Bulldog any good?

[ChrisO182]

Currently i`m with plusnet for my adsl with a 1meg connection and unlimited downloads for £21 a month, now i`ve just looked at Bulldog and they can do me 2meg connection for £19.50 a month unlimited, are they any good and what are my other options? Also Whats a static IP address?
Thanks

 

[Griff]

Connection - Good

Company - Worst company I've ever dealt with in my life (they were on Watchdog remember)


An IP address is the address of your PC/Router/Hub/Switch (bit like a phone number). Dynamic IP's mean it can change from one minute/hour/day to the next whereas static IP's stay the same.

(over simplified)

 

[ChrisO182]

Over simplified enough for me to understand
Could you please suggest any others i can try, thanks.

 

[Griff]

http://www.ukonline.net/

2mb LLU with them is £14 I think but obviously depends where you live. "mb IPStream is £19 iirc.

 

[wozzaa]

been using bulldog a while not had any problems as of yet. and its bloody fast needed something quicker than most connections since 2 of us share it and its in use by us both constantly.

 

[ChrisO182]

24.99 for 2mb because they would have to use the BT line or something

 

[ChrisO182]

How do i know if i have a static or dynamic ip adress?

 

[wozzaa]

with most adsl you have to specify you want a static IP address with cable you usually get a static address. but basically if you go to the start bar and click run

then type

ipconfig

look at the IP number will say what your ip is it then when you sign on an off again do it again and see if the number changes if it chages its dynamic if its the same its static. for most users it wont matter if you dont know what it is you dont need a static ip.

 

[ChrisO182]

ahh, just checked my plusnet account, i have a static ip.

 

[ChrisO182]

It`s just something to do with a torrent site i use, nothing serious.

 

[Mike@Rentech]

http://www.ukonline.net/broadband/broadband22Mb.php
22meg !!!

 

[Max172cup]

Just been looking into Bulldog myself. I used to work for Energis but have been taken over by Cable and Wireless who own Bulldog.

Anhow, through staff offers, i can get 8meg unlimited download, with 48k upload for £20 a month, with a £1 install fee and 1 month contract. Think even if they have crap customer service that is too good a deal to pass up on.

 

[Griff]

Like I said earlier the connection with Bulldog was fine but people are still getting loads of billing errors. I was overcharged 3 months in a row and it's when they owe you money that the "crap customer service" really becomes a problem.

I left months ago and I'm still getting bills from Bulldog!?!?

 

[martynh]

I like all these ISPs saying "up to" when they advertise the big conenction speeds.

 

[Griff]

I like all these ISPs saying "up to" when they advertise the big conenction speeds.

They have too.. Not the ISP's fault if your phone line is in a poor state or the line length is too long to support a higher speed.

 

[McBunny]

my plusnet line is still slow as s**t

managed to run the btspeed tester the other day it was saying 1.3mbps

the plusnet speedtester has given me speeds as low as 674kbps

 

[martynh]

They have too.. Not the ISP's fault if your phone line is in a poor state or the line length is too long to support a higher speed.

Not so that when loads of users are connected they don;t get sompaints when the speed drops?

Surely when they ask for your postcode and other details when you sign up they're able to figure out if you can access the higher speeds?

 

[Griff]

A postcode can only give the ISP a rough idea of where you live.

That's no indicator of how long the actual line is (phone lines follow roads not a straight line), if there's any aluminium used anywhere along the line, the quality of the line etc...

 

[McBunny]

griff is there anything i can do with plusnet as they basically say anything over a connection of 400k is ok on a 2mb line

 

[Griff]

McBunny run a speed test over at Adslguide.org.uk now and another one at about 10pm tonight (if you're in) and then I'll try and help you.

 

[McBunny]

not a worry will try tonight at 10

thanks for this
soon i can see me just telling them to stick it

 

[wozzaa]

if your on 2mbit and your only getting 400kb no thats not right you can tell them to charge you for a 512kb service until they sort it out. It all depends where you live though. my line is pretty much perfect where i live and also live right in city centre so near one of the main exchanges.

So in that case i would expect close to my 8mbit living a few miles out i wouldnt. But if your line isnt achieving even 512kb/s speeds then no they can not say that is right for a 2mbit line.

 

[Griff]

But if your line isnt achieving even 512kb/s speeds then no they can not say that is right for a 2mbit line.

His LINE is fine and it's acheiving the correct speeds when using BT Wholesale IPStream test/login. It's Plus.Net that are causing the problem.

BT Wholesale have a very open and have a generic policy on tolerances hence the reply Plus.Net have already given him.

McBunny PM me with the speed test results later/tomorrow.

 

[aaronc]

As Griff says, WORST COMPANY TO DEAL WITH EVER.

Luckily we had a back up DSL line to cover the downtime.

They also fooked up our phone lines for 2 weeks.

Personally i'd stay well clear.