Freeserve ADSL is it worth it?
I've had Freeserve ADSL for just about a year now, give or take a few days, and would thoroughly recommend it if you are considering the ADSL route. Here's my tale...
The quest for a "permanently-connected, all-inclusive, makes-the-tea-for-you" ISP began the summer before. My friend had introduced me to 24-7freecall who charged £24.99 for a so-called unlimited connection to the internet, or words to that effect. As I often spent virtually every waking hour uploading some web site or another, surfing or chatting, that was quite a lot of time every week. Unfortunately, they decided to remove my access in the November as they considered I was in breach of their Acceptable Use Policy. I wasn't the only unhappy customer, and was involved in a lengthy exchange with them about the fact I'd had no notice and therefore not meeting their terms of our contract. Anyway, I digress, and will write the details of that another time!
My friend (yes, the one who recommended that...) had just signed up to the BT Home Highway service, as he did the same kind of work, including lots of file uploads and transfers for his home business. We sat down over a cuppa and worked out the costs. The thing about Home Highway, which is virtually ISDN, is that yes you got better download times, but only if you used both "legs" of the connection therefore incurring effectively two call charges. On top of the BT cost you still had to pay your ISP - in his case Claranet.
We then did a direct comparison with what BT Openworld would cost. The biggest turn-off with ADSL is the initial survey cost you have to pay the company, so we took that cost into account and did a comparison over the course of a year. Initial costings showed that I would be paying the £150 installation plus £39.99 a month, but would achieve much greater surfing and download speeds. I weighed up the options carefully, and if you are considering ADSL you need to look at what you want to do with it...
ADSL is ideal for: quick downloads, eg music and program files; if you want to host your own site (you may want to consider the higher-end packages or a dedicated line rather than the home packages); if you want an always-on solution; it frees up your normal phone line so you're not relying on BT 1571 or mobiles!
On the other hand: it doesn't always download normal web pages that much faster than an average modem; it still relies on the speed of your PC to a great extent; it is much costlier when compared with say the normal Freeserve anytime package; the installation cost can be prohibitive; for traditional ADSL you have to live a certain distance from the exchange.
So taking all that into account... I decided that ADSL was for me, and contacted BT with high hopes of a quick installation and super-surfing speed... But, alas, it was not to be.
Having checked on their site that my phone exchange was equipped to handle ADSL, much to the envy of my friend who's wasn't, I then had to register. They then came back to me to say thank you for registering my interest but although the exchange would take it, they would not be able to install in my area until the following year, if not longer. I registered my email address and sat to wait.
It's a good job I didn't wait for a response from them, as I didn't hear from them until late last year, some nine months after I'd already started using Freeserve! As you can probably guess, I started shopping around. I was pointed to some very informative and VERY technical sites giving different options, and checked out local magazines (I know - if only I'd used Dooyoo!). I eventually decided to go with Freeserve. Their prices were identical to BT, they were a very well known name in ISPs that several of my friends already used. Further, their customer service and technical staff knew what they were talking about and were always friendly and helpful.
I did a line check thanks to a BT Engineer friend. Although I can see the exchange from my back window (if I lean out on tiptoes - it's the other side of some nearby houses), I was advised that lines to exchanges sometimes go by very funny routes. It appeared that my line was indeed only 0.2 miles from the exchange, so I contacted Freeserve, parted with my refundable deposit and waited.
A couple of days later I was advised by email that my line had failed the test! I was incandescent with rage - I had worked myself up to get this ADSL and I wasn't going to be tripped up at the last fence! I phoned them and asked why, and you guessed was told I probably live too far away from the exchange. Well I kept my cool, but did explain that I had performed my own line test and lived close enough. They then said that it could be due to noise on the line. Back to the internet newsgroups for advice.
I was advised that there were things that could be done to sort the noise out, so I rang Freeserve to see if they could do anything about it. They went away, tinkered a bit with the line, came back and said I'd passed the test! Hurrah! Bye bye £150...
We set a date, and low and behold at 8am on the morning we agreed a few days later, a very helpful BT engineer turned up on my doorstep. All in all order to installation had taken three weeks, as I couldn't get the time off for an earlier appointment.
I'd not given much thought about where to put it. The main box replaces your standard BT one and has an outlet for your normal phone handset. I'd thought about having an extension lead upstairs and mentioned this to the engineer, who very kindly provided all the cables and boxes I would need. Had I actually decided where I wanted the extensions put in, he would have done them for free. He explained that he had been allocated two installations that morning, and given that mine had gone so smoothly he would have had time. They're not supposed to offer extras without charging the industry rate, but if they have time you may be lucky. Just ensure you have an idea where you want them to go!
Having tested the connection he stayed until I'd loaded the modem onto my PC. They don't do that for you, but will stay to ensure it all works OK, just in case. I was given the Alcatel USB "stingray" which is quite nice but it's a bit of an awkward shape and I could do with a longer lead from it to the PC. The instructions I'd received from Freeserve the week before were very comprehensive and easy to understand, even for non-techies. One thing it hadn't pointed to, which I felt was a pity, was a pointer to the Alcatel website to download the latest driver for the stingray. There had apparently been some operational problems with the previous version.
And so I had my ADSL connection. I'm fortunate because there are only two of us connected to ADSL in the exchange which means I always get good download times. I'm not sure how well it would work if the rack was full (as far as I recall, it's a 1 in 50 ratio on each rack).
The service has served me well over the last year. It's generally very quick, although their web caching can be a little unreliable at times. At the times I've wanted to use the connection it's only failed to work twice in that time. Once was when there was a big BT outage in the region which affected it (I couldn't even connect via my trusty old 56kbps modem) and the other a couple of weeks ago. Shame, I had to resort to vacuuming instead!
Their customer services can be very helpful, as I have already mentioned. Like most companies, though, trying to contact them via email can be very daunting as you inevitably email the wrong department and it can be days or weeks before it filters through to the right one! It's a national call rate but I prefer speaking to someone, but that's just a personal choice. They were very helpful in helping me set up my account to access the ADSL service and email, and they let me pick whichever username I wanted (which, incidentally I related to my business).
I must admit that I don't really use the Internet nearly anywhere as much as I used to. I still enjoy the convenience of much faster downloads and it doesn't matter if I leave it connected to the internet all evening. There are grand plans afoot to have a permanent connection up and running when (if?!) we ever build our server, but I spend too much time surfing and, erm, writing opinions!
Some other things that I probably should mention about ADSL... If you are using any sort of alarm system, Redcare etc, that sends a pulse down your phone line, you won't be able to get ADSL. You can connect to Home Highway though (further details of the why's and wherefores are probably better explained by BT at www.bt.com).
Also, when signing up to any company selling ADSL you will have to sign a minimum contract - this is usually a year. Read the small print very carefully about what it will cost you if you pull out of the contract early. If I wanted to cancel the contract before now, I would have been liable to pay them the remaining rental costs for the remainder of the year. It's non-transferable if you move home, and if you do you have to go through the survey and installation thing again. Even if you've moved into somewhere where they had ADSL previously. Daft, I know, but I don't make up the rules.
Oh yeh, about the stingray... A bit like Sky TV, your monthly charge covers the rental of this. Unlike Sky, after 12 months you are still renting that equipment, and should you terminate their contract they'll turn up to take it away. If you are going to another ADSL provider they'll provide you with one of their modems (not necessarily the stingray) once you've paid your deposit, installation fee etc. See how expensive it is to chop and change? If you're going down this route you really need to decide 100% in advance:
(a) which ISP you are signing up with;
(b) which service you are taking from them;
(c) that you aren't going to move in the near future;
(d) that you are happy with their terms and conditions.
The ADSL service does still have an AUP, though it's on different lines to the standard one. It is less concerned with the time you have on-line (obviously) and concentrates more on WHAT you can and can't access while on-line.
If you are considering ADSL, I would definitely recommend using Freeserve, although you should always shop around beforehand. I should, perhaps, point out that I'm not in a Telewest area and when I asked at the time I would be unable to get their service which they were talking about introducing. I can't say for sure whether they would have been a contender, as I only really had the choice between ADSL and ISDN. I wouldn't swap this for the world, now. Although I wouldn't quibble if they offered me a reduced rate now I've passed my 12 months' minimum connection...!
Reproduced with the permission of Dooyoo UK Ltd