Wireless Router

[-mermaid-]

Hello,

Currently I have broadband from tiscali which is just connected to one computer via the little modem and cable. Am now wanting to get wireless in the house to use on my laptop. I don't really have a clue about routers, do I need to purchase a tiscali one or will any router work with any ISP? How would it connect in comparison to my current set up?

Also a recommendation of a reasonably priced, half decent router would be helpful. I don't need anything top of the range, just enough to support watching films/downloading music and the like. Looking to spend under £40.

Any help greatly appreciated, thanks.

[VHG]

Contact Tiscali to see if they will give you a router for free (some ISPs do).

If not basically any ADSL router will do (except one that is used for CABLE companies like Virgin). You cannot buy a Tiscali router, so any decent router brand will do.

The router will replace your existing modem as the router has a modem inside.

If Tiscali supply a router it should come with a set up disk included.

I searched the web and it seems Tiscali have now been taken over by Talk Talk so you probably need to ring them to see if you can get a free router.

[VHG]

This page here (see below) says Talk Talk do supply a free router (either a G one for "essential" customers, or an N one - slightly better - for "plus" customers).

You may need to sign up for another year to get one

http://broadband.talk...uk/products/broadband

[Buenchico]

Any router should work but, because it's the router which connects to the internet (and not your PC which does so), it would make sense to get a well-known make. That's because you'll need to get the information from Tiscali (either online or over the phone) telling you how to set it up; that could prove difficult if you get a router they've never heard of.

You state that you don't need anything which is 'top of the range' but you then refer to watching movies. Video streaming requires higher broadband speeds, with greater reliability, than almost any other use of the internet. Many people would suggest that you should buy an 'N' rated router for video streaming; the problem is that they tend to be rather pricey. In practice, as long as you're getting good broadband speeds through your phone line, a 'G' router should do the job.

Belkin routers are well-known. (So every ISP should be able to tell you how to set one up). They're also cheap at Tesco. This is what I use:
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.204-9902.aspx

Chris

[-mermaid-]

Thanks for the help so far, think I may have to phone talk talk to resolve a few more issues I have come across whilst simply trying to get a router!

Technically I think I'm a 'plus' customer as I pay £14.99 a month, however I'm still down as receiving a package called 'Tiscali Max', which I guess is the old tiscali equivalent. So I think I may have to transfer over to the talk talk package to be eligible for the free router and also to get new talk talk log in details as their website is extremely unhelpful if you are a tiscali customer- my login details don't appear to be valid anywhere! Also when I managed to email support I had to enter my talk talk (well, tiscali for me) email address which I don't have access to as it's apparently invalid on the webmail log in?! So I've left another contact e-mail address in the message, fingers crossed they get back to that... if not I guess I'll just have to chase them up!

Thanks again for help!