Best Internet?

[CrazyFoxMachine]

Hello chaps and chapettes.

I wouldn't trust any other group of people with this query (plus if I had a Facebook status about it I'd get sarky replies) "BEST PROVIDER: MY COCK" etc*

Me and the madam are moving into a new place and we've got to set up ALL THE INEVITABLE BALLS. I need some opinionated opinions. No download limit preferably less than twenty quid a month. Preferably not evil.

Thoughts?


*I've said that Roger so that you don't inevitably say it - !

[Emperor]

I've been with Virgin Media since they were Telewest and have been pretty happy with it, plus their broadband is the fastest around*. Looking at their site they have a deal for 30Mb at £7.25 a month for the first 6 months and then £14.50 after that:

http://store.virginmedia.com/broadband/compare-broadband/index.html?buspart=Store_HP_Ban3

However, nose around their deals as it often works out nicely when you can bundle in the phone and/or TV.

And evilness: They are all evil, so are just more evil than others. Virgin seem to lie less about their speeds than others* but I hear they are all powered by the hearts of small children torn, still beating, from their chests.

Also: Best provider: [spoiler]Roger's mum[/spoiler].

* This can be significant as the shortfall between claimed and actual speed can put some people on speeds that don't count as broadband:

Ofcom describes proper broadband as 2Mbps or over, and this is the minimum bandwidth needed for video services such as the BBC's iPlayer. The speed tests found 18% of respondents were receiving 2Mbps or less, with many saying their service was often slower.

www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/may/11/broadband-speeds-slower-than-advertised

I am not getting any actual shortfall - when I tested my speed I'm actually running slightly faster than the claimed speed.

[CrazyFoxMachine]

Cheers Emp - !

Sounds like a bargain - 30mb is enough for us I reckon. £7.25 is with a phone, which - well, basically would be hugely unnecessary but I suppose not a massively burden as it's cheaper!

....now on to Electricity and Gas *headache*

[Emperor]

....now on to Electricity and Gas *headache*

http://www.theenergyshop.com/getHomePage.do

There is the Co-op who are the least evil (they even offer a price comparison feature on their site and make it easy to switch to someone else if you want):

www.cooperativeenergy.coop
www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/may/10/cooperative-gas-electricity-market

They won the bid for the Big Switch a group power buying experiment by Which? and 38 Degrees:

www.which.co.uk/news/2012/05/the-big-switch-secures-savings-of-123-285826/
http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/?s=big+switch
www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/feb/07/big-switch-campaign-cheaper-energy-bills

That is now shut but I'll be keeping an eye out for the next one.

[Banners]

They won the bid for the Big Switch a group power buying experiment by Which? and 38 Degrees:

I signed up for that - not heard anything back from Which? yet.