What's the best deal around for Broadband these days? Not really interested in superfast speed just middle of the road, but want wireless. We have the NTL package and it works out quite cheap with TV, BB and phoneline, but they don't offer wireless. You have to buy a separate router and set it up your self. I was thinking Irish Broadband or one of those companies might be the best idea.
Well, depends which country you're in! I only have experience of the UK, for which I recommend either UKOnline or Be-Unlimited. As far as wireless goes, it doesn't matter who you use. You can supply your own equipment to transfer a wireless signal, such as a Linksys router.
I also have NTL internet and I bought a D-Link Router for £20 from a boot sale xD. It works quiet good with NTL, I get fast download speeds and haven't had to change any settings.
I have always used Linksys products. With some of their routers, you can upgrade the firmware with 3rd party ones, to add better network, security and wifi performance, and also extra features like VPN etc so you can access your files when your on the road. I however am looking at upgrading my router for the new Belkin N1 Vision, as I have numerous PC's connected via WiFi to the network, and it would be good to see whats connected, and at what speed at a glance. And because its one of the nicest ones I have seen in ages!
I use Virgin Media cable, i've been using a Linksys WRTG54G v5 for ages, stably. Recently replaced the Linksys with two Buffalo WHR-G54S's running DD-WRT firmware (v23 SP2 specifically). Due to a few range deadspots (my house/ceilings are huge as it's Victorian) i have the 2 Buffalo's running WDS (wireless distribution system) so they're basically paired up. DD-WRT has excellent monitoring screens btw; a pain to setup but now completely stable; just need a decent internet connection now (i'm only on 512k) @phill2000 - i considered an 'N' modem, but was happy enough with performance of standard 54g modems; plus i've had horrific problems with Belkin routers before so won't go near one again, would be interested on hearing how it performs edit- just went for a walk to Argos, just saw a picture of the N1 vision - looks very smart indeed, might look into that one
Hey creaky - have you managed to get the bandwidth monitor working in ie? I can only get it to work in firefox, if I use ie it tries to download the graphs rather than embedding and displaying them...
Oh right. I don't use IE anymore, will try in a minute. I use mainly Opera lately, sometimes Firefox, and if in Linux i use whichever browser i click on first.. edit- just tried IE (it was painful!). All working fine here.. you don't mean QOS info do you ?, as i don't bother with QOS thus i haven't see any QOS info or problems with any info; i half-read something about QOS not working for people on the DD-WRT forums but as i half-read it i don't remember the details..
Just found out that NTL are offering wireless which is great. Don't like their service though. Has anyone had experience of Irish broadband or one of those plug and go type solutions?
I guess some people are unlucky. I personally have had nothing but great service from them. Upgraded my package for free 3 times within 2 years (1Mb > 2Mb > 4Mb) untill I decided to upgrade to the 20Mb when I was offered an upgrade to a lower speed (think it was 8-10Mb can't be sure). The one time I had a problem, they told me I had a line error. They arranged for an engineer to come the next day (I chose the time, and he arrived on the dot). He took 15 minutes to decide what the issue was, and arranged for another engineer to return 3 hours later to replace the cable running from my house to the box at the end of my road. They even offered to refund me a days cost for the inconvenience (and I didn't argue, curse or raise my voice once!). All this cost me was a 5 minute call (local rate), and 2x cups of tea for the engineers. I for one call this great service, however I acknowledge this is not the service many people receive. @creaky I have been looking at this for a while now. I like a lot of the features on it, and if the performance it is all it has cracked up to be, I will be getting one ASAP. They have a nifty little feature which allows you to provide a 2nd wireless network for guests who visit your house. This 2nd network is activated from a button on the router, and instantly provides your guests with wifi internet access. It also keeps their "guest" network seperate from your own, which means they cannot access any PC / files on your own network. This is great! It also has an on screen display that allows you to see each connected PC's bandwidth, status etc, total network transfers etc etc etc. All in all a good piece of kit, but I have had issues setting up Belkin routers for friends etc, so not looking forward to issues / customer support (or lack of.....).
