ADSL Problems

It´s only once in a blue moon that I write an article in Click in order to make negative comments about a product or service but my recent experiences with BT leave me with doubt over how capable they are of delivering the vision of a `Broadband Britain´ that many IT professionals have.

Having recently started running my business on a full time rather than part time basis, I decided that it was time to replace my flagging 56k modem for a nice ADSL line as I needed to be able to be on the Internet and use the phone at the same time; something I couldn´t do after recently moving into a new house which has just one telephone line. ADSL promised to be able to offer me speeds of up to 512k/s, approximately 10 times the speed of a standard modem and the ability to surf the Internet and use the phone at the same time so I quickly went on to the website of my current ISP of choice, Freeserve and checked the availability of ADSL in my area.

Rather surprisingly the report came back as saying that I didn´t have a BT phone when I typed in my home number (01803 555981) and this is news to me since I´ve been with BT for the last couple of months and since this number has always been a BT line. I contacted Freeserve directly and they said that the database that BT provided them was showing me as not being one of their customers and so the next obvious step was to try on the BT website to see if they could offer me ADSL.
Again, the check came back saying that I didn´t have a BT phone line; this I thought was quite incredible for them to stand and say to my face that I wasn´t one of their customers. The alternative route was to do a simple check on my postcode (TQ4 7QH) to see if there was any chance of getting ADSL in my area whatsoever and the website came back saying that BT had no plans of providing this service due to low levels of customer demand.

I finally admitted defeat and called BT to get ISDN installed because even though slow and relatively expensive it would still give me a second number and slightly faster Internet access than I´m currently experiencing. Upon calling the guy at the ISDN help line, he checked my number and then got quite excited and basically told me I´d be stupid to buy ISDN now as I´d be able to get the far faster ADSL in my area within the next couple of days, possibly a few weeks at max and advised me to call back every day to check their progress. Suitably happy but also fairly confused at this response I concluded the conversation and got back to work.
Four days past but shockingly the next guy I spoke to said that I would probably have to wait until mid 2003 before my exchange would be likely to be enabled for ADSL access. I explained my previous conversation with his colleague and so he ran a couple more in-depth checks just to be sure and confirmed that I definitely could NOT get ADSL at this time.
Unsatisfied with this answer I finished the conversation, hung up the phone and called straight back in order to speak to a different employee on exactly the same helpdesk. Once again, he checked availability and confirmed that I had my credit card details to hand as I was indeed in an ADSL enabled area - The difference in opinions between two people on exactly the same helpdesk shocked me.

Anyway, to cut a long story short I have gone ahead and placed the order with BT for ADSL to be installed and they have given me a confirmed activation date of the 9th September although if I check my postcode on their website it still says that they have no plans of being able to provide ADSL in my area. This doesn´t exactly fill me with confidence that come the 9th of September I´ll have a fully working high speed Internet line but if you could all keep your fingers crossed for me until next week and I´ll let you know how I´ve got along with BT and also talk about the advantages ADSL has to offer those who can actually receive the service.

Computer Articles 2007

Those of you who read my article last week will remember that I discussed my lack of confidence in the ability of BT to be able to provide the vision of `Broadband Britain´ that everybody in the IT industry seems to have at the moment. If you didn´t read last weeks article then check out the Herald Express website to download it otherwise you´ll have no idea what´s up with me this week.

To summarize the developments from this time last week, after weeks of debating and contradictory information with quotes for the availability of ADSL (high speed Internet access) in my area ranging from right now to the end of 2003, BT now appear to have decided that I can´t get ADSL in my area at all. If I check online or via e-mail then I´m told that my order is still processing through the system as normal and that I´ll have ADSL set up in my home by the 9th September but if I phone the help line they seem to think that I´m not able to get ADSL now as the line noise on my line is 5% over the tolerated. Looks like I´m going to have to let you know next week how it goes as even after 3 weeks it seems that BT not only can´t decide whether I can get ADSL or not but also I am shocked by the complete of communication between the different departments of the company.

Anyway, at least my experiences with attempting to receive broadband has forced me to do my background research and so for the remainder of this article I´ll discuss the benefits of broadband to those who are lucky enough to be in an enabled area. First off, make sure you do a check as to whether you should be able to receive broadband in your area by going to [ برای مشاهده لینک ، با نام کاربری خود وارد شوید یا ثبت نام کنید ] and entering your phone number where indicated. Providing this comes back with a positive response then it is quite likely that you will pass the further testing which will enable you to receive broadband so lets talk about the advantages it can offer you.

ADSL is an always-on technology and this means that although it´s linked to your existing phone number, you are always connected to the Internet whilst your computer is on but you are also able to make and receive phone calls at the same time. You need not worry about having to dial up to the Internet or disconnect to worry about the call costs as it´s always connected and ready to use, running at speeds of up to 10 times that of a conventional modem

The costs for setting up on this system aren´t that prohibiting as the average installation cost of ADSL is around £85 including the cost of the special modem and filters that you´ll need to actually connect via ADSL to the Internet. The included modem is external meaning that you can use it on either a laptop or a desktop PC and you are then looking to pay around £29.99 on top of your usual telephone subscription per month for the line rental. This may seem expensive at first but if you wanted to have a standard second line in your house for using the Internet and the telephone at the same time then you´d be paying around £75 or so for the installation and then £10 or so line rental per month for the second line. On top of this, if you had a conventional second line then you´d have to pay your ISP costs of around £14.99 for 0800 access any time of the day but this is included within the cost of ADSL.

After living in Cardiff and using the broadband connection at the University, I would recommend to anyone who uses the Internet even a moderate amount to pay a little bit extra in order to get the extra speeds offered by ADSL. When connected to the Internet via a broadband technology the possibilities of live streaming video and music and downloading files that would take days on a standard connection all become possible - This is all dependant on whether you can get it in your area so always check online before getting your hopes up.

You know you´ve struck a chord with the general public when you get stopped in the street by people you´ve never met who ask you how your installation of ADSL is going. For those of you who haven´t seen my last couple of articles, I´ve been running a feature promoting the benefits of getting a high speed always on Internet connection (ADSL) and the difficulties that I personally have had in receiving it.

As the last word on this, BT have now decided that I am unable to get the ADSL service after weeks of continually changing their mind and they have no idea when I will be able to. I recently received a letter from Eddie Bent from E-Strategy Net who offered the following advice to those people in a similar position to myself:

"Dear Mr Holgate,
I am writing in response to your article in Saturdays edition of the Herald Express, titled BT confusion with ADSL.

In my experience of ADSL (5 years working for a couple of well known ISPs), BT are generally thought of as the last point of call for information regarding issues such as these. You might be better off speaking to a more customer focused ISP. It is a myth that BT staff are more knowledgeable simply because ISPs have to use their backbone.

With reference to your telephone number (01803 555981), it does appear that it is not yet recognised by BT as a valid number. There are usually two reasons for this; either it is a new telephone line/number or your telephony service is provided by another supplier (Eurobell for example).

The current situation regarding the rollout of ADSL is based, purely, on a pre-registration scheme. BT have looked at the exchanges that have yet to be enabled and have set a trigger level for registrations. For example, if the trigger level were set at 400 for TQ4 7QH, then you would require 400 definite requests for orders of ADSL before the exchange would be enabled.

This scheme is, in my opinion, a stalling opportunity. The trigger levels describe the level of subscribers required before BT can reach a break-even figure. In effect, they are unwilling to invest in any further exchanges unless there is a guarantee that they won't make a loss. Good business sense perhaps, but this doesn't assist with the governments objective that Great Britain will be a leader in e-business by 2005.

However, as the ADSL market is changing frequently, I would perhaps hold fire on ISDN and either wait until the end of the year or explore other options including wireless and satellite (a little more expensive though!).

I hope this information is of some assistance. My experience in this industry enables me to provide balanced and impartial advice, which appears to in demand judging by my inbox.

Kindest Regards, Eddie Bent />
Eddie Bent makes some interesting points, especially that BT shouldn´t be considered the only choice when thinking about getting Broadband installed in your home. There are literally dozens of ISPs out there that are willing to supply you with broadband access and although the service they offer will still ultimately depend on BTs ability to provide an ADSL line in your area you may find that there customer service will be superior to that of BT.
For a list of broadband providers that support ADSL try visiting the following website - [ برای مشاهده لینک ، با نام کاربری خود وارد شوید یا ثبت نام کنید ] where you will see a list of all those that give you the ability to supply you at home, your business or those that are prepared to register your interest in the service to pass along to BT if your local area isn´t currently ADSL enabled.

I have summed up the benefits of ADSL over the past couple of weeks by recommending it to people who use the Internet a moderate to high amount although as I´ve experienced myself, a lot of people will not be able to receive the service. Check on their website and if you can get ADSL then I´ve seen it working and even in these early days it´s extremely fast so go ahead and order it.