Dave wrote:

There was a time I thought the NTL 3 in 1 idea a good one (TV, Phone and
internet). This was indeed a good deal and for a couple of years and it'sworked
pretty well. But things are changing.

First the hardware setup. We have an NTL cable from the road to a Set Topbox.
One line goes to the STB and another to the box that the 'phone plugs into.

Now the moans. For starters the FREE dialup is of course no longer free and
indeed has seen a few price rises since the freeness was removed some time ago.
Almost every week I get a ntl broadband offer which while cheap to start with, I
know from past experience will soon float upwards,

Since the ntl analogue box was changed for digital Set Top box (and I was100%
assured NOTHING would change as regards setup, cost etc - and it was alldone
for free) I find the new "Base Pack" (a collection of TV channels) just happens
to cost a few more pounds per month that the old analogue one. Of course no one
told me that even though I asked several times if the change would cost me more.
Even though the cost increase isn't great I very much dislike this not being
made clear to me until I got the first new bill after the digital STB was
installed.

So I'm just looking at ways to escape Castle NTL. Perhaps You can help along the
way with all/any of these...

Phone.
I suppose this is the easiest to escape from. We still have the old BT phone
lines installed. Simply sign up with BT then?

TV
Well Freeview has all the channels I want anyway. So if I buy a Freeview STB (I
am in a suitable postcode area to receive the signal). That removes the "Base
Pack" or any other "pack" costs.

Internet
This is the most tricky aspect. I'd need to sign up with an ISP to at least
maintain my dialup system as now. However if I ever want to go broadband I only
have that BT phone line available. Is broadband possible down such a line, or do
I need some other line installing? The NTL digital STB has a nice cosy ethernet
port on the back - it looks oh so temping to keep ntl just for that - unless you
can tell me something different of course.

I used to be with Demon Internet (but switched to NTL for the 3in1). Now,I see
Demon do not do an "Unlimited" use dialup. Seems their cheapest dialup ispay
per call, which I don't want.

Well, that's the background. What to you think the chances of me escapingCastle
NTL?

Dont pay what you havent agreed to pay. And why anyone would pay per
month for tv I dont know. Many companies do broadband on BT lines,
unlike ntl, and broadband prices start from £9 pcm. Dialup prices
statr from £3 pcm for evening only use (onetel night owl). Just look
for comparison tables.

NT