We’ve surveyed over 8,000 Which? readers to
find out what they think of their ISP’s service and combined these
results with those of our ongoing performance tests to give you the
most comprehensive best buy guide ever. So you’ll not only be able to
choose a fast and reliable ISP, but one that offers great customer
service, too.
So far we've tested 48 dial-up services several thousand times each,
and we're continuing to test them all the time. Check the results of
our speed tests on pay-as-you-go and subscription ISPs. You can now
also compare ISPs for customer satisfaction thanks to the findings of
our extensive survey. Even if you're happy with your ISP's speed, you
might want to see how it compares with others and whether you could
save money by switching.
Alternatively, if you're tired of waiting for web pages to download and tying
your phone line up when you're surfing, it might be time to consider moving to broadband, which offers
faster internet access than dial-up internet access. The first step is to
find out which services are available in your area before choosing a provider.
Our beginners' guide tells you what's involved in switching to broadband and what to look for
in a broadband provider.
There are plenty of ISPs to choose from if
you’re not happy with the service you’re getting from your current
provider. But switching from one to another can be a hassle – you may
have to change your email address, for example – so it’s worth checking
out several ISPs before signing up.
Tariff
Think about how much, and when, you’re likely to use the internet.
If you don’t use the internet very often, a pay-as-you-go package might
suit you. You will pay local call rates for the time you are connected.
If you want to spend lots of time online, for a fixed monthly fee, you
can get a package offering unlimited access, or unlimited access at
certain times of the day.
Usage limits
Many subscription services now place usage limits on their services
to prevent people from staying online all of the time. These are often
around 150 hours per month, although some also apply daily limits.
Some ISPs charge less for services that are capped at a relatively low
usage allowance, such as 60 hours per month. Many ISPs also time out
after, say, 20 minutes of inactivity, or two hours of constant use.
This means you have to dial up again for a new connection when this
happens.
Performance
Waiting for web pages to download can be a constant frustration for
net surfers. There are several links in the chain that will affect the
speed of your internet connection, but much of it is down to your ISP.
Use the results of our regularly-updated performance tests of 48
dial-up services to see which are fastest. But, even with the best
dial-up ISP, you’ll face waits to download big files. To reduce these
you could consider upgrading to a broadband connection.
Customer Service
ISPs might offer a good deal and perform well, but that’s no
guarantee of good customers service. Take a look at the findings from
our customer satisfaction survey to find out which ISPs have the
happiest customers.
Compatibility
Finding an ISP whose service is compatible with your type computer
isn’t normally an issue. But if your computer has an early version of
Windows, or if it is an Apple Mac, it is worth checking that there
won’t be any problems. Cable customers will have a more limited choice
of services than BT customers, as many monthly subscription services
are only available via a BT phone line.
Email
A key reason for going online is, of course, to have email access. ISPs give
you an email address, normally ending in the name of the ISP. However, you may
want a number of email addresses if there are several people in your household,
or you may want different email addresses, say, for work and for personal
communication. Some ISPs give you only one email address, others unlimited addresses. If the ISP does
offer you several email addresses, it’s worth checking whether these have private logins and passwords. Usually
all the email addresses will share the same inbox.
Web page hosting
Most ISPs will give you some free web space, which means that you
can try your hand at designing your own web page, if you fancy it. The
amount of free space offered varies from ISP to ISP: some offer as
little as 10Mb; others as much as 250Mb. Once you use up your free web
space you’ll usually have to pay for more. If you’re planning to
develop your own site extensively, it may be cheaper to use an
independent web hosting service.
Support services
If you’re new to the internet, or simply not very confident about
using a computer, it’s likely that you’ll need help at some point.
Depending on how much you need, and your ISP, this can prove costly.
ISPs’ technical support lines are occasionally free, but many are
charged at premium rates – 50p or even £1 a minute. Some ISPs have FAQ
and technical support pages on their websites, which can provide
answers and avoid a pricey call. Many supply free email support, which
is great as long as you aren’t having difficulties connecting to the
internet in the first place.
We’ll help you choose a speedy and reliable ISP that offers good customer service
too.
We test each service more than 1,000 times each month, to be sure that our results
are accurate and reliable. We’ve also surveyed more than 8,000 Which? readers to find the ISPs that deliver
in terms of service, too.
Our Best Buys have to meet four key criteria:
• above-average speeds for downloading files at all times of day
• at least average upload speeds across the day
• a minimal number of dial-up errors and dropped connections
• at least average numbers of customers who are very satisfied overall (for
ISPs featuring in our survey results).
Most of the big name ISPs fall down on this last factor.
Pay-as-you-go services
If you don’t spend much time online (jump to unmetered services if you do), use a pay-as-you-go service. Access will be charged at your
phone company’s local rates.
As a general rule, if you’re not an experienced computer user,
choose a service that doesn’t charge premium rates for calling the
helpline.
To see how the Best Buys compare with other ISPs for download speeds, take
a look at our bar chart. You can also compare satisfaction with ISPs featured in our survey by
clicking here.
Firenet’s Pay As You Go service has been a best buy since we
started testing last July and offers unlimited emails and web space.
However, it’s a no-go if you have a cable phone line, because you can
access it only via a BT line.
Freehighway’s Pay As You Go service is another veteran best buy
from the beginning of our tests. It offers only one email address, so
it isn’t ideal if you sharing your connection with more than one person.
NDO’s HomeDial service offers speedy access and gives unlimited email addresses and 20Mb of web space.
Tesco’s Pay As You Go service is a best buy for the first time. It provides good all-round performance,
five email accounts and 15 Mb web space, but calls to its technical helpline
are pricey at 50p a minute. Dialling up costs 3p a minute during the daytime, and 1p a minute
at evening and weekends.
Unmetered services
If you surf regularly, choose a package that, for a flat monthly fee, gives
you unlimited access, or unlimited access at certain times of the day.
It’s worth noting that many subscription services now place limits on access.
These are often around 150 hours a month, though some ISPs also apply daily
limits.
Some ISPs charge less for services that are capped at a relatively low usage
allowance, such as 60 hours per month.
To see how the Best Buys compare with other ISPs, take a look at our
bar chart and compare satisfaction with ISPs featured in our survey by
clicking here.
Firenet’s LitePlus package has been a best buy since our tests
started in July 2003. At £12.99 a month, it's good value, though you
are limited to 80 hours online each month. The service includes
unlimited email addresses and unlimited free web space, so it’s ideal
if you want to try your hand at web design.
Supanet's Supahighway service is another best buy dating from the beginning of our tests last
July. It costs £13.49 a month, and places no limit on how long you can spend online. It
also provides six email accounts and 20Mb of free web space. On the downside,
it has a minimum contract of 12 months and charges £1 a minute for its telephone helpline.
How can I switch ISPs?
Most pay-as-you-go services don’t have a minimum contract term, so
you can simply stop using them and start using another one when you
like. You should be able to install more than one service on your
computer (see ‘Is it possible to use more than one ISP?’), but you
might want to delete the settings of the ISPs you don’t intend to use
again to clear space on your hard drive. Some subscription ISPs have a
minimum contract term from one to 12 months, so you’ll be committed to
paying for the service for that period and free to switch to another
service once it’s up.
Is it possible to use more than one ISP?
Installing more than one ISP is worthwhile if you want to switch to
another ISP when the one you’re using is busy or slow. It shouldn’t be
a problem to do this, as Microsoft Windows Dial-Up Networking (the
software that allows you to install an ISP) should be able to cope with
more than one. Problems are only likely to occur with a specialist ISP
that doesn’t use dial-up networking, such as AOL. But bear in mind that
because some ISPs allow you to access your email account only when
you’ve dialled into their service, you may not be able to access your
email account with one ISP via another. If this causes problems,
contact either of your ISPs’ helpline.
My ISP has increased its charges – are they allowed to do this?
Most contracts allow ISPs to increase prices, although there’s often
a clause to say they have to let you know in advance. If you think your
ISP is in breach of contract, complain to it directly and contact your
local trading standards. If you’re not satisfied with the response, you
may be able to take the matter to the telecommunications ombudsman
(otelo), or theInternet Service Providers Association (ISPA), if your
ISP is a member. However, if they haven’t broken the terms of their
contract, your only option is to vote with your feet, and switch to a
different ISP.
How can I find out more about the unique content that different ISPs offer?
The ISP will provide this information on its public website. Very few ISPs
offer unique content, although AOL is an example of an ISP that does.
I’ve been told that I can’t get broadband because my telephone exchange hasn’t been set up for it. What can I do?
You may be able to get broadband via cable, if you live in an area that has
cable. Alternatively, you could use satellite broadband.
BT runs a web-based registration scheme for people who can’t get
ADSL, but would like it. It has set trigger levels of users for some of
its exchanges. When enough users register their interest, it converts
the exchange. Visit http://www.bt.com/broadband to find out what’s
happening in your area.
What are the ‘contention ratios’ I see mentioned in information about broadband providers?
The contention ratio is the maximum number of people an ISP will
allow to share a connection at the same time. The higher the contention
ratio, the more the number of people that could be connected – and the
slower your download speeds. Residential services are most commonly
capped at 50:1, which means that you’ll never share a connection with
more than 50 other people.
Is all the hype about the benefits of broadband true?
The speeds quoted by ISPs offering broadband connections are maximum speeds,
and will be affected by the number of people using the same connection at
the same time. At the moment services offer download speeds of up to 2 megabits per
second (Mbps), but you’re unlikely to experience that speed in reality. Many broadband providers
offer an unmetered service, but some providers might limit the amount of
internet data you can download. You can use broadband for streamed video and online
gaming, but many of us will continue using the internet as we do now, just
surf more quickly.
What should I do to protect myself from computer viruses?
The biggest risk of being online comes from files that you download, which could contain computer viruses.
So it’s really important that you protect yourself from these threats by installing
anti-virus software on your computer and making sure you update it regularly.
You should also look for an ISP that offers security features, such as spam filters. Find
out more about online security here.
How did you decide which ISPs to test?
We’ve chosen a selection of both subscription and pay-as-you-go dial-up services
to test. We’ve included all of the big name ISPs as well as a range of smaller services
to see how they compare.
How do your tests work?
We’ve designed our own software to test ISPs in a way that replicates real-life
usage as much as possible. Our software dials up 15 preselected global websites
using each ISP and measures how long it takes to download a pre-nominated
file from each of them. We also measure the time taken to upload a file to the internet and
record any difficulty accessing the service or dropped connections once online.
We testeach service over a thousand times each month, so that we can be sure that our results are accurate and reliable.
Which ISPs offer good customer service?
Our performance tests only measure speed and reliability, which is
why we’ve surveyed more than 8,000 Which? readers to find out what they
think of the customer service provided by their ISPs. So, now we can
tell you which ISPs will bill you accurately or answer your queries
swiftly and helpfully.
Why haven’t you tested broadband services?
As part of our performance tests we tested two broadband services,
BT Openworld Broadband and Telewest Blueyonder 512Kbps, to provide a
benchmark for the dial-up services. As expected, both services were
about 10 times faster than the dial-up ISPs, although at about 340Kbps
this is still a fair bit slower than the maximum speeds quoted by each
ISP. Using a broadband service to download a 750Kb file would take
just 20 seconds, as opposed to around 3 minutes via a dial-up
connection. At these speeds differences between individual ISPs are
likely to be undetectable to the end user. This means that other
aspects of service, such as the quality of technical support, are more
important. Most ISPs featured in our customer satisfaction survey
also offer broadband, so take a look at the results to see which are
the Which? readers’ favourites.
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