Does anyone have a recommendation for a host as I need a new one asap. I need, probably managed dedicated server Windows/asp with php installed Bandwidth around 300gb per month
If you rent a server from anyone less then someone that owns a datacenter and the boxes in it, you're making a big mistake in the long run. Don't trust mom and pop server renters. Find a datacenter IMO.
Given the hosting industry is saturated and the profits are 'compartively low' the investments into a good datacenter for hosting are marginal at best. Google is rumoured to looking into providing free hosting making most current hosting companies shiver in their shoes. Naturally google has other sources of income and can justify providing hosting for free. This is why reviews of hosting companies will probably be short lived. Also there are multiple points of failures that a hosting company will need to address. Many of these factors are external to the company and datacenter and they hosting company will still get a bad review. Do what google and other large reliable companies do - It assume all datacenters are prone to failure and mirror your site on multiple servers. DNS will percolate in two hours in most cases and your loss will be minimized.
I disagree, profit margins for quality hosting are just fine. Can you quote a financial statement to back you claim? Pricing is down and the industry a mess, In some opinions, because every little kid in high school can open a so called hosting business. Datacenters with professional staffs and equipment will be here a long time to come, despite that, professionalism comes out in the wash. The likes of the go daddy type accounts that are limited and serve the tire kicker market. ie. those that see the infomercial and are going to be rich over night and need an internet account now. They last 2 weeks and go daddy made a buck, not a very good long term plan IMO. Oh well I'm ranting now too...
I believe that while choosing host one must consider the target traffic. For example, if my target traffic is from USA then my server should be hosted in USA.