Back in Cardiff we’d been using NTL ever since cable TV appeared. We picked up phone and TV services from them, and later a broadband internet connection. They’re not a terrible company, and their services were good, but now we’ve moved we get to review the marketplace.
So phone service went to BT, because you have to. It’s still a monopoly. TV will go to Sky, purely for Sky+. A hard disk recorder with two tuners? That’s major hassle for any other network right now, but Sky have got it sewn up. I’m still sad that Tivo left our shores though.
Broadband internet connection was not so easy. If you hunt around, it’s actually very difficult to get a fast broadband connection at a sensible price that isn’t limited to just a few GB transfer each month (OK, so BT don’t have the monopoly here). I can use up 3GB on a weekend easily, gaming, downloading bittorrents, patches and demos, so unlimited access is crucial to me, but I’m not going to spend £30/month for it. Tiscali seemed to be the best value, but the web-based setup told me they couldn’t provide service to my area. Further searching found Demon. Just seeing the red logo again gave me a wave of nostalgia – this was my first internet service provider, back in the early 90’s. In those days they were an industry leader, so it’s both a shame to find them so hidden away and a joy to see that they still exist. They were a great company then, and they offer broadband connections at sensible prices, so I jumped on their offer.
It’s funny how a few companies, when you’ve had great experiences with them, make you feel good just by showing you their logo.
