Ultimate Connectivity (Pipex)

Member Name: SlyClone2k

Product:	Pipex
Date:	06/10/03 (824 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great connection, great prices

Disadvantages: 60 day penalty, 20kb cap on P2P

(Update - 29/4/06) I have just switched to Eclipse.co.uk as Pipex have (recently?) introduced a cap on P2P downloading, if you're not a big downloader via (eg) Torrent, this won't effect you and the glowing review below still rings true.


***************Why Broadband?? ***************

Finally some internet speed! Since changing my job I've been yearning for an internet connection that will allow me to download all the lovely stuff that I managed to find surfing in the job before. Yes the current job is a keeper so it doesn't seem a good idea to abuse the system by grabbing MP3s and games from the grand sources the web has to offer.

In direct contradiction to a belief I recently heard; "who needs faster internet access? It just means faster porn, and who needs faster porn?" or something similar. I need faster internet access. 56k doesn't just cut the mustard anymore. It makes the web so restrictive. No flash, no shockwave, no sound, no ads.. well I say no ads, they still get through at the cost of everything else. Dooyoos own pop up takes about a week to open just on its own.

Fortunately broadband is here, has been for quite some time for many, but as for myself, well I've been rather cut off. Just too far from the local telephone exchange for my own good. That is until BT's extended reach trial ended recently. The extended reach trial was set up to try and allow access to folk like me. Apparently it went well and I'm now within extended reach.

I had made a couple of requests to get hold of broadband via Tiscali as I already used them as my ISP, but this turned out to be a wild goose chase. They couldn't get me access and didn't want to bother letting me know. A couple of applications and rejections along with a lot of time spent on the phone to the "helpdesk" saw me fruitless.

***************Why Pipex? ***************

I had a bit of a torrid time actually getting broadband as I touched upon in the previous paragraph. But in the end it was a phone call with BT where they almost admitted I could have Broadband that clinched it; "8 out of 10 persons within my range could get Broadband," t

hey admitted.

Pipex say on their website that they keep on endeavouring to connect you up to their ADSL service even when other ISPs haven't been able to. Sounded good enough to me. I coupled this with the fact that Pipex were created in 1991, (I first got web access at work in 1996!) the first and pioneering ISP in the UK right from the word go. Such a well established company must be doing something right!

As with everything else it pays to investigate the services they provide, most sources indicated that, along with Zen Internet, Pipex could boast an almost perfect service delivery record. Given that they provide services to the business sector (including many "Times 100" companies) as well as residential it seems the technology they carry is likely to be reliable.

***************Which Service? ***************

Well Pipex provide many services not just about connecting Joe Schmoe to a faster porn.. er.. music collection. Being an ISP you can purchase many services including dial up, web services, design, publishing, hosting, firewalling and for the purpose of this particular opinion ADSL/broadband.

Even within the Broadband service there are several options, Pipex call their package Xtreme Solo or Solo to go. Here there are another two options. 500 or 1000 providing speeds of 512k or 1mb. The speeds here indicate your connection speed to the internet meaning that you can go bigger and faster should you need to. To give you some idea I got the 512. This means I've been able to download stuff at around 60kps, my average modem connection was around 4 kps. In real terms that means downloading 4 or 5 MB files in minutes rather than tens of minutes.

Not only does it mean faster downloading speed but there is the added advantage for us online gamers of fast seemless connectivity to your game of choice. Broadband doesn't disconnect so it beats dial up offerings often had restrictions where
you
would be disconnected from your ISP and found youself dropped from a battle at the most inopportune times!

Solo means that you carry a cheaper overall connectivity cost (free) as you can add the other bits and bobs you require. Adding items such as modems (you?ll need a different one for broadband) and filters (that mean you can connect your new modem to the phone line and still use your telephone at the same time). Solo 2 Go sees you paying a ridiculously low £17.57 and getting a modem (average cost around £50) and 2 filters (£10 each) thrown in for free. I must have missed that one somehow, as I went for the first option and had to borrow a router. It's well worth getting the Solo 2 Go if you are starting out without the equipment.

Their price for basic 512k speeds is a competitive £23.44, beating Tiscali, Freeserve and AOL by around £4 a month. A 1 mbps line will see you achieving some frantic speeds at an extremely reasonable £33.99 a month!

Even using the basic package I'm only paying around an extra £12 a quarter than I was with my dial up connection for unlimited evening and weekend calls. Best of all it doesn't go into BTs pockets!

***************Hard To Connect?***************

It took a pleasant seven days for Pipex to get me sorted out from the time of signing up to the time of me putting my router on to the phone line and getting my first connection. Providing you have a credit card and a BT line you should be good to go.
You can register on line using a most intuitive registration form or call customer services.

As well as the constant updates by email you can track the progress of your order (sales processing, line testing and connecting). The day before my line was due to be connected (as I was advised in one such email) I received a letter which contained my username and password. With this you?ll likely also recieve your modem and filters. I presume that you'll nee
d to be ab
out to receive a modem as it's unlikely to fit through your average letterbox.

Pipex provide a sterling customer services website that, upon receiving your registration details, you will be able to access to get those all important numbers that will aid you in your connection. Information that will aid you in connecting up your router or modem to both your machine and your phone line. Several carefully laid out procedures take you through the settings you will need to make and include pictures for the less literate of us.

It also contains instructions on how to configure your email and news group access using the more standard tools that come with windows (Outlook Express), personally I don't subscribe to this virus-ridden piece of Microsoft filth, but a competent person should be able to extract the relevant information, user names and servers to configure the software they desire.

Pipex provide a great email service that can be accessed via the web as well as your machine. Including a staggering 12 mailboxes (one for each month?) and access to around 35000 news groups.

Pipex also provide a whopping 50MB of web space that whilst free will require your registration to use. An unusual bonus (in that many other ISPS don't offer it) is the ability to use such things as CGI scripts, meaning you can produce real web pages with databases and look ups like the professionals have! A simple faq outlines connecting to the space, uploading your wonderful pages and provides solutions to the most common problems.

But what if you want to speak to someone? Well, I wanted to configure the router I had before the line was due to be connected and didn't have my details. A quick phone call to customer services, confirming my name and payment details saw them providing me with the information I needed to connect up to the line. The person at the other end of the phone seemed competent and friendly and the cal
l was answered
promptly, this was at lunch when many telephone helpdesks get extremely busy.

***************What Else? ***************

Apart from my own stupidity I've had no issues with connectivity at all. In the first fortnight of my connection the line has been stable and contention (each broadband line has a potential for 50 other people using the line as well as you, this could mean diminished speeds) is minimal meaning a fast and clean connection.

The connection you have with Pipex is provided by a dynamic IP address, in other words this can change if you disconnect your line or power off your machine. Not always ideal if you are hoping to set up FTP servers, but you can pay a tiny fee to maintain a permanent IP address.

The only down point is that you are contracted for 1 year. Should you wish to quit before that time it will cost you 60days.

On the whole I've been entirely impressed with Pipex. I can, with clear conscience, say that they are definitely an ISP beating service that others should be seriously consider using. Forget the ISPs that you see advertised and take the time to look at some of the less blatant providers for a much better experience.

Go to http://www.adslguide.org.uk/ for more information on ADSL, DSL and broadband.

Something that has always baffled me regarding the way speed works was well explained in the comments made by another user of the site; I cut and paste them here as they make your expected speeds that much clearer:

Its not "kps" its "kbps" - Kilo-bits per second. EXAMPLE. 512 KILOBITS PER SECOND service means 512/8 = 62.5 actual kiloBytes per second, whereas the average webpage is 10 kilobytes, for comparison. So, to download the 1 meg file, takes about, - 1024kb's / 62.5kb's = ~ 17 seconds, and that if the through bandwidth is perfect. So on real average it takes just around 25 seconds.

Summary: Reliability & speed.