Broadband, a high speed internet connection generally comes in two forms.

It can come down the phone line (BT, Tiscali, Eclipse, Sky, Tesco, Talk Talk etc.), or it can come via a Cable company (such as Virgin Media - previously also known as NTL and Telewest)

There are two major broadband providers, BT and Virgin. BT resale this service to other names you probably know, such as Tiscali, Tesco broadband, Eclipse and many others.

To the average consumer, no difference will really be noticed between any of these services, and terms like contention ratios are about as stimulating as watching paint dry, and unless downloading large quantities or watching films or TV at high resolution through the internet continually, are of litttle or no significance.

So who provides broadband in Saffron Walden?

Within the town area, NTL and BT have a strong presence. In more 'remote' locations like Icketon, broadband can be more of an issue.

BT tend to be more expensive, as you are paying for the name, and as a company are geared up, and tend to prefer dealing with companies rather than individuals. And customer service is generally no better than anyone else.

NTL's take-over by Virgin media promised better customer support (one of the infamous benefits of Virgin), but, based on personal experience of dealing with them on behalf of other customers, has not yet fully materialised. And as a total price for telephone and broadband only, Virgin are currently more expensive, at least for existing customers, by comparision to other players in the market.

AOL, who provide broadband services via BT, not only bog your computer down with their 'specialist'  software, often contributing to PC problems, but also provide you an email address with major restrictions if you ever come to leaving them. (You cannot export your email or automatically forward on your email to a more permanent email address, unlike virtually every other supplier, making it painful for people to move away from them while trying not to lose contact with friends and family).

Customer service is generally only ever used when there is a problem, but if there is you want to be taken seriously, dealt with professionally, and helped to get working again, or  to lead to a fast resolution.

So who do we recommend? 

Many BT resellers (like Eclipse, Talk talk etc.) offer good service, good support, and are generally cheaper, and so we believe these to currently offer the best value for money.

TALK TALK  BT Broadband 

Eclipse  Be Broadband

Eclipse Residential  Plusnet

Sky

Business Broadband: (for business addresses)

BT Broadband    Eclipse