Zyra's front page //// LineOne //// site index

Also see OTHER UNMETERED ACCESS INTERNET CONNECTIONS

This page is about

LineOne UNMETERED ACCESS INTERNET CONNECTION

Which means that you don't have to pay anything for the time you are online. Generally this is off-peak Internet access, so that means the Internet is free after 6pm, all night, until 8am the next day, and free all Saturday and all Sunday.

This is SurfTime, and costs £12/month offpeak. There are other options for daytime, and for ANYTIME (24 hour) access.

So, the question is, is that a bargain? Really it's a matter of how much you pay currently. By using Charge Advice it's possible to find out how much all the local rate calls cost, and if the total averages more than 40p/day, SurfTime would be a good idea as £12/month is (1200/30=) about 40p/day.

You either pay for the local calls at a 1.7p a minute (pay-as-you-go) OR you pay £12 per month (SurfTime). Decide which will be cheaper for you.

Also, with LineOne, SurfTime is NOT SLOW. Be careful of unmetered access connections generally and get someone to personally recommend them. Some are good, but some of them are slow! But LineOne is just as fast on SurfTime as on the pay-as-you-go. I have personal experience of LineOne on both pay-as-you-go AND SurfTime. They appear to run at the same speed. I suspect this is a result of the policy of the weighting of large uploads, which is no bad thing if it speeds up the server!

A quirk of the system is that if you have Charge Advice set to be on all the time, then after any Internet calls you will get the friendly robot advising you how much the call has cost. It's not correct anyway because it's about half price. Don't worry about this - the calls are free. In fact they won't even appear on your bill, even as free calls. If you're careful with money (which I am) I recommend the use of a special clock or stop-watch that you turn on when you go online and off when you hang up. Thus it gives you the cumulative total of time spent online. If it's averaging more than 40 minutes per day, you're saving money. If it's more like four hours a day like mine is, then appropriate expression might be gestures such as the rubbing of hands together in extreme money-saving style, or impressions of Cheshire cats.

Another of the odd things about LineOne SurfTime is that it occasionally cuts out. It tends to happen if you're on for two or three hours. Don't worry about this - there is a "resume" option which you just select if it happens (after picking up the phone in the case of Charge Advice). This feature is also good news, as it is only a very minor inconvenience to you, and yet gets rid of the problem where some people just leave the phone off the hook!

Also note that the first month, or for ANYTIME the first three months are free, but it is a 12-month contract. Always read the smallprint in contracts to make sure you know what you are buying.

What if you have an offpeak tariff but have to go online in the daytime once in a while? What happens then is that you pay at the normal pay-as-you-go rate for the online time. But then again, if you've got SurfTime unmetered access off-peak, such instances will most likely be rare.

Another useful thing to mention is: Have an accurate clock, so you know when SurfTime begins and ends. I generally make a point of waiting for about ten minutes after 6 o'clock before going online, just in case anyone tries to contact me by telephone!

If you are interested in signing up for LineOne SurfTime, here's the link:

SELECT HERE TO GO TO THE LINK-PAGE

Or, if you want 24-hour access rather than just off-peak, for an extra £3/month you can sign up to the "ANYTIME" offer with Tiscali (who now own LineOne)

Note: This page was updated 2003/05 to take account of some changes that occurred. If I've made any mistakes, please let me know. I like to be accurate, but can't promise to be! Also see the options described at the page about Tiscali

Also see the page of OTHER UNMETERED ACCESS INTERNET CONNECTIONS