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http://www.twitter.com/computeractive13STAR LETTER
Views expressed don’t necessarily reflect those of Computeractive
The Star Letter writer wins a Computeractive mug!
I saved £18 a month by ditching Sky
Broadband
It didn’t surprise me to read that
Sky customers make the biggest
saving when switching to another
broadband provider (Issue 632, page 7).
It tallies with my own experience last
year. It slowly dawned on me that I
didn’t need the 100Mbps broadband I
was paying over £40 a month for. I
sometimes watch iPlayer online, but
not very often, and I certainly don’t
play any games that require super-fast
speeds. I live alone, so there’s only me
online at any one time.
Sky kindly reminded me that my
contract was coming to an end, which
I took as my cue to jump ship to BT.
Ofcom says that on average a Sky
customer saves £9.26 a month when
switching, but my saving was around
double that. It’s true that my BT
package is less than 50Mbps, so half the
speed of Sky, but it hasn’t given me a
single day’s problem. I actually watch
iPlayer more often these days, but itstill streams without glitches. It makes
me wonder if I’m actually still paying
too much for a speed I don’t need, so I
may switch again when BT nudges me
that my contract is soon to expire. I’ve
heard you can comfortably watch
iPlayer on 24Mbps.
Ofcom gets a lot of criticism for over-
regulating the broadband industry, but
without these measures I’d probably
have stuck with Sky, complacently
paying much more than I should. I’m
proof that these rules can benefit you. I
urge other readers to take note of these
‘you’re contract is ending’
messages and start
shopping around.
Ian Ellisonmust concede that they changed the face
of technology with that one little device.
Philip GreggMany virtual networks don’t
support Wi-Fi Calling
While I cannot fault the logic of
switching to a virtual phone
network – as you describe in Issue 632
(page 60) – I would like to air a word of
caution. Many of the networks you
mention don’t support Wi-Fi
Calling as the main networks do.
As I live in a rural backwater, with
a flaky mobile signal, this service
has been a godsend for me. It
means (if your phone supports it)
that you can make and receive
mobile-phone calls through
your Wi-Fi just as if you had a
good signal for a nearby mast.
Definitely something to think
about before jumping into
these networks.
Malcolm JonesRest in peace iPod
I was interested in your small news
story in Issue 632 about Apple
ending support for old iPads, but a bigger
loss is Apple’s decision to stop selling the
iPod (see http://www.snipca.com/42046). I
remember reading about the device first
in the pages of Computeractive, then
buying the original model (pictured)
within weeks of its launch.
At the time it felt like the most
exciting device I’d ever
owned, and looking
back I’m not sure any
other product has come
close to generating the
same level of awe and
excitement. I’ve still
got it in a drawer in the
loft, though I can’t have
listened to it for over a
decade.
I think even those
not convinced by
Apple’s productsthese tools kept her in business during
the crisis, and it forced her to modernise.
She says that more customers email or
text her than phone, which is the reverse
of the pre-Covid era.
Harold KaneGive Google your data and
get free search in return
I think Phil Hardman is being
unfair on Google when he claims
they don’t care about your privacy
(Star Letter, Issue 632). It’s more subtle
than that. Google is simply exploiting
the fact that if you want its service to be
free, you’ll have to accept that it needs to
make money in other ways, namely
advertising. In Google’s eyes, this is a
fair transaction: give us your personal
data and we’ll give you a free search
engine.
It’s clearly the right strategy because
the last time I checked Google was the
fourth biggest company in the world. It
didn’t even exist 25 years ago.
Gavin AtkinsonDelays on Virgin broadband
drove me mad
I’m glad that Terry Sutton feels
satisfied enough with Virgin to stay
with them, but there are many other
customers who feel badly let down
by the company’s appalling service.
For several weeks in April and well into
May Virgin’s broadband was suffering
from severe delays, making it almost
impossible to use the internet without
being driven mad with frustration. The
company’s forums were crammed with
customers complaining, and I saw a few
websites reporting on it (www.snipca.
com/42038).
To be fair, Virgin’s support team did its
best to placate a horde of irate customers,
and I don’t blame those who had to field
calls and reply to emails. And I don’t
blame the engineers who must have been
rushed off their feet fixing problems. But
I do blame the management who for
whatever reason let this issue fester.
Needless to say, when my contract expires
I’ll be looking to leave.
Nicholas ShottonIssue 633 • 8 – 21 June 2022