How many days/weeks to get broadband?

[koster]

BT take 5 days to set up broadband, Tesco take 3 weeks and TalkTalk take 15-20 days.

Is there a broadband provider who can set it up as quickly as BT?

Do all broadband providers make you sign up for 12 months?

[mattfox]

I believe that BT could (if they were allowed) provide broadband the same day, but Ofcom imposes rules that means they have to wait a minimum amount of 5 working days (7 calendar days) to allow all companies a fair chance, otherwise everyone would go to BT (as it is, BT Broadband is "separate" to BT itself ... BT Wholesale provide it to BT Broadband, Tiscali, Virgin, AOL etc equally).

Not all companies charge a 12 month contract. I think Virgin let you cancel at any time, although there is a disconnection charge (�50, I think ...)

[MrLudwig]

Most ADSL broadband lines are provided by BT no matter which ISP you choose (unless you are connected to a Local Loop Unbundled telephone exchange). So activating your broadband service will nearly always be subject to the BT 5 day lead time. Seems odd that Tesco and TalkTalk take so long!

Zen Internet (www.zen.co.uk) will activate your service as soon as BT sort out the line, and they offer a 1 month contract.

I think Pipex also offer a 1 month contract as well.

[lady_p_gold]

Whenever anyone asks about BT I always have to chime in because I have had such incredible service from them, in three different counties over the last four years I have only ever been off line for about an hour and even then they actually called me the next day to see if it was ok ...

[ceebee007]

There are no 12 month contracts with Virgin. Try the following for more details:

http://www.virgin.net/broadband/

[koster]

Thanks for the replies!

Virgin look good, at �17.99 for their 6GB option compared with BT at �20.99. At 7 to 10 days they are faster than Tesco and TalkTalk but not as fast as BT.

The "no 12 month contract" claim doesn't mean so much when you read their small print "While we don�t tie you into a 12 month contact (unlike most broadband providers), we do reserve the right to apply a �50 cancellation charge if your service is cancelled within 12 months of activation. Unfortunately, this charge is necessary due to the cost of activating your broadband service."

Why do they list "Google Web search" as a perk? Of course the Google search engine is free.

Zen are the same price - �17.99 - with the advantage that there are no download limits. They don't have a 12 month contract but they charge �47 for activation, so pretty similar to Virgin's �50.

I found a good comparison chart at http://www.e4s.co.uk/docs/broadband-comparison-chart.htm. I'll investigate Bulldog.

[gina32]

dont use talktalk the service is abysmal ive been waiting since may13 and can never get a proper response from them i give all the info and wait only to be told they have no record of my calls!