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I'm looking into a new broadband and TV provider...


SpursRiot2012

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I think there used to be a dedicated thread for this sort of thing, but I couldn't find it.

We are currently with BT for our phone, broadband and TV. We are paying around about £60 a month for their mid-package fibre broadband speeds and the TV - which includes BT Sport.

They called yesterday trying to get me to agree to a new contract so that I can avoid a £2.50 price rise in the next few months by "upgrading" me to BT Plus. The only benefit of which would be that my bill would stay the same, and I'd get slightly better internet speeds.

Since we're out of contract, I figured I'd shop around before making a decision. What I'd like is a good speed fibre broadband speed, with an "entertainment" type TV package, and I'd also like to add Sky Sports and BT Sports.

Now I've checked Uswitch and stuff and found a half decent TalkTalk deal but TalkTalk have such a bad rep and their fibre speeds are not good at all, plus I don't think they broadcast Sky Sports HD, only SD.

Anyone have any tips either a) for switching providers (maybe you have a code I could use, or some tricks, or something) and b) dealing with BT to reduce my bill while getting more from them (specifically, Sky Sports) for less or exactly what I'm paying now.

I guess my only options are Sky, Virgin, BT or TalkTalk. Unless there are some lesser known broadband and TV providers I'm not aware of?

 

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Sky's broadband is shit. We've never had an issue with Virgin, plus they do the fastest speeds around. So I'd go with them and their TV. Unless you watch a lot of Dave.

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I have recently negotiated a new 18 month deal with Sky, which took a good couple of weeks of Cold War tactics. From next month I'll be paying £71 per month for:

  • Sky Q, with their 2tb box and mini box for another room
  • Multi-room
  • Family package in HD
  • Sky Movies HD
  • Sky Sports HD
  • Sky Go Extra
  • Box sets
  • Fibre unlimited broadband
  • Telephone line rental bollocks
  • New Sky Q home hub

Was genuinely looking to leave Sky but then they eventually threw the above at me, which is £10 less than what I've been paying for the past 3 years (which included a 50% discount on TV anyway), plus an upgrade. Quite pleased with this.

I haven't had problems with Sky Broadband at all to date, but it varies with each area. Same with the other providers. I did have the odd problem with BT before I switched a few years ago, though.

 

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Bundles with Sky Sports are fucking extraordinarily expensive. After an initial offer period with Virgin, for example, a broadband and TV deal with Sky and BT sports would come in at over £100 a month.

I was able to find a TalkTalk deal with an "entertainment" TV package, all Sky Sports channels (though I think only in SD) and broadband, albeit at a frankly pathetic max speed of up to 30mbps. That would be 49.50 a month.

Perhaps I should just speak with BT's retention team and see if they want to work with me on getting Sky Sports added to my package and a slight decrease in my monthly payments, but that sounds like a big ask.

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My current deal is with Plus Net.

£30 for over 70mbps - Pretty much the second fastest after Virgin at the time and in our area. We stream all of our TV through apps and it’s fast.

One thing I will say is I had an issue with PING for a while. It turns out it was an issue with our IP. Due to the lack of available U.K. IP addresses, companies like plus net buy and recycle IPs from the US, the problem is that they sometimes forget to reset the geo data meaning you’re essentially using an IP address from the US, but with UK restrictions (for example UK Netflix only). This can cause havoc with speed, buffering and even simply connecting. It took 3 months and 5 advisors later to confirm this issue, they assigned me a U.K. IP address and the internet is now lightening, averaging at 65mbps. 

However, virgin have just installed in my street and in 5 months, I’ll be heading back to them.

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i'd go with something like BT for TV and broadband (Sky, BT, Plus Net, Talk Talk etc all use the same internet connection anyway) and then maybe look at adding NOW TV if you want movies and things. if you buy vouchers or pay up front it brings the price down and will be cheaper then going for Sky direct (unless you want to have all the sports)

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34 minutes ago, Chest Rockwell said:

£70 a month is insane. I can't fathom how people pay that much. Do you really get a lot of use from all those sky packages?

Virgin broadband is great, and the bonus is you don't even need a landline for it. So you don't have to pay for shit you don't need.

I pay £88 per month but that's mostly for the fastest broadband I can get, which I need for work, and the sport. Otherwise I'd be happy with Freeview.

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1 hour ago, Chest Rockwell said:

£70 a month is insane. I can't fathom how people pay that much. Do you really get a lot of use from all those sky packages?.

Yep, my wife definitely makes the most of it. Watches a lot of movies and shit American crime dramas. Bearing in mind that includes ultra fast broadband & phone line too, which is thirty bastard quid for that combined (discounted from £40). I dare not change my broadband because I always hear stories around here of the other providers being rubbish, and I haven't had a single problem thus far with Sky. No downtime, no slow speeds- and it's not unusual for 3 people to be streaming at the same time in my house.

Me and my daughter are more likely to watch Netflix, although I make good use of the sports channels as well.

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I've got the Virgin broadband and the basic TV.  Got a phone line which I never use because it was cheaper that way.  I have a Now TV movies pass that I got for half price and now whenever I quit it, stating I can't afford it, I get offered another 3 or 4 months at half price.

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I'm living in the stone ages compared to you lot, £30 a month for unlimited fibre broadband and that's that but then again I still live in an area where there's limited room in the street boxes and no sign of Virgin ever coming to town.

Chest is right about Plusnet routers being shite but their newest line are slightly better though do suffer signal drop out in high traffic areas. I've never had much problem with them aside from the initial installation and rumour is they're using their BT overlords to get in on the TV offerings soon.

Also apologies for offering nothing meaningful to this thread, good luck @SpursRiot2012

 

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