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"Best Broadband provider?"

I want to get broadband at home, but I have no idea what provider to use. I'm genuinely not going to use it much, but I might have a little dabble on Xbox live. Because of this, will I have to worry about bandwidth limits? 1GB a month sounds quite a lot for what I want it for, or will I be suprised how little that actually is?

Also, I'm looking really to spend less than 20 quid a month, because I won't be using it very much I don't want to be forking out a lot for it. So any suggestions / advice would be much appriciated. I get the feeling that NTL don't have particularly good customer service, but apart from that are they ok? What about BT, or anyone else for that matter?

Many thanks.

2Mb will be more than enough, 512Kb Broadband handles Live perfectly :D

Ok, I think :-)

Cheers for all the help. You must think I'm a right idiot.

Anyway, all of this has been assuming that the (up to) 2MB Plusnet will be consistantly fast enough for me to play Xbox Live on?

Notorious Biggles wrote:
> and then the regular
> £54 or whatever.

Wow! Cheap!

Yeah, prety much. Although if it's USB, make sure it's mains-powered and not USB powered. Otherwise you'll have to have it connected directly to the PC and have the PC running whenever you want to go on Xbox Live.

A good device to go for is the Netgear DG834G which is a wireless modem/router/switch combo. It'll run your PC wirelessly with the required adaptor (mentioned earlier) and you can plug the Xbox straight in. It's mains powered so literally is 'always on'.

Netgear are a bit overpriced though, so look for equivalent models from Belkin etc. You'll pay have what Netgear charge and most sites chuck in the required adaptor to run your PC.

I live in a flat so it's not too bad :-)

So I need to connect the PC to the router/modem (looks like Plusnet do an all in one with 1 ethernet port and 1 USB for 25 quid) to set it up, and once it's done I can connect the router/modem straight into the Xbox via ethernet. I can then link into the router/modem via a long USB cable from the PC, or get a wireless adaptor for it?

Nice one, cheers ears!

you can do it that way. That's how I have to connect mine. you'll need a wireless modem/router for downstairs and also a wireless access point for the PC - USB, Ethernet, PCI, PC-Card, whatever you want.

You'll have to hook the PC directly into the modem to set the connection up though, meaning you'll have to take the PC downstairs (or from wherever your PC currently is) for a bit.

Once it's set up, you should be ready.

Ok, the Plusnet 14.99 is looking good.

As for connection, I have the PC in one room and the Xbox in the lounge, with a phone socket. So the modem will be in the lounge (I guess), and then I could wirelessly connect the PC in the other room?

I'm sure this is all really simple stuff fo you lot, but I'm a bit of a dunce

Didn't they start the charging for above allowance bandwidth usage at the 1st of June? And at £1.95 per Gb... I wouldn't want to be around when that bill comes in.

Anyway, I'm with Bulldog now. Unlimited, 8Mb/400Kb, all local and national phone calls for free, reduced price international calls. 1st month for free, next 5 months for £29.50 and then the regular £54 or whatever.

I don't like to talk about it, but I dread to think what BT, er, think when they see that I use my connection 24/7 to download stuff.... 230Gb in 80 days, since I've been using Azureus.

Whoopsies. :)

My Mum just went with NTL 1Mb, despite the lousy customer service (see my other thread, I've got more to add), for £9.99 per month for 12 months. 3GB cap, but that's not so bad for general web browsing.