Cyprus Broadband

reviewer: kwacka

november 02 2007 04:32pm

Difficult to write a report on i-choice, I've used them with two different ISPs and had opposite experiences which suggests that problems lie with the ISP rather than i-choice itself.

With Netrunner slow downloads, numerous service interuptions, with Netway no problems.

If you need the assistance of the helpdesk, make sure you've got a comfortable chair and a drink. Turn on the TV to pass the time as well.

reviewer: No_Fear

november 07 2007 01:01am

even thow i have cyta,i will not recomend it today,CytaNet technicians are fast ,telephone support some times they delay but dont forget they are the biggest internet company with lot of customers,the reason i am not recomend them is their speeds they offer 1024download with only 128upload with the same money you can buy much faster dsl packages.

reviewer: untelepathic

january 19 2008 11:00am

The greatest advantage of i-choice is that they have very good coverage. So, if you, like me, live in a village, it's probably your only choice for broadband.

Cons:

The i-choice network has one of the most weird designs I've ever seen. A tracert reveals that, in order to reach your ISP, your packets need to pass through a PPPoE tunnel, 4 routers, and 3 subnets. Obviously, this increases latency and makes the network prone to errors. And of course there's that unnecessary web site you have to visit every time you loose your connection.

Their equipment is also not of a very good standard. The modems are very inexpensive models and notorious for surrendering the spirit after a couple of years of operation (this seems to be changing a bit nowadays, with the new speedtouch models they're now installing). The "MiVision" IPTV device is even worse: Made by a company called aminet, it's definitely an entry level model that takes about 1 minute to boot and is so underpowered it needs a second or two to respond to simple remote control commands.

Connection speed is probably i-choice's biggest problem, as they only offer up to 1 Mbps (1024/256) for home users. Recently, they announced a 2 Mbps option, and I've been told that they've "secretly" began accepting applications for it. But this is still a far cry from the 8-10 Mbps offered by the competition.

Pros:

Despite the weirdness of its design and its initial problems, the i-choice network seems to be very stable nowadays. I can't remember the last time they had a global outage, but I'm sure it was at least a couple of years ago. This is to be expected, as the network is almost 10 years old now and Cyta seems to be doing a pretty good job maintaining it.

Also, MiVision, their IPTV, is actually pretty good: The picture is crytal clear with no dropouts (for me at least). And the programming, with a bunch of premium channels, all of Cyprus' sports and football events, and movies on demand, is not bad at all.

The Bottom Line:

If you live in a rural area and i-choice is the only way to go, go for it. The service is decent if a little slow. But if you're in a town, you'd probably do better with PrimeTel or Cablenet. They offer better speed and you'll have much less trouble with their equipment.

A Hint:

Someone has complained about problems with i-choice and certain ISPs. This is usually not a problem with the ISP but with the configuration of the i-choice modem. If you're using i-choice with an ISP other than CytaNet, and you are connecting to the modem directly (i.e. you don't have a router), you need to manually set your DNS settings to those of your ISP. For example, if you're using Netway, your preferred DNS server must be 81.21.45.34, with 81.21.45.35 as your alternative.

I-choice Current Equipment:

Modem: http://www.thomson-broadband.co.uk/products/Details.asp?ProductID=511
IPTV Device: http://www.thomson-broadband.co.uk/products/Details.asp?ProductID=511

reviewer: ddd

october 26 2008 05:20am

telephathic could you explain in detail how can someone connect directly to the modem?? i have ichoice and provider netway. Also i've read the reviews here about cablenet..can someone tell me how fast it is in kbps, like with ichoice and netway i have right now, when Im downloading from internet it usually goes between 80-120 kbps, when im using a p2p program it depends, usually my download speed is around 10-20 kbps, the problem is my upload speed, its really slow, when im uploading something the maximum is 12-15 kbps and in p2p program is even worse..is cablenet speeds better than the ones I got? thanks

reviewer: harry100

october 27 2008 08:05am

cytanet and i-choice i have send them emails asking when the update will happen
and they send me an email saying that they will cut of my Internet connection and take me to court if i don't stop sending them emails about the upgrade they said it will happen
at the start of 2008

 

i think cytanet and i-choice are the worst Internet service providers in Cyprus

PS don't go with cytanet and i-choice

 

i give them 0 to 10

a big fat 0

reviewer: efrem

october 28 2008 09:57am

je emeis sto dikastirio mazi sou man, na se ipostiriksoume

reviewer: harry100

october 28 2008 10:09am

se efxaristo file

reviewer: georget

october 28 2008 10:18am

reviewer: efrem

october 28 2008 10:22am

2018

reviewer: spits

april 16 2009 09:44am

the problem is,the company's thief s of Cyprus,that they take our money for lines like 1 mbit and 2mbit,with unelectable services,and they overcharge us for them,wen the rest of the world is talking for 50mps speeds,and very low costs ,(like about 50 euro ,for tel,and internet.)dont forget also that we are sharing are lines also with others with ratios 1/10- 1/20,but we pay them a single users.the stupid technical support and of"corse,especially in weekends,and late at night.
i hope someone starts the complains to they eec,and maybe they will be fines against the company's,and maybe they will start working professionally.
i come from a country that had 24mbit lines,with cost 37 euro,included vat,included all telephone calls for free in the country.
its a big shame ,that Cyprus was one of the first country's that had adsl on the planet,and now,its the second before the last of country's.