Virgin media ending email hosting

[flameport]

From memory, and I might be wrong, you can only lock a .UK (NOMINET) for two years.

That was the case in the past, but you can do up to 10 years now.
Personally I would avoid using .uk domains for any critical services as Nominet is a strange organisation that has odd ways of doing things.

You do not need to register the domain name with the same company that hosts your domain space.

That is by far the most important point.
Domains are one thing. Email accounts are another. Web hosting is another. Who you get an internet connection from yet another one.
All of those could be obtained from one place but it isn't necessary or even desirable to do so.

Same applies to VOIP phone service - if you want a 'landline' equivalent you can buy it from any provider, not just who you pay for broadband.

 

[DavoUK]

Why not get your own domain name and web space? Have as many email address as you want and you're not tied to your internet provider. For example, pcs-net.com do a basic web hosting account for £19 a year. Add your own domain for £7 a year for a .co.uk and your done. Totally independant of your provider.

I have my own domain name and have been using gmail as a 'proxy' sending server. Generally this has been working OK but I now find that when sending to AOL and Yahoo email addresses, my email is rejected because AOL and Yahoo check that the true sending server (gmail) is not my domain name. Can pcs provide an email service for my domain name that stops this problem?