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Quoting john.hansen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx: > > > Posted by "John Hansen" <john.hansen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > > > My ISP is BTconnect.com i.e. a business account which I no longer > need so I am looking for an alternative. BT have several options but > their terminology is very confusing for an OAP :-). The residential > accounts also have access to BTFON which is apparently a WIFI > facility which is not available with a BTconnect account. > > Are there ISPs in our area which can be recommended for use with > Linux as well as Windows? > > John > -- Well considering you already have Broadband from BT then I'd guess that you have an ADSL connection. As far as I know the BTFON is a free wifi connection for BT customers so you can use a laptop (or other wifi enabled device) when you're out an about with BT compatible wifi hotspots (which I think includes BT OpenWorld or whatever it's called, The Cloud and a couple of other providers). I'd say any ISP's broadband service would be compatible with Linux (yes, even AOL if you have an ADSL Router!), but there may be issues when it comes to support. I found that some of the bigger ISP's I've used in the past like Orange (nee Freeswerve/Wanadoo), AOL, Virgin Broadband (ex NTL/Telewest) and Carphone Warehouse use mindless staff (with one or two exceptions when you're lucky and get someone who knows what they're talking about). If you want an ISP which can give support on both Windows and Linux, you might want for a start to try the UKFSN (www.ukfsn.org) who are an Enta reseller. Not only do their profits to towards funding Free Software development, they also provide good service. Although I don't personally use them, I use another Enta reseller and I can vouch that the connections are really good. There are limits on the connections to how much bandwidth you get but they are clearly laid out not the usual "(un)Fair Usage Policy". I'm on the Office Max 45 connection which gives me 45GB bandwidth in peak hours (peak is about 8am to 10pm Monday to Friday) and 300GB off-peak which is 8pm to 8am Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday. I pay about £30 inc VAT for that and I get about 7.2MBit downstream and about 700Kbit/sec upstream (although the speed is dependent on your line length and quality). If you don't need a business class connection (higher upload speed and slightly higher data traffic priority at the exchange) then you might be worth looking at the Home connections which offer slightly slower upload speeds but cheaper prices (or at £30, more bandwith allowance). In any case, I'd say an Enta reseller such as UKFSN is a much better option than the big boys especially with their stance on the fair usage policies and this new advertising thing which has been reported recently. Oh, forgot to mention, whatever you do, if you do change ISP, ask for a MAC code from your old ISP, you should be able to migrate to another ISP then either for free or at a low cost (about £12) plus you won't have any down time (as you would if you just disconnected your connection and signed up with someone else). Ta, Rob -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html