Anyone have experience with Be/O2 internet?

Mark · 13-11-2008, 19:59

I'm thinking of switching internet providers. I can get a faster connection for the same (or less) pennies thanks to the wonders of LLU. I was originally considering O2, as the cheaper option, but my modem requires some exchange-side tweaking that only the Be people have experience with, so it'll have to be be them then.

However, since I rely heavily on my internet connection, I don't want to jump ship to a ****hole and end up with a broken connection and a contractual tie-in. I'm rather anal about my internet connection which is why I've stuck it out with PlusNet for so long even when they were giving everyone else a pile of hurt. I've had the odd bit of hurt myself recently too, which has helped make the decision.

That leads me to my question - anyone had any experience with them? Either customer service or actual service? Do download speeds match expectations or do they go to hell in the evenings?

Comments good, bad, or indifferent please - they'll all help.

loki · 13-11-2008, 20:06

I recently switched to O2/Be from VirginMedia. Not because Virgin were bad, it was just I went the Sky HD route so they wanted to put the price right up. Upto now the ADSL has been pretty rock solid. I am about 2.5-2.7km's away from the exchange and get around 5mbps downstream regardless of the time of day. No capping or traffic shaping. Occasionally O2/Be suffer with DNS issues but a change to Open DNS solves that problem

Service wise I have no complaints at all. Polite knowledgeable staff and for the three or four occasions I have had to use them, never really had to wait to be answered.

I may still have the email of a guy who works for O2 and is a regular at OcUK. For the upto 20mbps service, I get it for £7.50 a month on a friends and family rate.

My only gripe is that the O2 Wireless box gets pretty hot and if you play a lot of online games, the O2 firmware prevents you putting the router in the DMZ. Its basically a modded Thompson router. So either invest in Netgear or use your existing kit

Mark · 13-11-2008, 20:16

I know about the F&F deal and have been offered too, which is making the decision rather more complicated. As noted above due to the fact I need an INP tweak to get above 7.5mbps I'd need to go with Be.

Of course the problem with that is that I don't actually know if I can get above 7.5mbps anyway. I don't know if the fact I've already got 7.5mbps from my current ADSL line is any indication of what I'd get with ADSL2/ADSL2+.

divine · 13-11-2008, 20:24

I've been very impressed. I eventually got forcefully disconnected from Pipex (Tiscali) because they were a bunch of incompetent asshats who couldn't sort their billing department out.

O2 were fantastic from the get go, texting me regular updates on the status of my new connection, they text me before they take money so I can make sure I have the money etc.

Connection I find fantastic, I get 4-5Mbps on the 8Mb package, compared to the pitiful 1.5Mbps Pipex managed. They seem to have me on ADSL2+, which i'm not sure is normal for the 8Mb package or not but either way i'm very happy with the speed considering my line quality. Had one or two DNS issues but a simple 30 second switch to OpenDNS and all is well. Never noticed any slowdowns, they don't cap traffic or restrict anything .

I think general opinion is that O2/be* are probably about the best ISP around at the moment.

The O2 router firmware is a bit restrictive (assuming you use it, I did because it shat all over the belkin I was using before) in initial guise but I recall someone on here telling me how to get it into a power user mode which opens up a lot more options for fiddling.

NokkonWud · 13-11-2008, 21:15

I've only heard brilliant things about BeThere, to the tune of them being the best ISP in the country. I wouldn't worry

.

Mark · 13-11-2008, 21:22

I use my own DNS proxy pointed at OpenDNS anyway so I don't mind if their DNS servers do one (except when my own server does one, which isn't entirely unheard of - oops).

Sounds like Be is the way to go then. I'll give them a call/email/whatever tomorrow and ask about packages (I know what they've got, but I don't know which one I should select).

Daz · 13-11-2008, 21:40

They seemed pretty good when I looked into them

BT have started throttling us bad during peak times, starting to get on my tits. A shame really, because I was pretty happy with the service I was getting (second line, BT vision etc).

The 21CN RFS date is March next year, hopefully with some ADSL2 goodness they'll open the taps up a bit, though I guess it depends on how much bandwidth there is in the core. I'll have a moan in the mean time!

Mark · 13-11-2008, 21:48

My 21CN RFS is the same, but it's slipped once already and there's going to be a fair bit of congestion in the ordering process I'd imagine. As to whether it'll help, that depends where your congestion lies. If it's at the exchange end then maybe. I'm not sure where my recent congestion came from, but since PN have recently lit at least one new segment I can guess.

leowyatt · 13-11-2008, 23:13

Been with O2 since May and things have been great. Had some problems with our O2 box keep dropping the wireless connection and spoke to tech support who altered the snr and we lost a bit of speed but the box seems to be working fine. Having the super user account does help alot though

Mark · 13-11-2008, 23:18

I suppose I could use the O2 router and ditch my trusty Draytek, since that's the source of my problem with moving to O2, but I'm not sure I want to. I doubt many can claim 165 days uptime on their routers.

13-11-2008, 19:59	#1
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Anyone have experience with Be/O2 internet? I'm thinking of switching internet providers. I can get a faster connection for the same (or less) pennies thanks to the wonders of LLU. I was originally considering O2, as the cheaper option, but my modem requires some exchange-side tweaking that only the Be people have experience with, so it'll have to be be them then. However, since I rely heavily on my internet connection, I don't want to jump ship to a ****hole and end up with a broken connection and a contractual tie-in. I'm rather anal about my internet connection which is why I've stuck it out with PlusNet for so long even when they were giving everyone else a pile of hurt. I've had the odd bit of hurt myself recently too, which has helped make the decision. That leads me to my question - anyone had any experience with them? Either customer service or actual service? Do download speeds match expectations or do they go to hell in the evenings? Comments good, bad, or indifferent please - they'll all help.

13-11-2008, 20:06	#2
loki Vodka Martini Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 871	I recently switched to O2/Be from VirginMedia. Not because Virgin were bad, it was just I went the Sky HD route so they wanted to put the price right up. Upto now the ADSL has been pretty rock solid. I am about 2.5-2.7km's away from the exchange and get around 5mbps downstream regardless of the time of day. No capping or traffic shaping. Occasionally O2/Be suffer with DNS issues but a change to Open DNS solves that problem Service wise I have no complaints at all. Polite knowledgeable staff and for the three or four occasions I have had to use them, never really had to wait to be answered. I may still have the email of a guy who works for O2 and is a regular at OcUK. For the upto 20mbps service, I get it for £7.50 a month on a friends and family rate. My only gripe is that the O2 Wireless box gets pretty hot and if you play a lot of online games, the O2 firmware prevents you putting the router in the DMZ. Its basically a modded Thompson router. So either invest in Netgear or use your existing kit __________________ PC & Console LAN 9th-11th July

13-11-2008, 20:24	#4
divine Moonshine Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Southampton Posts: 3,201	I've been very impressed. I eventually got forcefully disconnected from Pipex (Tiscali) because they were a bunch of incompetent asshats who couldn't sort their billing department out. O2 were fantastic from the get go, texting me regular updates on the status of my new connection, they text me before they take money so I can make sure I have the money etc. Connection I find fantastic, I get 4-5Mbps on the 8Mb package, compared to the pitiful 1.5Mbps Pipex managed. They seem to have me on ADSL2+, which i'm not sure is normal for the 8Mb package or not but either way i'm very happy with the speed considering my line quality. Had one or two DNS issues but a simple 30 second switch to OpenDNS and all is well. Never noticed any slowdowns, they don't cap traffic or restrict anything . I think general opinion is that O2/be* are probably about the best ISP around at the moment. The O2 router firmware is a bit restrictive (assuming you use it, I did because it shat all over the belkin I was using before) in initial guise but I recall someone on here telling me how to get it into a power user mode which opens up a lot more options for fiddling. __________________

13-11-2008, 21:15	#5
NokkonWud BD Recruitment Officer Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Smogville Posts: 3,880	I've only heard brilliant things about BeThere, to the tune of them being the best ISP in the country. I wouldn't worry . __________________

13-11-2008, 21:40	#7
Daz The Stig Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Swad! Posts: 10,713	They seemed pretty good when I looked into them BT have started throttling us bad during peak times, starting to get on my tits. A shame really, because I was pretty happy with the service I was getting (second line, BT vision etc). The 21CN RFS date is March next year, hopefully with some ADSL2 goodness they'll open the taps up a bit, though I guess it depends on how much bandwidth there is in the core. I'll have a moan in the mean time! __________________ apt-get moo

13-11-2008, 20:16	#3
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	I know about the F&F deal and have been offered too, which is making the decision rather more complicated. As noted above due to the fact I need an INP tweak to get above 7.5mbps I'd need to go with Be. Of course the problem with that is that I don't actually know if I can get above 7.5mbps anyway. I don't know if the fact I've already got 7.5mbps from my current ADSL line is any indication of what I'd get with ADSL2/ADSL2+.

13-11-2008, 21:22	#6
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	I use my own DNS proxy pointed at OpenDNS anyway so I don't mind if their DNS servers do one (except when my own server does one, which isn't entirely unheard of - oops). Sounds like Be is the way to go then. I'll give them a call/email/whatever tomorrow and ask about packages (I know what they've got, but I don't know which one I should select).

13-11-2008, 21:48	#8
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	My 21CN RFS is the same, but it's slipped once already and there's going to be a fair bit of congestion in the ordering process I'd imagine. As to whether it'll help, that depends where your congestion lies. If it's at the exchange end then maybe. I'm not sure where my recent congestion came from, but since PN have recently lit at least one new segment I can guess.

13-11-2008, 23:13	#9
leowyatt Chef extraordinaire Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Infinite Loop Posts: 11,143	Been with O2 since May and things have been great. Had some problems with our O2 box keep dropping the wireless connection and spoke to tech support who altered the snr and we lost a bit of speed but the box seems to be working fine. Having the super user account does help alot though __________________ "Dr Sheldon Cooper FTW!"

13-11-2008, 23:18	#10
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	I suppose I could use the O2 router and ditch my trusty Draytek, since that's the source of my problem with moving to O2, but I'm not sure I want to. I doubt many can claim 165 days uptime on their routers.