New to all this

[lynn]

I have just moved house and need to set up phone/internet provider. I thought I might try some kind of cable/sky package as well.

But I have never bought anything like this before and am a bit lost.

I spoke to NTL and they offered me the 3 for £30 package - is this good value?
What is 1mb broadband is that quick enough just for checking e-mails and surfing the net? What about the tv package. Is it any good? There seem to be loads of posts complaining about the tv service.

Also, what are the alternatives? Do any other companies offer a package of all three?

Cheers xxx

to Cable Forum, Lynn.

You will get as many opinions as we have members, so read them all carefully but make your own decision when you're done!

My personal experience of NTL is that when it works it is superb, but when it breaks down your experience with Customer Services can be frustrating (long telephone queues, far too many CSRs who don't seem to know how to process your problem or forward you to the right person if necessary).

There are not as many TV channels on NTL as on $ky, but don't let numbers fool you - almost all the extra satellite channels are utter dross, shopping and gaming channels you will never watch. All the channels you have heard of are on NTL.

NTL is introducing Video On Demand, so you can watch pay-per-view films and other selected TV shows when you want, not just at start times selected by the service provider, as with Sky.

NTL's biggest weaknesses are:

1. Its red button interactive service. It is slow and prone to crash the set-top box and links to interactive services don't even exist for many channels. Sky's is far cleaner, faster and more reliable.

2. The fact that you can't get cable TV without them forcing you to take a phone line, which you pay about £10 a month for. NTL phone lines don't allow you to access most alternative service providers, which is a blow as unless you use your phone very little indeed, almost every other service provider will save you money. You need a BT line to access those services and some people end up with a BT line (another £10.50 a month) in order to get the telephone service they want, but with another NTL phone line that they are paying for but not using.

That said, I am not a heavy phone user and I just stuck with the NTL line.

Cable Broadband internet is the best thing about NTL. It is faster and more reliable than ADSL in my experience. You will find 1MB more than adequate for web browsing and email.

Overall, I was happy with NTL. I had phone, TV and internet with them and rarely had any trouble. On the couple of occasions it went wrong I had lengthy waits on the phone to talk to someone but the problems were always swiftly resolved once I got through.

[Stuart]

to CableForum..

I personally have NTL (have had cable since about 1998, when my providor was still Cable & Wireless), but have been very happy with it, generally.

I think NTL's deal is quite good value for money (although it may look expensive compared to sky, bear in mind you get a phone line too).

I have to admit, I am not sure what's in the base pack at the moment, as I have everything apart from the premium channels & sky movies, but from what I have been told, NTL's base pack is better than Sky's. You should also find that at some point in the future, you will get tru Video on demand. This means that whenever you want to see a programme, you can bring up a menu, select it, and watch it. For example, if you wanted to see The Simpsons, but were out when it was on, and forgot to set the video, you would be able to watch it (note: I don't know if the simpsons is on VOD).

As to whether the 1 Meg is enough, well, it is certainly fast enough for web browsing, and email. The only slight hitch is that you are limited to downloading 3 Gig (3,000 Meg) a month. This will be fine for basic browsing and email, but if you start to download lots of large files (such as video, or games), it could become a problem.

As most of your questions relate to NTL services, I have moved this into the 'general NTL discussion' forum.

[Nemesis]

Lynn,

Firstly to Cable Forum.

Originally Posted by lyn

I have just moved house and need to set up phone/internet provider. I thought I might try some kind of cable/sky package as well.

Well I hope you are enjoying your new home.

Originally Posted by lyn

But I have never bought anything like this before and am a bit lost.

I spoke to NTL and they offered me the 3 for £30 package - is this good value?
What is 1mb broadband is that quick enough just for checking e-mails and surfing the net? What about the tv package. Is it any good?

Also, what are the alternatives? Do any other companies offer a package of all three?

Cheers xxx

NTL will be able to supply you TV, Telephone and Internet, but ultimately the choice is yours as to what you choose to do. Generally you have a few choices.

• NTL, assuming you can get this in your area, who can supply your TV, Telephone and Internet.
• Telewest, as above, but different areas.
• Freeview, TV only, cheap digital option.
• Sky, TV Only, more expensive digital option.
• BT, phoneline
• Independent ISP for Internet.

1 Meg is now the entry level speed supplied by most ADSL and Cable companies, and would be sufficient for what you ask.
As for the TV, ntl & Telewest carry roughly the same channels as Sky, and all offer different package types to suit your needs. Freeview is the exception, as you get what you get.

The 3 for £30 you mention is a deal that ntl are currently doing, so i would check how long this would be the case for i.e, 6 or 12 months. Shop around, see what is available to you.

Originally Posted by lyn

There seem to be loads of posts complaining about the tv service.

I took this quote out separately, as I'm assuming you are commenting on the posts made on Cable Forum. If this is the case, then you need to be aware that this site was created as a place for people to moan and vent. It is not necessarily representative of how good the actual service is as a whole.

If you have any further questions, please ask.

[zovat]

Originally Posted by lynn

I have just moved house and need to set up phone/internet provider. I thought I might try some kind of cable/sky package as well.

But I have never bought anything like this before and am a bit lost.

I spoke to NTL and they offered me the 3 for £30 package - is this good value?
What is 1mb broadband is that quick enough just for checking e-mails and surfing the net? What about the tv package. Is it any good? There seem to be loads of posts complaining about the tv service.

Also, what are the alternatives? Do any other companies offer a package of all three?

Cheers xxx

NTL BB is pretty reliable, and TBH there are no other companies that offer all three services (unless you count Telewest - but they are never in the same regions).

1M will be more than enough for mail/surfing, and even for gaming.

The value is pretty good, if you went with say BT/Sky you would pay £10pm for the phone + $15pm for the BB, plus £13.50 for their "value pack" (the lowest package they do) = £38.50p m.

Personally I have NTL for phone/BB and Sky for TV, but NTL TV is a lot better than it was when I moved to Sky..

[Angua]

Hi Lynn

I think Chris has summed things up nicely and he has had the use of both options, so knows the drawbacks and benefits of both. If you are into surfing and e-mailing more than watching TV then NTL is good value. If you chat on the phone a lot then there are cheaper phone services out there. If you like to watch TV most then Sky might well be better. Work out what your priorities are and go from there!
Good luck and to the site.

[Jules]

First of all to the site


I have been with NTL for years and have BB/telephone/ and TV with them and I am happy with the service I get and the value for money, it is a case of each to there own I guess lots of people swear by Sky but I had nothing but trouble with them once they went digital and as for BT...well the less said about that the better

Any way good luck with what ever you decide on

[lynn]

THANKYOU!

I didn't expect such a fast and extensive reply. I am going to have a think about it over the weekend and will let you know what I decide!

And, I suppose if I do end up having problems with my service I can always come here and have a good old moan about it!

Thanks very much
Lynn xxx

[fudge]

lynn , another thing to think about too is ntl repairs are free . with sky you have to pay as you own the sky box.

[Jules]

Good point Fudge

[Nemesis]

True, and this also leads on to initial outlay of funds ....

Originally Posted by lynn

THANKYOU!

I didn't expect such a fast and extensive reply. I am going to have a think about it over the weekend and will let you know what I decide!

And, I suppose if I do end up having problems with my service I can always come here and have a good old moan about it!

Thanks very much
Lynn xxx

You know you'll find a receptive ear here.

[Gareth]

Originally Posted by fudge

lynn , another thing to think about too is ntl repairs are free . with sky you have to pay as you own the sky box.

Only partly true... should the Sky box fail within the first 12 months, then Sky will replace/repair it free of charge. You would only incur any fee should the digibox fail outside of this 12-month period. Also, the reason Sky would charge you for any faults is because the digibox is yours to keep after that initial period.

Saying that, I know people that have spoken to Sky about a fault with their satellite receiver outside the 12-month period, and Sky have fixed the problem free-of-charge. So, this charge is not necessarily set in stone. If you know how to handle yourself, you can get away with a lot
__________________

Incidentally, just for the record, I made the switch to Sky for tv service, and BT for phone line, after having some problems with NTL. I kept the broadband, however, because I don't think that ADSL can really compete with cable broadband (at least not in my area where 2mbit/sec is the fastest speed I can get via ADSL).

[Graham]

Whether you go for NTL for the phone or not, *don't* bother actually using NTL or BT for the calls!

Sign up to http://www.call1899.com and http://www.call18866.com and apart from paying a 2p or 3p connection fee you can get *FREE* local and national calls any time of the day or night and very often cheaper rates on any other type of call as well