Silver Surfers Get Post Office Broadband October 27, 2007
Read more Broadband , Gizmodo UK , Online , PC , Technology
The Post Office is joining the broadband arena and plans to drag the nation’s elderly with it. And why not? Others in the broadband arena offer slightly lower prices to get ahead but the Post Office has come up with the novel idea of offering a broadband service that will appeal to the over 50s – which make up 25% of the UK’s online population.
The “easy-to-use-service”, provided by BT, can also be paid for in cash at 14,000 Post Office outlets. However, the elderly will not exactly be getting a bargain. In fact, the Post Office offering looks a mite cynical, a cashing-in on its massive elderly clientèle.
For instance, the entry level package costs a non-competitive £16 per month – not including your line rental. Prices rise to £21 for the Broadband Extra package.
OK, they are getting a claimed 8Mbits/sec service with a 5GB download limit but £16 is still above the odds.-Martin Lynch
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
Comments
Just set up the modem with my father-in-law’s brand new PC. Following the printed instructions did result in automatic configuration, as intended.
The People’s Post Office forgot to mention anywhere in its advertising, pre-sales literature or post-sales instructions that it expects you to abandon your familiar email client (Outlook Express or whatever) and use its unconventional browser-based interface.
(a) How do you transfer your existing address book into that?
(b) How can you switch over to a proper email client? [earlier posts have reported success with incoming messages but not with outgoing messages, which is hardly sufficient!]
I think Tiscali Broadband are very favourable at the moment. Checkout http://www.tiscali-offer.co.uk. Also you can compare the best broadband offers at http://www.broadband-offers.com.
I hope that helps.
Thanks
Shush Arya
Had fewer problems than most people,b ut so far could not get email replies, fixed after 2 days. Now I CANNOT SEND!!!! Obviously pointless phoning helpline, too busy. WHAT A SURPRISE!!!
Just got back from helping a friend set up Postoffice Broadband - what a crock of s**t - sure the broad band went on ok but they are appear to be running their email system on an old Sinclair Spectrum - or even worse the original mail servers that Freeserve threw out years ago !!
Their email system is a joke - the password they give you does NOT authenticateat all - so you change it - still it does not work - their own site home page "times out" on the web - worst of all you cannot contact Tech Support because you cannot use your Mypostoffice email to do it!!
When we eventually got through to Tech Support we were told that ” eveything was working OK but and we should use another web based email account to send a test email to set up the Mypostoffice email account ??? Why WTF!! ??
Like fools we did use a web based email account to send a test email to my friends new Mypostoffice account - you guessed it - your right ... it did not work - Narda Nothin Zilch…
About as much use …..[ insert as appropriate ]
*** POSTOFFICE INTERNET IS A VIRTUAL SERVICE PROVIDER - THEY BUY TIME AND SERVER SPACE FROM BT - BUT IT IS BT'S CHEAPY CHEAPY NASTY SERVICE - DO NOT SIGN UP WITH POST OFFICE BROADBAND UNTIL THEY SORT IT ALL OUT - IT IS LIKE FREESERVE ALL OVER AGAIN - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ***