Is IDNET for me?

[blankyblue]

Hi all. I am looking to escape from AOL after 12 years. I found your forum and wondered if anyone had time to offer a bit of advice. Its all about speed (isn't it always?).
Basically with AOL I can't use the net evenings & weekends as its drops to 0.3 and sometimes 0.15. I have been told my line can carry a max speed of 2mb bit clocked it at 11.35 am yesterday at 3.95mb. I have been back and forward with various script readers at tech support, had faults 'raised' with BT but all to no avail. AOL seem unable to solve the prob or offer useful advice. I am in a rural location with no 3g coverage (but good 2g). I have requested my MAC code and am looking for a new ISP.

I know that speeds are just a guideline but what can I expect from IDNET.  If I could get 1 - 1.5 at peak times I would be very happy.

Currently my netgear router is plugged into main BT socket with an iplate and all other sockets have been disabled. One of my neighbours has 2 phone lines and gets 4 & 2mb on these lines with ZEN internet.

I have no idea if my line is noisy or not and am a complete beginner when it comes to rejigging the router etc.
My local exchange is supplying ADSL Max and Currently I am on an 'up to 8mb' package with AOL. They have phoned to drop the price by a few quid (and try to sneak me into another contract) but that's no help as they are still slower than dialup at peak times.

So is IDNET for me. It looks good & I like the look of the forum.

Are there any IDNET rural users out there?

Any help & advice would be much appreciated.

[kinmel]

Unlike AOL and their ilk, Idnet do no throttling of any kind, at any time.

Congestion happens in some BT exchanges and affects all uses on that exchange equally, if your neighbour is getting good speeds then you should too.

Idnet have a 1 month contract, so try them and see for yourself.

Many of us are in rural areas and get the speeds we expect.

[DorsetBoy]

Hi there,

IDNet would be a good option for you, as Kinmel says it is a 1 month contract and you are able to move again without penalty if you should feel the need.

Support at IDNet is NOTHING like AOHell and they will always do their best for you. Without all your line /router stats it is not possible to say what speeds you might see but support could give you a fair idea.

This link > http://www.idnetters.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=1904.0 is the "How To" section of the forum and gives you all the information you need for trouble shooting/testing etc.

[Simon]

I can't add to the above, except to say,

[quandam]

blankyblue

Agree with everything said above. Another thing to bear in mind is that IDNet offer a one month contract even if you pay yearly (cheaper per month) thus saving you money, if you do cancel within the year you receive the outstanding balance, truly a great deal in my opinion, definitely a win win situation.

You won't regret a move to IDNet

[Steve]

 

Nothing much to add except you will get what the speeds your line is capable of 24/7 BT local exchange permitting with IDNet. If you can manage to post your router stats http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.php and a BT speedtest if you can get it to work http://www.speedtest.net/index.php we should be hopefully able to advise on any current connection issues

[Rik]

Let me echo the above and extend a very warm welcome to the forum. I've been with IDNet for more than three and a half years now and have never regretted the decision to move here.

You might want to think about moving your voice line too, if it's with BT.

[g7pkf]

Let me echo the above and extend a very warm welcome to the forum. I've been with IDNet for more than three and a half years now and have never regretted the decision to move here.

You might want to think about moving your voice line too, if it's with BT.

Apart from we all "rib" you from time to time Rik

seriously 1 month contract come in test the water and if it's not for you then you only signed for amonth, if you like it transfer your phone


get a recommendation from a friend (me?) and both get a £10 discount off your second bill :0

[g7pkf]

I will add all my £10 credits go on buying router's to test i currently have 5 in my possesion.

any other money i receive (that i was not expecting) goes to McMillan Nurses.

I may not be rich but i am not greedy.

[Niall]

I'll vouch for the IDnet phone line thingy (that's a techy term I'll have you know )!

I just got my bill for the month. The call charges were HUGE. 3p to be exact

[g7pkf]

I'll vouch for the IDnet phone line thingy (that's a techy term I'll have you know )!

I just got my bill for the month. The call charges were HUGE. 3p to be exact

Mines smaller than your's circa "0"

[Niall]

I had to order three taxis in the last month

[Bill]

I just got my bill for the month. The call charges were HUGE. 3p to be exact

Nice to see the "reverse charges" option is working well 

[Rik]

[blankyblue]

Thanks for all your input.

You have all confirmed what I suspected. Anyone with a 1 month contract must be confident of their product.
This dedicated forum is also a real plus as I feel that if I do run into problems it will likely be something that someone else has already worked through..so much better than trawling the net when AOL tech are relatively clueless (or couldn't care less?).

So, thanks to you all, it's a done deal. Aol have told me I have to phone to get my MAC (I asked via email) so I guess they will try to 'Sell' me something Anyway as soon as I get the code I will sign up for the net & phone deal

A big thanks to all who chipped in 

[Ray]

 

[Rik]

We look forward to seeing you amongst us, BB.

[quandam]

blankyblue

They will definitely try to keep you as a customer, beware of ISP's offering gifts.

[klipp]

Blankyblue, I started a similar thread before I migrated here.  I was with an ISP (entanet) who had introduced throttling and I was looking for an alternative.  Since joining IDNet, not only is there no throttling at all, but my sync rate has increased from 2200kbs to 4100kbs down, and from 400kbs to 900kbs up........  I think it is fair to assume enta was capping me although they flat out denied it.

[D-Dan]

This dedicated forum is also a real plus as I feel that if I do run into problems it will likely be something that someone else has already worked through..so much better than trawling the net when AOL tech are relatively clueless (or couldn't care less?).

Make sure you read the "complaints" section of the forums first. Ermm - where is it again, Anyone. Please help. Umm, no! Do we have a need for one?

Steve

[Dangerjunkie]

Hi Blankyblue,



When you call IDNet  (It's an 0800 call too so they are paying) you get the voice system that asks you which department you want. When you select Technical Support the phone is always answered promptly by a real engineer who actually runs the system. I've always found they listen and talk to me at a level that is appropriate to my technical ability.

IDNet really do care. I recently moved house and called to move my line. The person at IDNet I spoke to put in my new postcode and I heard the intake of breath down the phone. He was really honest about the speed I could expect in my new home (somewhere between 10% and 50% of what I was getting). He looked at the package I was on and said he could sign me up but he knew it wouldn't be the experience I would want. They preferred to have one less customer than one more unhappy one. I very much appreciated their honesty.

I'm currently on the 50MB cable package from Virgin Media as ADSL is totally useless in the part of town I'm in (My friend 200 yards further away from the exchange than me couldn't even get a signal on her ADSL when she tried it.) If I could get 5MB from IDNet I'd give up my 50MB Virgin line and be back like a shot as my old IDNet connection performed better in a number of ways.

IDNet don't control your connection in any way. Nothing is artificially slowed down or blocked. Also they reserve your full connection speed rather than not buying enough and getting bogged down when everyone gets on in the evening (unlike a certain ISP I'm sure you could mention). If you live in an exchange which is congested (BT's problem not IDNet's) and it's within your budget, you can go for the top of the line (£35) IDNet package that is declared as a business service so you get priority over the schoolkids surfing music.

You will get really good advice on here on how to wring the last ounce of performance out of your line. I would recommend changing your router for either a 2Wire 2700HGV (see the sub board on here) (£15 from eBay) or the Draytek 2820n (the wrong side of £150 but brand new). I've used both of these and they got me 50% more speed out of my line than my old modem. The 2820 was marginally better than the 2700 on my line (5.5Mb against 5Mb, the old modem topped out at 3.5Mb reliably). Rik is a 2700 user and will vouch for how well they work on a challenging line. The 2700 needs some special configuration to make it work with IDNet but it's not too difficult and you'll always find someone on here who will help you or do it for you if you have trouble.

Good luck and welcome to the gang,
Paul.

[faircot]

Currently my netgear router is plugged into main BT socket with an iplate and all other sockets have been disabled. One of my neighbours has 2 phone lines and gets 4 & 2mb on these lines with ZEN internet.

My previous ISP was Zen and IDNet is just a little quicker and more consistent than Zen here (excellent though they were).
Assuming you've no internal wiring/hadrware issues then your neighbour's experience should be a good guide for future performance.