Is IDNET now poor value for money ?

[Rik]

The problem with the MUXes and nodes is that they concentrate things from a large geographical area to a small, but intense, centre. Failures now affect much larger numbers of people.

[Glenn]

http://btbusiness.custhelp.com/app/service_status/ss_id/13266/ss_cat/2467,2383 is the direct announcement.

[Tacitus]

FWIW this is what I received last night from Clook:

We have received confirmation from LINX that they are currently experiencing difficulties with a core switch located in Telehouse East on their Brocade LAN.

Unfortunately this issue has caused congestion on a multi-10G link bundle between Telehouse North and Sovereign House.

LINX are currently working on the issue and hope to restore full connectivity shortly.

Please note that we (Clook) are not directly affected by this issue, however access ISPs who rely on LINX connectivity to reach us may be experiencing difficulties if they do not have enough capacity through backup transit providers.

[Rik]

Thanks, Tac.

[Tacitus]

It appears this has now been fixed.

[Rik]

As always, there seems to be little or no redundancy in the system.

[cs2008]

NewNet counts upload as well as download, so the allowances aren't quite as generous as they first appear.

Yes that's a good point, although I seldom UL as much as I DL, so the 12GB allowance from Newnet does look attractive.
However, if IDNet are going to revise their allowances in Jan, I should hang on for a while yet.

Chris.

[Gary]

As always, there seems to be little or no redundancy in the system.

This has been said before, I thought the new system allowed for better redundancy? Or are we still balanced on a coins edge, Rik?

[Rik]

I believe plans for new pricing have been put back to March, Chris, to allow IDNet to give more to those who are not on WBC-enabled exchanges.

[Rik]

This has been said before, I thought the new system allowed for better redundancy? Or are we still balanced on a coins edge, Rik?

It does within IDNet, Gary, but BT's network seems very fragile and if one of the concentrator points fail, it affects a lot of people.

[Gary]

It does within IDNet, Gary, but BT's network seems very fragile and if one of the concentrator points fail, it affects a lot of people.

BT, forever the weak link and slowly getting worse the more strain is put on it 

[Rik]

I know, but I think they are beginning to realise that they, too, can lose business as people switch to LLU. The signs are that they are trying harder.

[Gary]

I know, but I think they are beginning to realise that they, too, can lose business as people switch to LLU. The signs are that they are trying harder.

Well thats a good sign, Rik. Better than the Ostrich approach, I mean it could be worse, we could have Berlusconi as head of BT 

[Rik]

You mean we don't? 

[Gary]

You mean we don't? 

if we did there would be some interesting engineers 

[Rik]

Some interesting AGMs too.

[Gary]

Some interesting AGMs too.

[chrisga]

I have been with IDNET for several years now, and the customer service and reliability has always been good.  I'm on the Home Lite package which provides 5GB inclusive downloads for £17.61/month.

Recently however, I have noticed that NewNet, who seem to be rated just as highly as IDNET, are offering 12GB downloads on their Home M package at £16.59/month.  Does anyone have any experience of NewNet, and does anyone else feel that IDNET are now very uncompetitive ?

Chris.

IDnet are certainly the best ISP I've been with, but then the competition isn't brilliant because I've only ever been with IDnet,  BT OpenWoe and Tiscali.  Seriously though, the basic connectivity has been very reliable and quick - although  there were those issues with email a while ago. 

I have to say though that I could do with a higher download cap on the basic service.  I was on the higher capped service but didn't get anywhere  near that limit, but now I tend to "hit the buffers" - would be nice to have a few more GB / month without having to increase the monthly outgoings permanently.

Wonder if we will ever get a decent ISP that offers an "affordable" (under £20 / month) unlimited service to us hard pushed  rural types stuck on BT lines for the foreseeable?  I'm not hopeful  

[Rik]

Unlimited is not economically viable for an ISP, Chris, so those who offer it usually restrict its use, by FUP and throttling.

[chrisga]

Unlimited is not economically viable for an ISP, Chris, so those who offer it usually restrict its use, by FUP and throttling.

Problem is though Rik, that if we move in the direction that the politicians (etc.) want us to move in (streamed multi channel  HD TV over IP etc.) its going to be vital  to have un-throttled affordable provision-   Basically if expectations are going to meet actuality,  we  are going to need one hell of a lot of  infrastructural improvement in the UK.  I can see us being left way behind a lot of countries.   A good  place to start on this path is to  for "officialdom" to take a  hard look at BT and all its works (or lack of them !) 

[quandam]

I would say, to answer your basic question, that NewNet provide a very similar service to IDNet, however, there are slight differences that can sway your decision.

For me, I like to pay yearly (to save money) and IDnet offer the facility with the one month contract in place whereas NewNet will charge the full amount should you wish to cancel within the 12 month contract.

As in most things today you pays your money and takes your choice

[Rik]

Problem is though Rik, that if we move in the direction that the politicians (etc.) want us to move in (streamed multi channel  HD TV over IP etc.) its going to be vital  to have un-throttled affordable provision-   Basically if expectations are going to meet actuality,  we  are going to need one hell of a lot of  infrastructural improvement in the UK.  I can see us being left way behind a lot of countries.   A good  place to start on this path is to  for "officialdom" to take a  hard look at BT and all its works (or lack of them !) 

Couldn't agree more, Chris. The best ISPs can only deliver what the BT network will allow them to, and the network is sadly lacking.

[Tacitus]

Couldn't agree more, Chris. The best ISPs can only deliver what the BT network will allow them to, and the network is sadly lacking.

I know some (all?) of the LLU operators such as O2, C&W etc, have their own networks, but are these completely independent of BT?  Isn't there some degree of overlap somewhere - obviously the local loop is still over BT wires.   Surely to a large extent they must all run over BT infrastructure?

Obviously the cable operators are pretty much independent but that independence means they've dug up the streets and put their own stuff in.  Can't say I've noticed the others doing the same.   

[Rik]

No-one supplying an ADSL service is independent of Openreach, they all use the 'last mile', they all have their equipment installed and maintained by Openreach. The difference starts on the 'other' side of the DSLAM/MSAN, where the service is handed off to the LLU network, rather than the BT one.

[davej99]

I was just over at AAISP wondering if they are cheaper than IDNET because some of you use them and say nice things. After about 10 minutes of reading the prices pages I gave up. Units, type of line, time of day? Obviously Messrs. A and A are very clever chaps; so clever I need a spreadsheet to work out what a service would cost. Can any AAISP users tell me what my £17.61p IDNET service would cost with them?