This is how internet access should be! (btinternet.com)

Member Name: cjkace

Product:	btinternet.com
Date:	30/05/01 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fixed rate access, £14.99 a month, very reliable connection

Disadvantages: None at present

I've been using the internet since January 1999, and there have been quite a lot of changes in that time. In the early days, accessing the internet was through a local rate phone number but this was still expensive for anyone using the internet for more than 15 hours per week. Other, supposedly flat-rate 24/7, deals started to arrive in 2000 but all of these suffered problems, mainly due to the ISP's cost to British Telecom. Many of these early 24/7 services are no longer around (Lineone/Quip, Redhotant) and others have had to change there service (Libertysurf, Breathe) because users had the temerity to actually use the service.

Then BT invented a special internet rate called Surftime which was supposed to make it cheaper for ISP's to offer 24/7 access, but again this was flawed. People who used the services for more than 4-5 hours per day were costing the ISp's money, so were kicked off of the service, even though they were only using a service for which they had paid. (Force 9)

Finally BT, forced by AOL & OFTEL, offered a new rate for ISP's called FRIACO, which is what the new service from BTInternet is based upon. For £14.99 a month you get internet access with no call charges, 24 hours, 7 days a week. That's not to say that you will or should use it for 24 hours a day, but it makes access during the day a financial reality.

The sign-up process is very quick and easy, although you do need a credit card to be able to sign-up for BTInternet Anytime. When you've finished the sign-up you are prompted to download a dialer, to access the internet through your new 0800 number, but despite what it says on the site, you don't need this special dialer. I set up my internet settings manually, simply because the dialer automatically logs into the BTInternet homepage, and I prefer to set my own homepage.

At the moment the service is very good. Connection is invariably first time and the speed is always 49
,333. The connection speed is because I have a very 'clean' telephone line and an excellent external modem ( US Robotics 56k Voice Fax Modem). Download speeds are generally good and during this first month of use, I cannot honestly remember any problems whatsoever. I don't expect this to last, however, as all ISP's have problems. The difference between a good and a bad ISP is how they deal with said problems, so we'll see how BTInternet stack up to the rest.

My ISP history.
Dec/Jan 99 - Connectfree (despite what people believe, Freeserve was not the inventor of free internet access in the UK, Connectfree was. Freeserve, because of the Dixons group, was better advertised and distributed.)
Feb99/Sept 99 - Offline due to moving house and not having a phone-line.
Oct99/Mar00 - BTInternet free weekend access for £9.99 a month. This was a good service until they gave away evening access as well, then the service became impossible to connect to.
Mar00/Jan01 - Lineone. First with the Quip deal, which fell apart after a couple of months then with Surftime. Generally a very good service but they're support team are idiots.
Feb01 - BTInternet again, this time on their 24/7 service. Everything's good so far!

They're has been a lot of change during the last twelve months, and hopefully we now finally have true fixed-rate access.

Summary: