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AOL broadband

AOL Overview

  • Simple 8Mb broadband package, with 10GB download allowance, which is available on either 1 or 18 month contract

Currently showing the top 2 of 2 results

Best selling AOL broadband deals

Package Price/mth Speed(Up to) Downloads(limit) Contract
£4.99 £14.99 after 3 monthsPlus one month FREE 8Mb 10 GBper month 18months Go

0800 138 8410
£4.99 £29.99 setup £14.99 after 3 months 8Mb 10 GBper month 1months Go

0800 138 8410

Currently showing the top 2 of 2 results

About AOL

Definitely the Marmite name in fixed-line broadband terms, AOL will be described as the best or worst broadband provider in the UK, depending on who you talk to. It was the first ISP to include a wireless router as standard with all its broadband packages, and it claims its "easy-to-install software" means connection couldn't be easier. While it also claims 'award winning' customer support, calls to it aren't free - nor is there a 24-hour service. That said, for the novice - and families in particular - AOL can be a sound choice. The start-up pack includes anti-virus and firewall software, as well as spam filters, pop-up blockers and parental controls.

AOL, originally America Online, launched its first US online service as far back as 1985. It landed in the UK in 1996, building a huge user base thanks to attractive pricing and aggressive advertising (it used to be a challenge to buy a magazine that didn't have a 'free' AOL installation CD glued to the front). The AOL Broadband name was acquired by The Carphone Warehouse Group in December 2006, with the AOL UK base being acquired from AOL Inc shortly afterwards. It now runs alongside Carphone's other fixed-line broadband operations, TalkTalk and Tiscali. This takes Carphone's total fixed-line broadband subscriber base to around 4.5 million (with close to 1.7 million on AOL), just behind market leader BT.

Be aware that you need Windows XP/Vista or Apple MAC OSX 10.3 or above to install AOL's software, as well as the usual BT landline.

Customer reviews

Show all 115 AOL broadband reviews»

unhappy

by Georgie
at 16:15 on 7 Feb 2010

I do not recommend AOL at all as they have now charged us about 200 pounds extra in a fraudulent way. I requested an AOL broadband only package as we already had a phone contract with BT, and we paid the more expensive rate for having bb only - 14.99 GBP per month (after the intro rate ceased). AOL only have online statements which do not appear to detail the contract but did not see the amounts charged as I went overseas and transferred the contract to my mother's phone; she also had a phone calls contract with BT. She did not investigate why her debits were quite high and I now discover that AOL have been charging for phone calls AS WELL AS BT, so she has been paying for them twice. This was discovered after I got back and I additionally had organised a second AOL contract for my number. On speaking to BT (by chance) they told me that AOL was charging me for my phone calls, so they have done this fraudulent action twice now. I have cancelled my mother's service and so am unable to access any statements and they will not send me any without a payment of 10 pounds, a written request and a delay of 40 days. BT told me their actions are illegal. I am furious, but don't want to cause my 85 year old mother more stress by taking them to court. Report abuse
neutral

by Jane
at 15:02 on 27 Jan 2010

I was AOL client for more than 5 years and this is the greatest regret in my life.

Just matter of fact:
On the 25 January I was in contact with one of AOL technical assistant. The person was totally incompetent, rude, impatient, his English pronunciation was extremely unrecognizable; he rose his voice on me (!), said the current error was impossible and eventually hung up!!!
What kind of people does AOL employ to deal with client?
I had to spend more than 90 minutes with 2 another assistants later to sort the Internet connectivity problem.
Report abuse
unhappy

by Sam Laverick
at 19:44 on 26 Jan 2010

I have been with AOL for about 8 years and have had little if any problems. Since Talk Talk took over however, my broadband speed has been very very poor. Tried to talk to tech support but it became evident that they care very little for their customers. Talk Talk also promised me free broadband with my phone package and then said there wasn't capacity at the the exchange! Basically they lied to me and probably thousands of others!! Avoid TalkTalk like the plague is my advice!! Report abuse
unhappy

by Ron Gouldstone
at 12:11 on 27 Dec 2009

I have been using AOL for several years now and the service has been slowly going down the pan. Over the last 12 months download speeds have fallen dramaticly. A maximum of 1.7Mbps in the early morning and falling during the day to as low as 0.28Mbps by evening. This is lower than the upload speeds, which remain constant at about 0.35Mbps. This is a really crazy situation.
As a matter of interest my exchange is only 1.5 miles away so distance should not be the problem.
I have contacted the ISP many times, both by phone and email, but the situation still gets worse. In my opinion this product, and maybe many of the others, is "Not fit for purpose"
If you purchased a car and it only went at 10MPH you could be sure to get your money back. Report abuse

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