I am with Tiscali on ADSL. When it was called screaming.net (predecessor of Worldonline, then Tiscali) I was not with BT but with Servista. I continued to have my phone (line AND calls) with them when I went onto ADSL, but now Servista does not do LINE and CALL deals to private customers (although they do supply still via LloydsTSB, etc). A lot of companies do require a BT line.. I have BT for line rental only, my calls are with British Gas. I know NTL cable (or any cable) is quicker than ADSL but ADSL is still around 10x faster than dial up. Check that ADSL is available in your area. Have you asked NTL about alternatives (apart from dial up)?