Tiscali Broadband Plus

[Chandler]

I've been looking for a fast broadband provider for university.  Initially I tried NTL cable, but unfortunately their incompetance let them down, and my friends have it and are unimpressed.

So, I looked to ADSL.  Having been with Tiscali on 56K for the past 2 years I decided to give them a shot.  You need to have a BT phone line installed, and after that, simply enter your phone number in Tiscali's web site, given them your direct debit details and within 15 days a small box is delivered to you.  (it only took just over a week for me).

I signed up for the faster 512kbps speed, but they have a cheaper 256kbps package and a budget 128kbps for only ?1 a month more than their 56K package!  This is truly great value for money, especially given the free modem and free connection (the free connection only applies to the highest speed package, for others there's a ?25 admin fee)

The free modem is a USB Sagem F@st 800 which doesn't even need a separate power supply.  They recommend a 400MHz processor for Windows XP, but only 166MHz for Windows 98.  There is absolutely no noticeable CPU usage while it is in use anyway.

Speeds are good, I consistenly get around 540kbps (as reported by the modem itself).  Setup couldn't be any simpler either, plug the filter into your phone socket.  Plug the cable from the filter to the modem, plug an A-B USB cable from the computer to the modem.  There is no waiting to dial up either, it's nearly instant.  You can even use your phone while you're on the internet with no drop in speed either.  The drivers installed without a hitch and even put a utility in the system tray to give information on the connection.

All in all, Tiscali have done an excellent job with their broadband package and I'd recommend it to anyone.

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