OT: RFI: Broadband alternative

[Fer]

Anyone recommend an alternative to Broadband for someone living between Windsor and Maidenhead. I have had a stressful day talking to different departments within BT, trying to resolve the great broadband availability question.

My ISP sat on my request for 2 weeks before responding "Line loss out of limits". Realising that this was not enough information I called them, and they said that my only option was to talk to BT. When I called BT this morning, they told me my exchange was not enabled. Checking the web site again it now says I am too far from the exchange, and having spoken to BT again they say I am too far, probably routed around the houses just to get access, and that it is very unlikely I could even get Highway.

Any suggestions on what I could to to try and get fast access to the internet. Telewest tell me although I am in a cabled area, their broadband is not available here. I did track down a wireless broadband supplier, but know very little about this service, and they did seem to be offering little by way of reassurance that my £40 a month would give me anything better than my existing dial up.

Any suggestions?

TIA,
Chris

[Plotloss]

Fer,

Mail me, I think I am just down the road from you and am currently embroiled in a bit of a battle with BT.

Matt.

[mrsd]

Good news: There are a couple of satellite internet suppliers whose prices aren't bad and who can use a Sky dish for the downlink. When it works it downloads at twice the speed of BT broadband and uploads by ISDN.
Bad news: We use one of them and we haven't had a working connection for weeks. They also bu66ered the Skybox when they tried to fix. Our supplier's website no longer claims that they can use the existing dish.

We have SatDrive at work (not the supplier I've Easy-ly avoided naming above ), don't know if they do a home service, it costs £400 to set up, 14.99 a month thereafter, automatically delivers emails (even when the dialup is not in use) and certain websites and can email large files, minimising costs.

[sparks]

I have seen some stuff about getting wireless (802.11) to be transmitted up to a mile, using dished tx/rx.

If you can find/know someone close by with BB, and line of site, get it set up, share 1Mb account, and bob's you aunty ().

I can't remember where I saw the details (it was an American site), but I have found this

www.wwc.edu/~frohro/Airport/Primestar/Primestar.html

HTH

Sparks

Sparks

[Fer]

Thanks for all the responses so far. Still meeting a brick wall with BT. I have called them again today, asking to be able to register my desire to have broadband. They tell me I am too far from the exchange, and therefore cannot have it. BT are too busy upgrading other exchanges, and will not record my request for broadband, and therefore there is nothing they can do further to assist me, so I should stop wasting their time.

I have been unable to convince BT to register my requirement, and they are unable to offer me any alternative suggestions.

I cannot get LoS from here to anyone I know with Broadband, but I must admit to getting desparate on this. Anyone any experience with any wireless providers?

TIA,
Chris