Which internet service provider is best for Macs in the UK

[jango]

Hi,

I was just wondering what experiences people have had with the different ISPs there are out there.

There are quite a few that claim to be Mac compatible but I have heard many horror stories about nearly all of them really messing Mac users around.

Because of this I decided to play it safe & go with BT who I must say have been excellent but they are also more expensive than most of the others.

I am prepared to pay a premium in order to keep any aggro to a minimum although if I could find an ISP that was cheaper than BT & treated their customers well i'd move.

 

[Kyomii]

Hi Jango, I use AOL and have been doing for the last 9 years. I don't use their software, and AOL say that their broadband is not campatible with Mac, but three years ago I got it to work via a USB modem.

Now, I use it via a router, which also has a couple of PC's, 2 Mac's and an XBox 360 connected to it and it runs no problem, although you cannot ring AOL for support on the Mac, but I very rarely ever ring AOL anyway.

There are other Mac ISPs such as Demon and NTL that offer support for Mac users

 

[Ric]

Hi there jango,

I use BT, I have been with them a long time and only had a few problems.

I believe Bulldog are meant to be very good.

Personnally I'm a too lazy to shop around... well not too lazy, just don't want the loss of service and the hassle of changing !

What 'speed' do you have ?

regards

Ric

 

[jango]

Hi,

I have 8meg download speed with a 40gb download limit each month & I have a BT home Hub which I must say I am quite impressed with.

What irks me though is that I am paying £27 a month for this (including free evening & weekend calls) when a company like the carphone warehouse Talk Talk service or Toucan for instance who claim to be Mac freindly charge £15 a month for virtually the same service, including evening & weekend calls.


Yet all you have to do is speak to any Mac user who has used Toucan or Talk Talk for instance & many will tell you that they are a nightmare.

They can't even give you the simplest of technical info such as is their modem compatible with the latest version of OSX.

I know people who have said "I'll take a chance & sign up" only to find that as far as Mac's go these companies are clueless yet trying to then cancel your contract with them is almost impossible.

As good as BT have been so far with me I can't help but think that I am still paying well over the odds for what i'm getting & if I could find something cheaper yet reliable I'd switch.

It's not the money it's the principle

(OK it's the money)

 

[Kyomii]

I pay AOL £29.99 for unlimited usage 8meg connection. I also pay them just £5 per month for unlimited 24/7 local AND national phone calls across all the UK, which is what BT charge just for offpeak. International calls are also very cheap, 2pence for America (either mobile or landline) 3 pence for Australia etc...

I know others diss AOL,(it is usually those who have never used the service, but rely on heresay) but I spent 5 years being a reporter for UK ISPs every day. I can tell you that AOL are the only ISP who have never gone back on their word, and have never imposed any restriction, and provided exactly what they advertise.

I have had a reliable ongoing connection for 9 years and when they dropped the software a few years ago, it was even better. However, they are in talks to sell their UK counterpart, and carphone warehouse are rumoured to be in line for it (the talk talk people) and if they get it, I will find another ISP sharpish.

Their CS is not as good as it used to be since they outsourced to India, although I think I have rang them 3 times in nine years, and two of those times was to put my free upgrade in speed forward. However, if you are looking for good CS support with the Mac, then AOL is not for you.

Talk talk are a nightmare whether you use Windows or Mac, and Toucan also have many horror stories.

Do you use a router at all? If you do, I can't see where you will need any ISPs customer support much unless you are having issues connecting.

NTL support the Mac and will usually set it up for you, and Demon also support the Mac, but Demon's once excellent service has deteriorated in the last 12 months.

Virgin also offer support for the Mac too. I know NTL is unlimited now, not sure about Demon or Virgin so better to check them out. Bulldog have recently been sold to Pipex, as have Toucan. Pipex gets mixed reviews, and I know they have restrictions and a FUP too, so if you do a lot of downloading, they may not be the answer.

Bulldog also had mixed reviews, and many reported recieving a poor service just before they were taken over with Pipex.

I would ring around a few who say they support the Mac, and see what their general tone is over the phone, and you may gather more that way

I know IDnet (again restrictions) are meant to be very good, as are Zen, although I am unsure whether these support Mac's or not.

If I was in your position (and I may well soon be with AOL selling), I would go either NTL or Be* - but Be* are an LLU provider and they need to be actived at your exchange.

 

[searay345]

Kyomii, if I ever move to the UK, i am so calling you up!!!

Searay

 

[Kyomii]

Kyomii, if I ever move to the UK, i am so calling you up!!!

Searay

Really? I gather you would call me to get advice about Uk ISPs :biggrin:

 

[searay345]

ROFL!! Yes, I probably should have added that in!!! :biggrin:

 

[jango]

Hi thanks Kyomil,

The thing with NTL is I don't live in a cable enabled area so that's a nonstarter.

I did consider AOL but their website stated that they did not support Macs.

I know that you have managed to get it going via a USB modem but you are obviously way ahead of me in terms of being able to set this kind of thing up & you are probably a lot less likely to need technical support as well.

I am intrigued by the 'free' SKY broadband service. I don't have SKY at the moment but if I hear good things about it I might just do it.

Their is another company called Madasafish.com who claim to be Mac specialists does anyone have any experience of this?

Check the link below it's quite funny regarding a particularly overzealous AOL employee.

 

[Kyomii]

What you have to remember jango is that no ISP is perfect. One might give you great speeds, but their CS is not up to much, another may have great CS but you find that you are having to use their CS service due to downtime.

So, if you keep in mind that you are never going to get a perfect service, and are willing to compromise, you should be fine. As for USB modems, I would not recommend using them anyway, since routers are far more beneficial, the hardware firewall (while only stopping inbound traffic) is superior to any software firewall.

If you connect via a router, then it is no different to a windows system - just plug in the ethernet cable, setup the router and away you go - very very easy!

As far as technical support, the general problems are the same for whichever ISP. For example, if your modem light is trained but there is a PPP issue, the fault is highly likely to be at your ISPs end.

if your modem is not training, then it could be a number of issues, such as filters/incorrect setup/incorrect settings, non active line etc, and determining the problem, as with all problems, is via process of elimination.

As for Sky broadband, this is another LLU provider, so your exchange needs to be LLU enabled and Sky need to have put their equipment in it.

You can check your exchange status regarding LLU providers and general broadband information for your line HERE.

Put either your phone number (including std code) OR your postcode in and then click on the appropriate links on the left to find out more about each service. For example, clicking on summary will give you information such as (but not equal to) the following:
___________________________
Congratulations, you are in a broadband enabled area.
However, you already have ADSL on your line. To move to another broadband provider you need to obtain a MAC (Migration Access Code) from your existing provider.

The following services are available in your location:

BT Wholesale ADSL
BT Wholesale ADSL Max
BT Wholesale SDSL
Bulldog LLU
Tiscali LLU
NTL Cable

Please select the options on the left for more information about broadband availability at your location.

________________________

I hope this helps

 

[Shane]

Hello,

When I lived in the Midlands I was with Telewest, The engineer who came to install my broadband knew nothing about Macs, but luckily a colleague of his did. Basically he called him and set my system up over the phone and I only needed to call Telewest twice in three years and they managed to solve both problems quickly. I've found that it helps if you tell them straight away that you have a Mac and want to speak to someone who knows what they are talking about. Also ask if there is a direct dial number to Tech Services so that avoids going through the 08whatever number and the various options and background music !!!
I've since moved and now live in a NTL area and have had no problems in the year since it as been set up.

Shane.

Mac PowerBook G4
17' Intel Powerbook Pro