Question for British people
November 8th, 2013
Next year, i’m doing an internship @ London.
Now i’m going to stay their for +- 4 months.
Now i want to know, what is the best (and cheapest) ISP?
And what mobile shizzle provider should i take?
I would like to have mobile interwebz and some texts (for my college students who are also in London). Pre-paid offcourse
Thanks in advance
You probably won’t get a contract for 4 months.
The best is also not the cheapest. They all have different TOS. Some are cheap but cap you, and use traffic shaping.
My ISP BeUnlimited (unlimited traffic no nonsense ISP) used to have one month rolling contracts, but now for new users it’s min 12 months.
For HSDPA, T-Mobile and 3 have the best coverage around the London area (I live in London and have both) – you can get PAYG if you don’t want one on contract.
This will give you an idea, but most of them are crap
http://www.uswitch.com/broadband/compare/unlimited_broadband/?gclid=CMuEyK_GlawCFYEZ4QodhnXbnA
You will be lucky if you get to live somewhere that has BT Infinity (fibre), but even they have a min 18 month contract I think. (plus bear in mind that most dsl providers you have to pay the phone line rental on top, which is also on a contract, usually about £10-£11 per month)
gilly replied: You probably won't get a contract for 4 months.
The best is also not the cheapest. They all have different TOS. Some are cheap but cap you, and use traffic shaping.
My ISP BeUnlimited (unlimited traffic no nonsense ISP) used to have one month rolling contracts, but now for new users it's min 12 months.
For HSDPA, T-Mobile and 3 have the best coverage around the London area (I live in London and have both) - you can get PAYG if you don't want one on contract.
This will give you an idea, but most of them are crap
http://www.uswitch.com/broadband/compare/unlimited_broadband/?gclid=CMuEyK_GlawCFYEZ4QodhnXbnA
You will be lucky if you get to live somewhere that has BT Infinity (fibre), but even they have a min 18 month contract I think. (plus bear in mind that most dsl providers you have to pay the phone line rental on top, which is also on a contract, usually about £10-£11 per month)
Thnx for the info.
So there is no way i can get an ISP for only 4 months?
I also don’t need unlimited, just mayby 1gb/day and decent speed to video call with skype.
And for the mobile provider, what is the cheapest you think? Where i live (atm), i pay +- 13£ for 2000 texts + 2gb per recharge (its also PAYG)
Virgin media cable if you can get it.
If you want Mobile broadband then go for t-mobile, but put a normal phone sim card in the dongle, top up £10 per month you get unlimited texts free, then use £5 of your balance for unlimited internet, Fair Usage policy applies, but its a joke, basically once you go over 1gb u can still browse the internet, but cant download or stream video……………….BUT THATS WHAT THEY THINK i do about 150GB a month, including downloads (from all the hosts) and stream audio/video no problems, and yes Skype works
EDIT i have a dongle capable of 7.2meg d/load and 2meg upload
you can get the full 7 meg, depending on where you are, but id say normally around 5meg…………. lets face it for the price u cant really go wrong, miles cheaper than a contract
wimpers2 replied:
Thnx for the info.
So there is no way i can get an ISP for only 4 months?
I also don't need unlimited, just mayby 1gb/day and decent speed to video call with skype.
And for the mobile provider, what is the cheapest you think? Where i live (atm), i pay +- 13£ for 2000 texts + 2gb per recharge (its also PAYG)
You did specifically ask for the best.
If you are going to go back to Japan and not coming back for 6 years, then just sign up for a 12/18 month contract and knock them (cancel the direct debit when you go), they are not going to chase you, just blacklist you.
Off-hand I can’t think of any mainstream providers that will let you have a short contract.
I haven’t a clue about PAYG for HSDPA as I have contracts through work. I get 7 meg on T-mobile and 3, but sometimes one will work in a cetain spot where the other won’t, but both have reasonable coverage throughout London, better than others like Vodaphone or O2.
gilly replied: wimpers2 replied:
Thnx for the info.
So there is no way i can get an ISP for only 4 months?
I also don't need unlimited, just mayby 1gb/day and decent speed to video call with skype.
And for the mobile provider, what is the cheapest you think? Where i live (atm), i pay +- 13£ for 2000 texts + 2gb per recharge (its also PAYG)
You did specifically ask for the best.
If you are going to go back to Japan and not coming back for 6 years, then just sign up for a 12/18 month contract and knock them (cancel the direct debit when you go), they are not going to chase you, just blacklist you.
Off-hand I can't think of any mainstream providers that will let you have a short contract.
I haven't a clue about PAYG for HSDPA as I have contracts through work. I get 7 meg on T-mobile and 3, but sometimes one will work in a cetain spot where the other won't, but both have reasonable coverage throughout London, better than others like Vodaphone or O2.
TehOracle replied: If you want Mobile broadband then go for t-mobile, but put a normal phone sim card in the dongle, top up £10 per month you get unlimited texts free, then use £5 of your balance for unlimited internet, Fair Usage policy applies, but its a joke, basically once you go over 1gb u can still browse the internet, but cant download or stream video...................BUT THATS WHAT THEY THINK i do about 150GB a month, including downloads (from all the hosts) and stream audio/video no problems, and yes Skype works
EDIT i have a dongle capable of 7.2meg d/load and 2meg upload
you can get the full 7 meg, depending on where you are, but id say normally around 5meg............. lets face it for the price u cant really go wrong, miles cheaper than a contract
Ok, thanks for the info ^^
Whatever you do, stay away from BT – they promise the world and deliver a drinking straw pipeline. And then lock you into an 18 month contract.