why people use ntl

[ian@huth]

Originally Posted by pem

The fact is that NTL are good in some areas and poor in others, as are their competitors - all have their good and bad points. Also - you may not be aware, but many areas will not allow you to install a sky dish on the side of your house so they have no choice - cable or nothing.

I agree with what you say, there is quite a difference in service levels depending on what part of the country you are in and who your supplier is. Unfortunately it only takes one poor company representative's handling of a situation to tarnish the customers impression of the company.

I know that some properties and areas are prevented from having Sky dishes but there are ways round this for many of them, with a little searching on google. You don't necessarily have to have a dish to receive Sky. See who can be first to come up with a link to a tested alternative?

[zovat]

Originally Posted by pem

The fact is that NTL are good in some areas and poor in others, as are their competitors - all have their good and bad points.

And there is the crux of the issue.....

Most people stay with NTL because it does what they need, and is available at a reasonable price...

People often compare NTL and Telewest, but they are not in direct competition, you cannot replace NTL with Telewest, so why should NTL worry about what Telewest can offer....

The majority of people who use NTL are happy with the service (or at least not so unhappy that they are actively searching for an alternative)...

We have to remember that as a forum that is dedicated to allowing people to moan, whinge ang generally get their problems off their chest, we will see a great deal more complaints than we will praise, and therefore get a skewed idea of what the service is really like...

[Chrysalis]

yep although I hate to say it you are right

[ntluser]

Originally Posted by Sociable

And don't forget the ones like myself that are reasonably happy with the service but think things could be better and also want to simply help those who are not getting such a good service back on track. It's not all about moaning it's also about trying to make things better for fellow users now and for the future.

Include me in that group, Sociable.

The service I have received from NTL has been pretty good, bearing in mind that no company is perfect. However, there are things that can be improved and there's nothing wrong with forum members raising those issues and discussing them with a view to gaining an improvement in the quality of service.

In my case, I campaigned with forum members in London for progress on the provision of broadband there, even though I live in Manchester, simply because I felt that their quality of service should, all things being equal, be as good as the service I receive.

I think too that it's also about the way in which you discuss and highlight failings as NTL are more likely to respond positively if you present reasoned arguments and prove your case. In that way they recognise that you have a fair point and have no real excuse for not taking it on board.

[Sociable]

Well said ntluser!!

Particularly love your final paragraph btw, it says it far better than I did.

[rodd]

Originally Posted by themelon

................ntl have increased the cost of the lower broadband tier, firstly they have increased the speed by 22kbs which is the diference between a 14kbs modem and a 36kbs modem...........which was considered quite a major difference a few years back and can make a significant difference to surfing............

Erm, not quite accurate, I think.

An increase of 22 kbs to 150 kbs is a 14.66 % increase.

The difference between a 14 kbs and 36 kbs modem is a 257.14 % increase.

Not quite comparable to the 14.66 % increase on the 150 kbs.

An increase of a 14 kbs modem to 16 is the real comparison.

Both are increases that will hardly be noticed. A 5 minute download can be done a 3/4 of a minute faster.

[Chrysalis]

that increase was made so their price increase looked justified.

[stamp92]

i started using ntl over three years ago.

i switched to them originally from BT for the cheaper phone calls.

i took up the free dialup service when it came out for a while but then switched to broadband.

i liked NTL for its cheaper prices on phone calls and its value for money broadband service.

Now however I have cancelled NTL and switched back to a BT line and am using call18866.co.uk for my calls.

1p a min to uk landlines
10p to mobiles
1p a min to landlines in over 50 countries

1p connection on all calls.
billed by the second.

i am in the process of switching my broadband service away from ntl to silvermead

39.99 for 2mb adsl

[Chris W]

The sum that i did was price of phone line + price of any adsl that i could find = more than ntl BB

and i have no complaints at all about the service!

[themelon]

Originally Posted by ianathuth

LOL.

I don't appear to see the many areas that you say NTL are catching up with. There is VOD of course which you say is .... coming soon, maybe. We all know what NTL mean by that.

Quite a pathetic attempt to paint the NTL service as being so perfect and its competitors so inadequate. If you keep repeating along these lines you may even start to believe that NTL are as good as you say.

I don't know why you and others knock Sky so much. If it wasn't for Sky what choice of channels would you think there would be on NTL? Sky dishes I can put up with, I hardly ever notice them even though there are many about. What I do notice is the scarred roads and pavements where cable has been laid and the ugly black wiring running across many rendered house fronts where the cable installers haven't even tried to follow a less obtrusive path.

LMAO!

I knock Sky.......as do many other because they offered me a crap service I was a long term customer and they are going down hill big style, Ive experienced it first hand. if they continue at this rate it is only so long before they shed customers! You are perfectly entilteld to like $ky and dislike ntl..........different experiences but I know who id rather be a customer of!!

What are you on about?? ntl without $ky? the only channels $ky provides for ntl is Sky Movies, Sports, Travel. The rest of the channels are independant from any operator UK TV, ITV Granada, Viacom etc etc, Sky provides a fraction of services, which frankly I could live without if they never had existed!! Infact on the contary ntl broadcasting provides a great deal of channels for $ky BBC, ITV, CH4, CH5, UKTV+, Viacom are all routed through ntl broadcasting before the sattellite uplink! So maybe you should be thanking ntl for that!!

Also the comment on the dishes is a little ammusing, If you dont see them you obviously have your eyes shut!! The 'official' '£1' installers make a right hash of many a house, the dishes are hung on the rafters left right and centre, bolted on obtrusive poles to get a signal, rusting dishes, black cables dangling down a wall not even pinned in..............i dread to think what the inside is like, if its anything like my last experience black cable on cream walls!! mmmmmm. I do agree dishes can be hidden by quality installers, but $ky dont use quality, they use monkeys, to offer fitting for £1 and free equipment they have to cut corners somewhere! The vast majority of Installs are very shoddy indeed. I would have to recommend to anyone cosnidering $ky to use a local independant electrical retailer for fitting, they will do a better job and you will get a better service, its well worth the extra cash. Dont be fooled by bargin prices, its like buying a cheap set of spanners for £5 over a £50 set.........in a year you will replace the £5 ones but the £50 ones will still be going strong in 20 years!

[ian@huth]

Originally Posted by themelon

LMAO!

I knock Sky.......as do many other because they offered me a crap service I was a long term customer and they are going down hill big style, Ive experienced it first hand. if they continue at this rate it is only so long before they shed customers! You are perfectly entilteld to like $ky and dislike ntl..........different experiences but I know who id rather be a customer of!!

What are you on about?? ntl without $ky? the only channels $ky provides for ntl is Sky Movies, Sports, Travel. The rest of the channels are independant from any operator UK TV, ITV Granada, Viacom etc etc, Sky provides a fraction of services, which frankly I could live without if they never had existed!! Infact on the contary ntl broadcasting provides a great deal of channels for $ky BBC, ITV, CH4, CH5, UKTV+, Viacom are all routed through ntl broadcasting before the sattellite uplink! So maybe you should be thanking ntl for that!!

Also the comment on the dishes is a little ammusing, If you dont see them you obviously have your eyes shut!! The 'official' '£1' installers make a right hash of many a house, the dishes are hung on the rafters left right and centre, bolted on obtrusive poles to get a signal, rusting dishes, black cables dangling down a wall not even pinned in..............i dread to think what the inside is like, if its anything like my last experience black cable on cream walls!! mmmmmm. I do agree dishes can be hidden by quality installers, but $ky dont use quality, they use monkeys, to offer fitting for £1 and free equipment they have to cut corners somewhere! The vast majority of Installs are very shoddy indeed. I would have to recommend to anyone cosnidering $ky to use a local independant electrical retailer for fitting, they will do a better job and you will get a better service, its well worth the extra cash. Dont be fooled by bargin prices, its like buying a cheap set of spanners for £5 over a £50 set.........in a year you will replace the £5 ones but the £50 ones will still be going strong in 20 years!

Having very conveniently ignored the question about the areas where NTL is catching up (we are all waiting with baited breath) you continue to knock Sky with many points you make being more applicable to NTL than Sky.

Only Sky movies, sports and travel! That is the biggest part of what most customers want. Without the customer base that Sky provide do you think that most of the other channels would exist? Think logically about it, looking at what audience they would have without Sky.

I don't know where you get the picture of Sky installations from as I have hardly ever seen a bad Sky installation and have lived all over the UK since Sky was launched.

I like your quote about £1 installation and free equipment. That is only available on the web and is £1 dearer than what NTL are offering so what does that say about NTL using your logic?

I have had all my Sky installations done under the £1 scheme and they have all been first class and have never had a Sky digibox fail on me. The NTL install was also perfect but only after much arguing with the install crew and telephone calls to NTL whilst they were there. I must say that the NTL faults department were very quick to send out engineers to replace fauly boxes (five of them) usually arriving within 2 to 3 hours of my call.

I would like to know where you get the idea that Sky is going downhill big time from? Show us the proof!

[themelon]

Originally Posted by ianathuth

Having very conveniently ignored the question about the areas where NTL is catching up (we are all waiting with baited breath) you continue to knock Sky with many points you make being more applicable to NTL than Sky.

Only Sky movies, sports and travel! That is the biggest part of what most customers want. Without the customer base that Sky provide do you think that most of the other channels would exist? Think logically about it, looking at what audience they would have without Sky.

I don't know where you get the picture of Sky installations from as I have hardly ever seen a bad Sky installation and have lived all over the UK since Sky was launched.

I like your quote about £1 installation and free equipment. That is only available on the web and is £1 dearer than what NTL are offering so what does that say about NTL using your logic?

I have had all my Sky installations done under the £1 scheme and they have all been first class and have never had a Sky digibox fail on me. The NTL install was also perfect but only after much arguing with the install crew and telephone calls to NTL whilst they were there. I must say that the NTL faults department were very quick to send out engineers to replace fauly boxes (five of them) usually arriving within 2 to 3 hours of my call.

I would like to know where you get the idea that Sky is going downhill big time from? Show us the proof!

ntl is catching up in all areas in my opinion, but I will never get you too agree so wheres the point. They are developing new better software to run on both platforms, converting the platform to a single standard allow them to develop new applications for both platforms, and implement changes more easily accross the network. ntl doesnt need to catch up on broadband it has 1 million subscribers and offers the cheapest standalone broadband package, lets not forget even the cheapest ADSL service requires £9.50 addition to the monthly cost for BT line rental you may not even want. Telephone, service is pitty much equal on ntl and BT its luck of the draw really but there is little difference.

Without Sky channels could still exist, infact they might even be free who knows, no one can really answer that, but if we didnt have the channels we wouldnt care anyway!! Movies and Sport are nice but not essential to anything, I Couldnt find any figures but i believe the majority of Sky viewers are on the free to view, base and family packs which only include Sky One, Sky News and Travel.

The £1 Install has been available for a long time and is often a offer at DSG and other electrical outlets since before the web was a mass audience I can remeber that offer, its got worse the installers used to do a sound job.

My evidence is I was a BSB/Sky subscriber for over 10 years, I have watched customer service get worse over this period, I have watched the service get worse from Sky Analogue, I have had two very poor installs from official installers, Appalling treatment from customer service, £60 call outs for faults of the incompetent installers (dish alignment). Intermittent service in various weather conditions. Various other people have experience similar things looking around a range of forums. I have had a very bad time with them and am justified in my opions on them.

It doesnt mean YOU will get a bad service from Sky, It doesnt mean I will get a bad service from ntl because you did. All I know is that between ntl and Sky ntl have offered me a service light years ahead of what Sky offered me, and what BT can offer (33kbs dial up)

All I want people to know is that Sky is far from the 'perfect' service that some people make it out to be. Im willing to accept ntl isnt perfect, but it works fine for me and theres no reason why it shouldnt for others. I guess when I see people raving about $ky I like to offer another side of the story.

[rodd]

Originally Posted by Chrysalis

that increase was made so their price increase looked justified.

The price rise of ntl's 150k made it the worst value-for-money product at around that price, even with the 22k added to the 150k.

For a mere £1 extra you can get ADSL 500k download, 250k upload, an upload even double that of ntl's 600k BB offering, which has only a 128k.

Plus.net offers that at £18.99 (500k download, 250k upload). NTL just offers 150k (172k with the added 22K) download, 64k upload at £17.99. So, who wouldn't pay the £1 extra for getting so much more from Plus.net?

NTL is just not competitive against the numerous choices of ADSL providers that are now available. You can do far better than ntl, by switching to ADSL, which is now so simple and hassle-free to do. (There is more on switching in the section - 'Alternatives to ntl').

Plus.net is just one of those alternative choices that are open to you, ("Best Broadband ISP" Award 2003, PC Pro magazine) ("Best ISP on the Planet" Award 2003 Internet Magazine).

The competition against ntl is now so very strong, that ntl will continue to fall behind, until they start to become more competitive.

The answer to the question 'why people use ntl', is in this case, why indeed?

[orangebird]

Originally Posted by rodd

The price rise of ntl's 150k made it the worst value-for-money product at around that price, even with the 22k added to the 150k.

For a mere £1 extra you can get ADSL 500k download, 250k upload, an upload even double that of ntl's 600k BB offering, which has only a 128k.

Plus.net offers that at £18.99 (500k download, 250k upload). NTL just offers 150k (172k with the added 22K) download, 64k upload at £17.99. So, who wouldn't pay the £1 extra for getting so much more from Plus.net?

NTL is just not competitive against the numerous choices of ADSL providers that are now available. You can do far better than ntl, by switching to ADSL, which is now so simple and hassle-free to do. (There is more on switching in the section - 'Alternatives to ntl').

Plus.net is just one of those alternative choices that are open to you, ("Best Broadband ISP" Award 2003, PC Pro magazine) ("Best ISP on the Planet" Award 2003 Internet Magazine).

The competition against ntl is now so very strong, that ntl will continue to fall behind, until they start to become more competitive.

The answer to the question 'why people use ntl', is in this case, why indeed?

Do the prices you've quoted against ntls include a modem?

[rodd]

Originally Posted by orangebird

Do the prices you've quoted against ntls include a modem?

On the £24.99 package, yes.

On the £18.99 package, the modem is £42.
For Plus.net's better product than ntl, by almost 3 times (2.9) better at download than ntl, 4 times better at upload than ntl, it's a minuscule amount to pay in the first year only. Who would hesitate on choosing Plus.net's overwhelming better value over ntl.