Have been with BT and the only problem has been the expense of broadband, which combined with line rental and calls was coming to around £60 a month. After the obligatory searching, Origin was coming in at the best deal. My only concern was this being a regional ISP in Yorkshire, and I live in Northern Ireland. So I phoned and asked if they covered NI and they said yes, so I started the sign up process (line rental and broadband).
The signup process is simple enough, choose the service and add whatever options you want. Agree to the terms and pay. This was at the start of November. Two emails confirmed the transaction and particulars of the order, and were clear and concise. Mid November an email gave my switch-over date for the broadband (a week later).
On the day, my broadband was switched at some stage. This is when I had my first issue. During the ordering process, I opted not to get a free router, and instead use my own BT hub5. Big mistake, as the BT hub is locked into BT. I contacted Origin support who tried helping me out, and then suggested sending the free router out. This was early afternoon, yet by the same time the next day I had the router. This is unheard of for post in N. Ireland. It had also been set up with my user details, so all I had to do was plug it in and switch it on. A couple of minutes later I was online, tried my first speed test and got 44.96/8.04. Not bad considering I only got mid 30s with BT.
The next step was getting the phone line migrated across. This effectively was hassle free from the Origin side of things, but quite frankly was a pain in the neck from the BT side, who mishandled it.
The date of the changeover came, and the line was switched over. No way of telling except about a week or so later, I had my second issue. The 1471 service I requested wasn't working. I called Origin, they checked their records that it had been requested, and they resent it again (BTW Origin do not implement this service, it is requested by Origin). Coming up to Christmas, it still wasn't working, but it wasn't important, so I left it to the end of the month. It was put through again and when I checked it a few days later, it was operational.
So far, so good. What's it been like since the start? Well, apart from the 1471 glitch, the phone has been fine. As to the broadband, I've run numerous speed tests at various times during the day (9am-2am) and my averages to date are 41.12/8.37.
Overall then, how does my review rate against the figures I gave it:
Services - 9 - I'm greedy! The line is capable of 46Mbps and I'm getting 41. Maybe hoping it can be tweaked.
Support - 9 - I've worked in IT for 20+ years and done the 'support' part, so I know what it takes to do it well, and there is always room for improvement. Origin have been excellent in the information they have provided and their overall knowledge. The staff are very friendly, and are willing to receive feedback of any sort.
Speed - 9 - Just greedy for more speed.
Value - 10 - Compared to BT at £60 a month, when I'm paying the full amount with Origin, it will be close to saving £20 a month, and with higher speeds.
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