[plug] [OT] Looking for broadband

[Leon Brooks]

On Sunday 07 November 2004 10:01, Timothy White wrote:
> I am looking at getting broadband/ADSL. As the gateway is going to be
> Linux it will need to be Linux friendly (Modem, protocol...)

Generally all gets handled by the ethernet-based modem these days. I 
typically recommend, in decreasing order of newbie-friendliness, 
ArachNet, WestNet and SwiftDSL.

ArachNet and WestNet both have known-to-be-sensible upper-level 
management (ie, I expect them to be in business for a very long time), 
SwiftDSL has done some seriously daft things from time to time but seem 
to be slightly more reliable than the other two. All of them have good 
infrastructure and will let you max out your link when you need to.

> * 256/xx with Shaping (No less than 64kbs, not like Optus who shapes
> to lower than dialup speed)

All of them offer that. On a 512kb, ArachNet shape to 96kb and 1500kb 
gets lopped to 128kb so your worst case is circa 4x faster than a 
typical modem connection.

The price of 512/512 has fallen in the hopper recently. ArachNet do that 
for $77/mo with 12GB, OTTOMH WestNet cost a little more and gives you 
more traffic ceiling.

ArachNet don't give you a fixed IP until you get to higher accounts 
(like the 512/512) but you can add one for $1/mo. WestNet do. Can't 
remember what SwiftDSL's arrangements are.

> * Free WAIX (So I can keep all the Debian boxes up to date)

All of the above do that (SwiftDSL was the last of the three to provide 
it). They also have some interesting groups on their internal NNTP 
server.

> * Cheap which means a relatively low Cap

Most of them will start with sub-$30 with a stupidly low cap, some of 
them don't give you free WAIX with that. I'd rather spend an extra 
tenner a month and get both more bandwidth and better terms.

> * Provides Minimum of 5 email address

AFAIK they all do that. ArachNet give you ten at 50MB each, plus a 
personal website and 20MB for that.

> * Doesn't block ports

I think WN do but you can switch them off easily. WestNet and ArachNet 
don't.

If you pick WestNet, join them through LinuxIT or Terminus for that 
extra layer of Linux support. WestNet's support is top notch but very 
Windows-centric.

Cheers; Leon