I'm currently with TalkTalk and we only have a very basic package; 8mb broadband, TV and Phone. It's fine for general browsing but it's starting to get worse and worse for gaming on my X1. I ran a test on speedtest.net and found that i'm only receiving ~3mb down, which is definitely not enough for online gaming (regardless of what a game's specs say). So i've been looking into switching over to Virgin, where their most basic package would cost only £20 a month dearer and include 30mb broadband, TV and Phone. I'm already aware that being as TalkTalk use ADSL lines and Virgin use fibre optic cable Virgin's speeds will be alot better off the bat, so on that front i'm convinced to go with Virgin. The only thing that raises a few alarms in my head is i've heard Virgin internet can be very erratic (can just go down with no explanation etc etc). Any of you guys have any experiences with either provider? And maybe even some advice? Thanks
I dont know your providers but have a possible solution. I have 1.44 meg DSL rock solid always on and running. comes with phone unlimited long distance $70 then we have 30 meg cable, might be fast, slow, nothing at all. just like what you describe. most of the time smoking fast. $30 So what I do is have both, use the dsl for surfing, use the cable for downloading and gaming. Having 2 Isp's is very nice and we are surfing with 2 desktops hard wired ,wireless two laptops and 2 kindle fireHD, Wii U, DVR, Blue Ray, networked portable hard drive and printer. All that shit is online and works good.
If you are not getting what you re paying for, i'd adress that issue first. Call your provider and tell them you are unsatisfied and thinking of switching. Odds are they will make it right and give you some free shit. If not, then the choice is clear
Yeah it's possible for us to simply take on Virgin Broadband as an extra and keep my TalkTalk package, I was merely thinking in the interest of saving money it might be smarter to see what Virgin can offer us. Although you do make a very good point, thanks for the input mate. Just out of interest, how often did your cable internet seem to pull a funny? Don't think I have a case in that respect bro. TalkTalk use ADSL and thus increased distance from the local exchange will cause the signal to deteriorate, unlike with cable. So unfortunately TT are perfectly within their rights to offer me what I have because all their packages are labeled "speeds of up to xMb", the joys of fine print eh? Still, I know i'm only ~1.4 miles away from a TT exchange, and i'm definitely not happy with losing 5mb of speed over that distance haha. But I definitely will talk to them, see if I can haggle something out of them. Thanks for the advice bro!
Most people actually get close to what they pay for, and don't understand the difference between Mb/s and MB/s. Yes, capitalization matters. Mb/s is MegaBITS per second, and MB/s is MegaBYTES per second. Most ISPs advertise in megabits. There are 8 megabits in 1 megabyte.
I have Verizon Fios, Bro I have never been happier. My internet speed is 50mps/25mps. If I connect with an ethernet cable the most I've got was 64/32. If I connect wth a Wireless connection i get 43/26 If it's your area get fios!