Choosing an ISP can be a real pain. Behind the advertised multi-megabit download speeds are usually hidden costs and download limits.

However, we were tempted by a 24Mbits/sec ADSL2+ broadband service from Be.

Be was one of the first ISPs to offer ADSL2+ web access and we've been using its Unlimited package for the past three months to see just how much difference it makes.

You'll need to check Be's website to see if you can get the service as it's only available at specific exchanges in the UK.

ADSL2+ not only promises faster upstream and downstream speeds, but also extended reach.

If your main exchange is a fair distance from your local exchange, you can also bond up to three 2Mbits/sec broadband lines, effectively giving you a 6Mbits/sec service.

After signing up and the standard two-week wait, our start-up package arrived. Be has made a real effort to make everything as easy as possible.

Cheeky, yet informative booklets and setup guides suggest this technologically advanced product has been designed for the general consumer.

All username and password settings are pre-loaded into the supplied Speedtouch 802.11b/g wireless router, which has four Ethernet ports and two VoIP (Voice over IP) ports, among other features.

It's then just a case of attaching a phone line and pointing your computer(s) to the new wireless network.

All the usual security measures can be activated, such as a firewall and Wep or WPA encryption.

The claimed speeds of the Be Unlimited package are 'up to 24Mbits/sec downloads' and 'up to 1.3Mbits/sec uploads'. Naturally, we didn't experience anything like this, but we did achieve an average download of around 6Mbits/sec.

Uploads topped at around 1Mbit/sec, which is pretty good. Plus, there's no cap on the amount you can download so we could stream our bandwidth-heavy Slingbox all day long.

ADSL2+ speeds will vary based on contention ratios and distance from the exchange box. In our case we are about 800m point to point from the exchange- although there's no telling what route the cabling takes from the exchange.

On top of the £24 per month fee for the Unlimited service, users can opt for a static IP address for an extra £4 a month.

We used the service for three months, during which time we had one issue with the router. This was fixed within 48 hours. The service only went offline once – for three hours on a Sunday morning.

Be also offers a 24/7 support phone hotline (at local rates), which is great. However, a 24-hour government-enforced curfew in Bangalore (due to local civil unrest) meant the support team were unable to receive calls at one point.

Nevertheless, whenever an issue arose, an email promptly arrived explaining the problems and what Be was doing to resolve it.

Our overall three-month experience with Be was very good, however there's not much out there to really take advantage of ADSL2+ and, unless you happen to live on top of your BT exchange, you can forget about speeds of 24Mbits/sec.

EDIT: Since posting this review, Be has got in touch with us to say we should be getting far more than a 6Mbit/sec downstream. We're in the process of running further tests and will post updates as we get them.