Penny Walker started this topic @ 17:32 on 01/03/2005
Hello Forum - my first posting so excuse if I'm repeating stuff...
I run a home-based business - and have gradually accrued a mixed bag of phone lines - I bet I could make it more efficient and cheaper, but I'm not sure where to start. I have a mobile, and three separate BT land lines - one is my 'domestic' phone, and two 'business phones', one of which I use for fax / modem, and one for straight phone calls.
I'd like to hear from forum users who are happy with their broadband supplier or their 'call and line rental package' supplier, so I can take a short-cut to a reliable and good value solution, rather than reinventing the wheel by doing loads of research and shopping around.
Thanks
RE: Reviewing phone lines - advice on good deals, please!
sibell | 01/03/2005 10:53 PM
Hello Penny, welcome to the forum.
You could consider getting rid of the modem and going broadband on one of your telephone lines, you could also consider getting rid of the fax line (dependant on how often it is in use) by getting BT's second Number service "Callsign" which gives you a second ringtone on a line - this would save on line rental as the service costs a few pounds a month and a little switch that detect the ring is about £20 - more info at http://www.twintalkhelp.com which is a BT website.
There is also of course the Fax to email service which some forum users use and have taked about previously.
Site with some ADSL reviews/comparisons etc is http://www.adslguide.org.uk which you may find useful, many home users/offices I come across use BT broadband Basic at about £17.99 a month (Broadband modem free if ordered online), 500k with a 1-Gig limit, but this will depend on your usage and requirements, some of the cable companies also offer good deals, but NTL and Telewest have been getting some negative feedback recently in terms of reliability and after-service.
In terms of cheap calls and line rental, I am not a fan of passing the line rental to anyone but BT as service problems are still evident if you get a fault, however there are many providers out there who other users can hopefully give some feedback on, cheap calls is a very competitive market, the cheapest are not always the most reliable. http://www.call18866.co.uk seem very popular at present for their rates but you have to be prepared when using a very cheap network to get occasional call failures and then you would have to use BT for your calls.
Above are just my personal opinions as I am "in the trade" so to speak so I get to hear a lot of positive and negative feedback on various services.
Regards
Simon
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