Posted by p900 lover
im thinking of moving from aol to Ukonline, they offer 8mb broadband at only £29.99?
im just wondering if anyone is using them and if it is any good?
thanks
Posted by nickorooster
Ive heard theyre good, and certainly better than AOL
.Just make sure they're supported in your area, because at that speed you're limited severely in how far you can be from he exchange...
Nick
Posted by p900 lover
ya there is an exchange like 300 metters away
Posted by amfne033
my exchange is only down the road but it cant do more than 2mb(the bt man said or i wouldnt of known) and that was after it was updated.
Apart from downloading videos and other large files could you really tell the difference being at 8mb cos 1mb does me fine for now.
Posted by p900 lover
true, but curently have 512kb and and for £5 more i could have 8mb
Posted by fatreg
my excahnge is outside my front doot and i cant have 8mb, i tried the max i can have is 2mb so that what im on.
ive been told that most 2mb exchanges are going to upgraded to 4mb.
so ill wait and see.
i did however see an advert at my place of work the other day for a 1gb connection
fatreg
Posted by nickorooster
Yeah, but the preblem with that is you need to have wiring done to your house/business and it costs a tonne.
Also, your average "blue cable" (CAT5) will only transfer at max 100mbps which is 1/10 that of 1Gb... So meh, worth it or not?
Nick
Posted by fatreg
oooh man.
i was looking forward to a 1gb connection there!!
fatreg
Posted by Sammy_boy
that's very cheap for an 8Mb connection - check before signing up there's no download limits - a lot of the cheap broadband deals I've seen aften have a download limit hidden somewhere in the small print.
Posted by nickorooster
No, no low limits, If there is a limit, it'll be above 50Gb or so. Its just that there is such a low percentage of households that can get speeds of 8mb, likely only to be those living in the center of london or near a highly upgraded exchange.
Nick
Posted by batesie
yep, Bulldog broadband up london is going at 8mb, impressive.
Posted by Cycovision
Dammit, can't get 8Mb broadband where I am (Nottinghamshire)
They reckon that the download limit is 500Gb per month which would be enough even for me, but the contention ratio of 33-1 puts me off a bit.
Posted by nickorooster
Thats not bad, 'cause you will NEVER get a contention ratio better than 1:20 without paying tonnes extra in the UK, and your average DSL line over here is 50:1. So I'd definitely go with the 33:1 enthusiastically. Especially since its 8mb, I mean, honestly, if you get 5mb (very rare) out of the 8mb connection, you're still going miles faster than most other connections.
Even then, my 1mb connection is at a 40:1 contention, and I ALWAYS get about 120kbps (full speed) on downloads. If there ever is/was conjestion, I haven't noticed it...
Nick
Posted by p900 lover
thanks for the post guys and girls, i think im goin to go for it, can i just ask what is a connection ratio? like 33/1?
what does that mean,
thanks
Posted by nickorooster
Right, here's the deal.
On every exchange, there are "slots" (or so I will call them for now). Each slot is assigned to a certain number of people. For example, in the case of 33:1, your slot is assigned to 32 people, plus yourself. This means that if Everyone on that slot was to download large files at the exact same time, the bandwidth of that slot may be stretched. So, on an 8mb connection, it might slow down to 7mb temporarily. However, even on a 50:1 contention connection, the likelihood of getting people downloading at a high speed at the same time is quite slim, so there is no need to worry about that really, just know that a lower contention ratio is better, and 33:1 isn't bad. The best you'll get is 20:1.
Or at least thats my understanding.
Nick
Posted by p900 lover
thanks a lot, now i get it,
im goin 2 contact them and check if i can reach speeds of 8mb, the online checker said i can but im goin 2 check it anyway,
Posted by nickorooster
Whereabouts are you in London? Oh and let us know what they say...
Nick
Posted by p900 lover
zone 2, north west about 10 mins from notting hill.
my local exchange is Kensil Green
Posted by p900 lover
i foned them up and yes i can get full speed of 8mb,
i then foned aol up and asked for the MAC code the guy was like y do u want 2 cancel and i sed i need faster internet,
and then he sed beacuse i have had broadband from them for 22 months he can upgrade me to 1mb for free, with no extra contract.
so i sed yes and i will see its any good, if not i will fone up again and say can u upgrade me to 2mb if not im moving.
il should be on 1mb by wendsday.
Posted by nickorooster
Haha, I'd still move, AOL is well known to suck
.
Nick
Posted by p900 lover
i think i will move soon, but lets see how much free stuff i can get from them 1st, lol
[ This Message was edited by: p900 lover on 2005-04-10 11:57 ]
Posted by p900 lover
and after wens, when i get upgraded to 1mb ill fone them up on like friday and say its still not fast enough and that i want 2mb, and a free wifi router,
lets see what happends, lol
Posted by nickorooster
If thats the case, the free Wi-Fi router would be awesome!
Nick
Posted by p900 lover
sure would, but if they say no, ukonline are giving out free wifi routers anyway,