[cavillas]

Try IDNet. www.idnet.co.uk

[DJNafey]

If you don't want to do much downloading and are really looking to just surf web sites and get email, then a 1GB "capped" (or limited) service will be fine for you. These are the cheapest available. Don't get talked into paying any more for anything above the basic service - if you don't want to set up your own web site or get tied into the ISP's anti-virus offer etc, then even just another £2 per month adds up to a big waste of money if you're paying it EVERY month that you keep the service.

I recommend all of my home customers to go cable if the already have Telewest or NTL etc for their phone and/or television. The "3 for £30" deals that you get (phone, TV and broadband) are really good value. If cable isn't an option for you, then perhaps you already have Sky TV? They'll give you basic broadband FREE! Or do you have an Orange mobile phone? They were doing an offer recently as well.

I have a small business customer in London who uses Eclipse and I got the impression that they were quite happy with the service.

My only experience of Tiscali has been their 56k dial-up and email services. Consistently between 1999 and 2004, they were AWFUL! But I don't know whether they've got any better recently.

Pipex are renowned for their great reliability and their "more capacity than required" approach to ensuring that their network performs consistently well. But, the last time I looked, their cheapest service was £15 per month. Not sure if it's any lower yet and, with so many good deals from other companies at the moment, they might be the best but certainly not the cheapest.

BT remain reasonably consistent as a "middle of the field" player. Their BT Broadband Basic service is generally quite inexpensive.

And, as already said, avoid AOL like the plague!

Hope that helps

[DJNafey]

Wow - I've just checked out Pipex (www.pipex.com) and they're advertising an 8Mbps service from just £6.50 per month! That's a bargain.