Jan T. Kim wrote:
Dear ALUG folks,
I have moved from Germany to Norwich a couple of months ago and now I consider getting a broadband Internet connection for use with Linux (evidently on this list, I guess...).
Hi Jan, welcome to sunny Norfolk.
Certainly, some of you on this list have a broadband connection? I'd be interested if you could share your experience and tell me how you managed (or failed) to use a broadband package. I'm most interested in the basic ones -- having Internet access at work (UEA), I don't need huge download capacity, web space or other add-on features.
I have in my time used three ADSL providers - Pipex, Pronet and E7Even.
I can't speak for Pipex (http://www.pipex.net) any more as I had their service when ADSL was first enabled in the Norwich exchanges way back when. At that time there were regular, extended outages and regular routing and DNS problems so I dropped them when I moved out to the sticks.
I now use Pronet (http://www.pro-net.co.uk) at work (don't have much say on that - they provide a managed service for our company) and although they are pretty reliable its prohibitively expensive for a home user.
I use E7Even (http://www.e7even.com) at home and I am very happy with their service, although they are not geared up for a huge amount of Linux support they do use Linux and BSD boxes for their servers and also provide email support if you are capable of describing your problem in as much of a OS independent way. The biggest advantages for me were the static IP address provided and the setup for payment - you pay annually (you can pay every 6 months or 3 months IIRC, but pay a premium for doing so) and regularly receive offers to extend your subscription for a reduced fee - I just added 10 months for £50 on a 512k line.
They also provide a dial-up backup service, and provide support for KPPP on their web site to help you get connected. The status page on the web site is one of the more useful I have found - it tends to be updated quickly when there is a fault, but they can take a while to take the faults off when they are resolved. Another plus point - you get extra subscription time if you recommend-a-friend who signs up (my referral code is 701738).
They will provide a router with your sign-up, but I would suggest you look for something elsewhere as their prices for hardware are not so great - somewhere like http://www.ebuyer.com would almost certainly get you a better price and better product at the end of the day.
If you are happy to pay up front rather than monthly, I would certainly recommend E7Even.
Hope this helps,
Jim Rippon (no affiliation to any company mentioned)