broadband I would go without
 
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