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"Broadband is coming my way....few questions about this and XBL"

Broadband is landing in my area mid june, just had the nod off the BT gent this morning, but now a few questions......
Whats the best/cheapest ISP to use?
Is BT openworld worth getting @ £27.99/mth (£50 connection pack)
NTL offer an xbox service @ £29.99/mth...any views?
should I get the kit myself and what kit is required? (dont mind having the PC on while using XBL)
I havent got much idea about routers/hubs etc :(

Any help much appreciated in advance

Try connecting with Freedom 2 Surf...their only £22.50 per month and free connection at the moment..I was with pripex but F2S is a lot quicker and more reliable...

I will probably leave LIVE until after my last exam where I will treat myself to it. That is around the 22nd June so I suppose we will be getting it at the same time :)

>>You wont be able to use a HUB to connect to the internet. If you dont >>want your PC on at the same time as the XBox then you do need a Router.

i am using ICS with my PC, but have a 4 port hub, and using none-crossover cables have connected that way sharing the USB modem with Xbox, however hubs are around £100, but would allow other PCs or maybe Gamecube to share Broadband connection too.

scrapdealer wrote:
> adrian wrote:
> even a blind rabbit could do it.
>
> so you must know me then adrian ;o)
> I'll check out the other ISP's, got plenty of time to do so :) If I'm
> right, I should be able to get the 'wires' supplied by BT to my box on
> the wall and then use a different ISP for the BB, right? I was hoping
> to have a router or hub (not sure which...if either???!!!) connected
> to the box on the wall and then connect the PC and the xbox to this
> under seperate leads. Do I still need the network card for this
> system, if even this set up will work?? hmm, blind rabbit springs to
> mind again!
> From what I've read from this board about cables and network cards, it
> seems that the connection pack offered by the likes of Freeserve &
> BT is a bit overpriced and the gear is prolly not that high quality
> either.....am I right in thinking this?

What I mean by "Wires" is the ISP just gets you connected to ADSL and supplies no equipment. This way is cheaper and you get to buy your own hardware like a Router. Most people just want the internet on there PC so they go with a pack with a modem for ease of use.

You wont be able to use a HUB to connect to the internet. If you dont want your PC on at the same time as the XBox then you do need a Router. The Router would plug into the phone socket and be the connection to the internet. From here you would use a normal CAT5 cable NOT a Crossover cable, to connect both the XBox and PC to the Router. You need a NIC(Network Card) no matter what set up you decide on. If you have a Router the Router connects to your PC via the NIC. If you go via ICS(Internet Connection Sharing) the XBox connects to the NIC, via a Crossover CAT5 cabel.

You have to make sure you do get the right cables. So if you use a Router a normal CAT5 cable is what you need for both connecting the XBox and PC. If you use ICS then the cable from the XBox to PC needs to be a Crossover CAT5 cable. If you have a Official Link Cable for the XBox then you could use this if its long enough.

BT Openworl charge £50 for the connection fee and you get a modem and some filters. Filters are VERY important as this is what allows you to use the phone and internet at the same time. If you forget these then if your on the internet and you get a phone call you will be disconnected. Also filters have the correct connection to ADSL as the socket is different to on the wall so you wouldnt be able to connect it up anyway. £50 is pretty good for connection and the modem. But on there website it looks like its £29.99 a month which is a tad expensive as mine is £23.44. You do have ever get a modem and 2 filters. The modems offer are good if you want a USB modem. The only reason not to get a pack that offers a modem is if you want to get a Router.

Again Freeserve offer a pack for £84.99 and charge £27.99 a month. Again the modem will be good, it will probably be the same as the one supplied by BT.

The ISP I am with Pipex have a modem package for £69.35 and a Wires package for £29.38 and you get the 3rd month of your connection for FREE. Monthly charge is £23.44. This package would be good if you wanted to buy your own hardware like a Router.

Freeola also offer a Wires package for £69.99 and then the monthly charge is £29.99 but apparently Freeola are cutting the charge from May 1st to £26.99.

BT and Freeserve dont appear to have a Wires package, so you would be stuck with spending money on a modem that you didnt need if you went out and bought a Router.

I use the ICS option as when I joined with Pipex last year they were giving away FREE modems if you sent in your old 56K. Also it was FREE activation at the time so I had to spend £30 on 3 filters and then £23.44 a month.

Remember that you will need a filter for every phone socket in use, even Sky Digital if connected. Another question is have you got a alarm system on your house ? If so then you have to check it out to see if its compatiable with ADSL as some alarm systems use the phone line and will not allow ADSL to work once connected.

Hope this helps. Go to www.adslguide.org.uk as there is loads of information on Routers, ISPs etc.

adrian wrote:
even a blind rabbit could do it.

so you must know me then adrian ;o)
I'll check out the other ISP's, got plenty of time to do so :) If I'm right, I should be able to get the 'wires' supplied by BT to my box on the wall and then use a different ISP for the BB, right? I was hoping to have a router or hub (not sure which...if either???!!!) connected to the box on the wall and then connect the PC and the xbox to this under seperate leads. Do I still need the network card for this system, if even this set up will work?? hmm, blind rabbit springs to mind again!
From what I've read from this board about cables and network cards, it seems that the connection pack offered by the likes of Freeserve & BT is a bit overpriced and the gear is prolly not that high quality either.....am I right in thinking this?

scrapdealer wrote:
> Broadband is landing in my area mid june, just had the nod off the BT
> gent this morning, but now a few questions......
> Whats the best/cheapest ISP to use?
> Is BT openworld worth getting @ £27.99/mth (£50 connection
> pack)
> NTL offer an xbox service @ £29.99/mth...any views?
> should I get the kit myself and what kit is required? (dont mind
> having the PC on while using XBL)
> I havent got much idea about routers/hubs etc :(
>
> Any help much appreciated in advance

For a list of ADSL providers go to www.adslguide.org.uk. Read the message boards etc ask questions there on different ISPs.

NTL will be no good to you unless you live in a Cabled area by NTL, as your only just getting ADSL and by the sounds of it you want Broadband you would have already gone with NTL if they were your cable provider.

There are alot of ADSL ISPs that charge less than £24, some even less than that. I pay £23.44 a month for my Pipex connection and that has been fault less. A few other top providers that I know of are Zen and Nildram. Both offer cheap prices but also offer good support like Pipex. Don't be tempted by any of these ISPs that offer very cheap ADSL. One company that offered ADSL for £12.99 a month didn't get any people connected, some had been promised connections for months before the ISP said that they couldnt provide access to anyone. Stay with the big names of ISPs, like BT, Freeserve, Zen, Nildram and Pipex. BT and Freeserve are more expensive but they are big names and you know that your going to get connected, and if you have a problem you got some where to phone. Zen, Nildram and Pipex are also big but a few pounds cheaper. Stay away from AOL, as they didnt use to support XBox Live, whether they do now I dont know, but there crappy browser is not worth any extra money.

Whether you go the Router way or ICS(Internet Connection Sharing) is up to what equipment you want to buy, and what you get with your ADSL connection.

If you have just one computer in the house with at least 98SE then the ICS option may be the best route, if you dont mind your PC being on at the same time as you play on the XBox. A ICS needs a NIC(Network Card), and a USB modem or even a Internal Modem. If you get a USB modem as part of your ADSL package, then its probably best to go this route as otherwise the cost of the modem is wasted. A NIC is cheap, very cheap at £10, alot of new motherboards have them built in. You may already have a NIC. Also you need some Crossover CAT5 cable and thats cheap at a couple of quid for 10, 20 metres. ICS is the best method to use if you already have a USB modem or internal modem, and you dont mind having the computer on at the same time. Its also really easy to set up. Just plug in the cable to the NIC and XBox and switch noth the PC and the XBox on. You have to tick a few boxes on your internet connection to set it to use ICS but even a blind rabbit could do it.

A router is the option for you if you have 2 or more PCs wanting to use the connection as well as if you want to play the XBox with out the PC being on. A router is not normally given as an option when you get ADSL from a ISP. So if you want this option its best to try and buy a Wires only ADSL where you just get the ISP to set up your line for ADSL and give you the login details. You then have to buy your own hardware, but at least you dont waste money on a USB modem that you will never use. A router connects to a NIC in your computer and provides the connection. A router is usually powered by the mains and provides a always on connection, unlike a modem where you have to still dial in(even though it takes a second). If you have 2 or PCs then these can be attached to the router so that they all can have access to the internet whenever they like. Normally routers have 4 slots so that should be plenty. Routers are a little more complicated to set up than a standard USB modem, but not that hard if you know a bit about computers and different options for the internet and networking etc. Routers are more than modems, and you do need to make sure that you get a Router with a ADSL modem built in, as some do not have modems and will not work without a modem. If you dont mind the extra expensive, and have got a wires only ADSL install than this option may be best suited to you, especially if you have 2 or more computers or you want to use the XBox without the PC being on.

Hope this helps(It better because my fingers now hurt after all of this typing :-))

ÂLŠ†ÂÎR wrote:
> You can do what I am going to do then. Go to the other thread which I
> created about my problem its at the top of the list. Start at the
> beginning and read through all the posts and I think all you will need
> to know will be in there.

I have to wait until June 22nd Alastair, so I'll let you get up and running then speak to you about the set up.......is that ok?

Freeola are pretty cheap now...

They're gonna drop their monthly price to £26.99...

You get a domain and 25 meg webspace with them too...

I think the set-up fees are a bit expensive though...

scrapdealer wrote:
> robbo, I do have a PC but only need to share the broadband with the
> xbox.

yep this is done when u install ICS from the windows setup, it allows other PCs xboxs to connect to the modem using ur network.

OS win 98 SE, ME 2000, and XP (however unsure not tested)

i had to upgrade to win ME already had broadband and network card installed, ME didnt change anything, had to add ICS, it then steps through, which connection u want to share etc...

once re-booted plug ethernet cables in and away you go? Xbox Live takes a while to setup, to add ur name address billing details. once entered mine worked straight away, it detected setting automatically and worked.

scrapdealer wrote:
> robbo, I do have a PC but only need to share the broadband with the
> xbox.

You can do what I am going to do then. Go to the other thread which I created about my problem its at the top of the list. Start at the beginning and read through all the posts and I think all you will need to know will be in there.