NTL vs SKY+ and aol broadband

[PaulaB]

I have got sky + and aol broadband at the moment and am thinking of swapping to ntl for phone, broadband and tv package. Can anyone give me the pros and cons of doing this.

NTL picture quality when I had it was significantly worse than SKY by a huge margin. The STB reliability was also complete pants.

Their broadband and phone stuff is ok, but god help you if you ever want to cancel any of it or anything breaks. They are notoriously bad for not honouring cancellations, then trying to collect what they class as payment for the service using debt collection agencies, even though they have confirmed at least 3 times that it has been cancelled.

Personally due to my own experiences I wouldn't ever use them as a first choice company again.

Oh, and chances are your AOL broadband is already provided by NTL anyway.

[Knyght_byte]

switch to BT broadband......especially if a lot of people in your area use cable, you'll find you get a very quick and secure connection as its not being overloaded...heh

currently 2Mb limit, but most people cant really get much more than that with current wiring anyhow, some newly wired houses might hit 4Mb and some flats using a certain kind of setup can get 8mb but the companies providing 8mb like bulldog are not wholly reliable themselves...lol

go for the £30 a month and its sort of a 40Gb limit on downloads, but its not, what they say is so long as you dont exceed it too much then its ok, they dont slow you down or cut you off.......the only thing they will do is if you go over every month then they might charge you an extra pound or so per gb over the 40....or recommend you move to a business plan if it looks like you need a lot more limit..........

thing is, BT are generally very good at not going down, and even when the service does go down its not usually long till its back up......

ok i know some people have had problems with them, happens to any company, for some reason some problems just wont sort out easily.....but BT have a better track record looking after their customers than the other BB suppliers.....

only downside of course is your linked in to a 12 months contract, unless of course within a month or so you dont feel they are providing what they promise (ie constantly disconnecting and crap speed etc) then you can get out of it saying its not working properly.......

[Knyght_byte]

oh forgot to add, other firms also have whats called the Fair Usage policy, which means altho they dont instill a limit on you, they can still turn around and say you are using it too much and slow down your speed or charge you more or whatever......not sure how high they let you go before they bring that in tho.....

[Uridium]

I'm using Tiscali broadband, £14.99 a month for 2Gb connection, fair usage polcy applies but it's 45Gb a month which is plenty to be honest, I download whatever I want and never have problems.

[la gran siete]

Not had any probs with NTL broadband although it took them a year before they realised they werent charging me . I use One tel for phone but am thinking of reverting back to NtL becauyse i dont think htey are any cheaper. Tv service was ok but I wanted Sky +.

[Toasty]

I looked at companies offering deals for taking on your phone, broad band and TV in one package and in the end I was suprised to find I get the best value for money and service from individual providers.

[scrapbook]

I have just moved my TV service from NTL to sky+ and there is no way I would go back!

Not that there is much wrong with the NTL service, it is just that sky+ is much better.

Never had any problems with NTL's telephone and broadband. Currerntly broadband is £17.99 for 1mb with no usage limits.

I have found it to be cheaper to have the TV with sky and telephone/broadband with NTL...and much more rewarding!

[Ayub]

Ntl b/b is good. Never let me down and their telly package is being upgraded to V.O.D. a bit like sky+ its cheap and well worth it.

As for their customer service its getting better but dont expect 5* as you simply put wont get it.

ONE thing to watch when the installer " engineer" comes round to fit everything. ENSURE they dont cut corners MAKE SURE they do it preperly.

[la gran siete]

Originally Posted by Ayub

Ntl b/b is good. Never let me down and their telly package is being upgraded to V.O.D. a bit like sky+ its cheap and well worth it.

As for their customer service its getting better but dont expect 5* as you simply put wont get it.

ONE thing to watch when the installer " engineer" comes round to fit everything. ENSURE they dont cut corners MAKE SURE they do it preperly.

What is VOD?

[scrapbook]

Originally Posted by facundo

What is VOD?

Video On Demand.

It has lots of potential, but to be hones I thought it was rubbish due to lack of content, plus the majority of stuff on there cost something along the lines of 50p or so.

Doesn't sound much, but when you can have sky+ it for free (assuming you have the sports channels etc)

The main content provider for VOD was the BBC, the likes of sky are never going to on there.

[la gran siete]

Thanks!

[Daddy k]

i used to sell ntl, and i was allowed tv phone and bb free, i turned em down! id rather pay sky for sky+ and i didnt use a computer so i left that,
bb is quite good to be fair, if ur with aol in an ntl area chances are u already are technically on ntl broadband (an agreement they have)

tv:sky
bb: ur choice but ntls ok

but v v v poor cust service!
lots of billing issues!

[Mr Jason B]

Im just going to reiterrate what others have already said really,I think you would struggle to find a better provider of broadband than NTL,Im currently on their 10Mb service and those lovley files fly down at the speeds they are supposed to Their tv service though(as has already been mentioned once or twice)is pretty rubbish,it just doesnt compare to SKY+;its not just the features that are the problem but the actual software and the STB's themselves they need a major overhaul.

The TVOD certainly has potential,you have things like highlights of the week where you can watch last weeks Top Gear if you missed it,there are also complete series like The Office or The Catherine Tate show but there is usually a charge of about a pound for watching these,which whilst is obviously cheaper than buying the DVD,it seems to grate slightly as in the back of my mind I am thinking that I have already paid my tv licence,why should I have to pay to watch these BBC programmes again? Thats the way things are going I suppose though,so its like it or lump it.

With NTL's merger with Telewest now in full swing we will hopefully see some improvements in the TV area.I know Telewest were more involved with the STB hard drive recorder aspect so hopefully this will roll over to NTL and they will get more SKY+ type benefits

[Chris Muriel]

I have both NTL and BT broadband.
BT 2 MBbps ADSL for the home-office (paid for by my employer) and NTL broadband (via separate modem rather than via the STB) for domestic use by my son (also uses it for XBox live) and daughter - 2 MBbps shared via a router I installed.
I have had more downtime due to network/infrastructure problems with the BT pipe than with the NTL one.
Both were pretty good with support.
I guess people's experiences will vary depending on the staff that the provider has in their local area.
Another case of that oft-used phrase "postcode lottery".

Chris Muriel, Manchester (postcode is M33).