Thanks, gnomad, for the link to fair usage policy - does sound fair to me.

Good point about the help line costs Mr Red, definitely summat to factor in.

Thanks for the ADSL comparison site, The Villan, lots of useful info.

Looking at Theregister.co.uk (must learn to to blickies), it seems most ISPs have their downtimes.

Thanks for your experiences of tiscali, The PA, pixieof doom, eric.

Lots of other good points to think about, all your input much appreciated.

Hal