Back in Scotland – to a malfunctioning broadband connection

(Please see UPDATE at end

I had a trouble-free, if tiring, journey back to Scotland on Friday; I left home in Mazarron at about 2am for the drive up to Alicante for a 6am flight to East Midlands Airport, where I spent from 7.30am British time until 1pm waiting for the flight up to Inverness. East Midlands Airport, the airport for Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and someplace else whose name escapes me, is a rather utilitarian place although given that it is in a pretty high-population part of England has a lot of flights from early morning and throughout the day. I'll be doing the same route back to Scotland at the end of this month again, as I am back off out to Spain on 17th September (via Luton in that direction) for 12 days, an extra trip which I organised only a couple of weeks ago.

Since I got back home to Nairn on Friday afternoon I have had almost no broadband internet connection; I can get on sporadically for 2 or 3 minutes, then the connection blinks out; I haven't tried to do anything concrete about it until after the weekend, when I shall be on to my ISP (AOL) – I read in my latest copy of 'Which?' magazine just how poor is their their service and after-sales service, but I know this already myself. AOL used to be good until a few years ago, but since the UK operation was taken over by CarPhone Warehouse a couple of years ago it has deteriorated badly; it's also a lot more expensive. I have been thinking for a while of moving to another ISP, but this latest episode makes me even more determined to do so and this month's 'Which?' has a timely article on the various ISPs available and which have the best records for connections, reasonable costs and decent after-sales service. AOL used to be good in all areas, but particularly on after-sales service has become shockingly-poor. If I have to change my email address, which I had hoped to avoid , then so be it; the present pathetic situation can't be allowed to continue. At least when I get back to Spain in a couple of weeks time I'll have a decent broadband link in my house there!

UPDATE: (Tuesday 9SEP08 16.39) Fingers tightly crossed, but I think I am now back online. I discuss further in a new post. Thanks so much, meantime, for all the very helpful comments; it is very much appreciated.