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BT has introduced a Mobile Broadband facility for £15.65 a month with access to its free wireless network. See the BT mobile broadband website here
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BT Vision gives you access to Freeview digital tv channels, radio channels and a great range of on demand entertainment.
There are a range of prices for BT Vision packages to suit everyone. Visit our website to find out more.
BT Phone line
BT Total Broadband
A TV and aerial
Freeview coverage
Want fast, wireless broadband? Get one of our BT Broadband packages
Want to see how fast your line is with a broadband speed check? Enter your telephone number or postcode in our broadband postcode checker below. You will need a minimum of 2MB speed to be able to get BT Vision.
Want to see check broadband availability in your local area? Enter your postcode in our broadband postcode checker below and find out what is available to you.
Use our free broadband comparison tool to compare BT Broadband against other broadband services.
August 2010. To see the current state of UK broadband see the picture below
Although speeds have increased in the last two month the great divide between old copper telephone lines and fibre-optic cable is now showing, especially in rural areas, where 1 or 2 mb/s is still common. I pay for 20 mb/s from Virgin and frequently get 16 to 18. Unless BT can get its fibre optic act together the UK will be left behind.
June 2010. Take a look at http://www.broadband-expert.co.uk
Good article on broadband choices at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-broadband
See http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/ for BB offers in your area. But read the details. Most of them are still quoting temporary prices that go up after a time.
October 09 The best-buy broadband of the moment is from O2, which is offering a 12-month contract with unlimited downloads for £12.23 a month. It comes with a free wireless router, giving you wi-fi access. The deal is even better for existing O2 mobile customers, who can get the same package for only £7.34 a month. Until October 31, O2 is also offering the first three months of your contract free. Plusnet has a smaller download cap of 10GB for £5.99 a month. It offers an unlimited download package for £11.99 a month, with a free wireless router. Michael Phillips, of the comparison website Broadbandchoices.co.uk, says: “If you want broadband that ticks all the boxes, O2 and Plusnet are the best. Both are good all-rounders. Their customer service is efficient and they will activate your broadband quickly when you set up and offer great value for money.”
The Go Compare site re Broadband in all its flavours is at http://www.gocompare.com/guides/broadband.aspx.
From March 2010 BT is planning to connect a further 69 towns to its
40Mbits/sec fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) exchanges. This will enable ISPs
to offer faster, stable broadband connections.
The towns listed are a follows:
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May 09 Slow ADSL broadband speed ? But the first thing to do is use a broadband speed checker on the net. Be aware that ALL broadband connections DOWNLOAD much faster than they UPLOAD. You will get two readings and the one may be an eighth of the other. If you are not getting the speed you are paying for there be factors beyond your control such as the distance you are from the nearest digital exchange.
Computer Active, Issue 293, suggests that you check that your phone cables and filters are up to scratch and that you have one on each phone socket including any fax or Sky socket. In addition, for XP, they recommend a free tune up program called TCP Optimizer which allows more files to be downloaded at once. Vista does this automatically.
Some of the filter/internal cabling problems can be tested by a 'trial and error' process using other pieces. It might even be worth checking by attaching the modem directly to the main BT socket. If your modem connects to the USB socket (especially the older type one socket, speed may be improved by connecting the PC by an RJ45 (Ethernet) cable. But this needs an Ethernet sockets on the PC and on the modem and router
March 19th Italy has suspended trading in Tiscali shares following a failed rescue attempt by BSkyB. It is now expected that Carphone Warehouse will take over Tiscali.
February 09 An 'iPlate' is a £10 device from BT that could save your broadband. BT Wholesale have been trialling a new device that could radically improve the speed of ADSL broadband connections, allow ng customers to finally enjoy speeds close to the advertised ‘up to’ limit. Fixing an Interstitial Plate to the master telephone socket helps to improve connections by eliminating exterior interference. Broadband connections can be seriously affected by electronic ‘noise’ from basic household appliances with faulty power supplies. Bad power supplies from electrical equipment interferes with the so-called “Bell Wire” which runs throughout households, and creates noise on the line. In a test a basic ADSL connection running at 3.8Mbps was throttled down to 700Kbps when a nearby fluorescent tube with a faulty power supply was switched on; when an iPlate was fitted to the master socket, the connection returned to its normal speed. The iPlate is installed by unscrewing the face plate in the master socket and slotting iPlate into place. It is easiest fitted to sickets which are split into two halves. It is expected that iPlates are also expected to become part of the regular installation feature for new customers. Ashley Pickering from BT Wholesale said “We’ve seen huge increases in speed,” stating that “on average, it makes one and a half megs of difference.”
February 09 Popular comparison site, MoneySupermarket has suggested I add a link to their section on this fast changing area. See Broadband
January 09 Here is an example from one of the Broadband providers... Plusnet
Sept 08 Magazine PCPro asked their subscribers about their favourite Broadband provider These were the results :
October 08 in a recent survey 02 came out top for 8MB/s broadband.
But, significantly, this speed only averaged 4.95 MB/s. Next
best was Sky, with 3.63, then Orange at 3MB/s
The government is to give £300 million to enable poorer families with
children to get onto broadband.
September 2008 A recent report from consumer group BroadbandChoices found that the cheapest dial-up connection costs £175.89 (AOL Anytime)in the first year compared with £89.97 (TalkTalk) for broadband. "That's a price difference of nearly 100%," said Michael Phillips, product director of BroadbandChoices. While some find the pay as you go rate and the lack of a minimum contract period good reasons to stick with dial-up, many are just unwilling to shop around. "The most common reason for sticking with an inferior service is simply customer inertia. The longer people spend on dial-up, the more money they are throwing down the drain," he said.
Or, as I said last moth :. I really do think that, at the prices you can see in the following site there is no longer a case for people to still use a dialup connection. It is not just a geek thing to go to broadband. It is necessary if you wish to keep your machine safe. The only machines I would consider to use without BB is one not connected to the net.
19th August 08 Mobile phone company 3 is offering mobile broadband for £10 a month with a free mobile USB modem
Useful page on Wireless setup : http://www.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/global/learn/network/index?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
March 08 Vodafone are offering Mobile Broadband up to 7 meg for £15 a month. You need to plug in a USB Modem stick to your laptop or PC. It auto configures itself but Apple folk have to get the drivers. The USB modem contains a telephone type SIM chip.
BT is gradually 'Unbundling' their exchanges, (called LLU or Local Loop Unbundling) allowing ISPs to add their own equipment. Most ISPs do NOT have their own equipment in exchanges but use either BT or another ISPs equipment. ISPs who have installed their own equipment may do this to save paying BT but also, those ISPs who wish to offer a speed exceeding BT's current limit of 8Mbs (such as BE https://www.bethere.co.uk/) may do this, too. If you would like to see how far BT has got with your local exchange just enter your town name in the space in this site http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php
BT is also rolling out a new format called 21CN, which should make faster connection possible. See http://www.btplc.com/21cn/
Many people find that they do not get the broadband speed for which they are paying and there are investigations afoot as to whether advertisers are being fair in this respect. I was this very interested to read the following reply that one of my contacts when complaining to BT. Although this refers to BT broadband much of it will apply to anyone who uses a BT connection (not a Cable method) The italics are my input
Message from BT re a slow connection.
"There might be various reasons as to why you are getting a slow speed
and they could be:
1. There may be a fault over the line outside the premise.
2. There may be a fault with the internal wirings and devices.
I have just tested your line (this is worth asking them to do) for
your Telephone Number and can confirm your line supports the UK's most complete
broadband package, BT Total Broadband and we can confirm that you will be
able to reach a maximum download speed of 8.0 (Megabits per second).
(But) BT Total Broadband will always give you
the maximum download speed available to your line based on these
factors.
1. The number of other users online at the time.
2. The overall usage across the Internet.
3. The distance between your premise and the nearest server.
4. The condition of the copper cables.
5. The condition of the weather.
If the problem persist write back to us we will escalate the issue
to the concerned Department.
For any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us or use our
BT Broadband Self Help web site
http://www.bt.com/broadband/help"
Jinu P. C. BT Total Broadband Support
END of message from BT
AOL Broadband will give you a Dell laptop and wireless router if you sign up for their broadband. But there are few free lunches - (well, there IS my site). You will have to sign up for two years at £19.99 a month. With your BT line that is nearly £30. You must also take AOL Talk Pay as you go service (wassat?) or you will have to pay £10 a month more. (£40) And, although you MAY get 8Mb/s if you are lucky, one AOL subscriber I know cannot get more that a 16th of that speed. As ever, it all depends if you live next door to the telephone exchange.
For the Uswitch page for comparing Broadband deals click HERE or take a look at http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/results/ Their latest survey (March 08) put Plus.net well to the fore, with Sky next and (mysteriously) Talk Talk in third spot. They must have got their act together. Plus.net prices are from £9.99 a month for light users. But ALL of their schemes offer up to 8Mb speed - if you are one of the lucky ones. With the cheapest option they offer a simple router and only insist on a one month contract.
Sky TV introduced a broadband service in July 2006 and has already signed up almost a million households. Prices are from free to £10 a month depending on speed, though people living outside its coverage area pay more.
Wireless connections ? Don't ask me, please ! But there are experts around who will supply the necessary equipment and advise you. For instance www.allwireless.co.uk of Leicester specialize in Wireless Technology & Home Automation and if you get stuck you can phone them on 0845 058 0504 and will get personal attention. And PCworld will be delighted to sell you the gear and set it up (at a price), as will Ebuyer.
But if you have a wireless set up and you are getting a bad connection to your router your should consider positioning it in the middle of the house and not behind thick walls. Moving it off the floor to a bookcase or shelf should also help. If you only have one wireless computer, then place the router closer to the computer and remember, wifi is a radio signal, so the signals from microwave ovens, cordless phones and even your neighbor's wireless router may interfere. So steer clear of those as well
Free Which ? booklet on Broadband. Phone 0800 389 7259 and quote ref. BROAD183
I now feel that no-one should be paying for Anytime dialup access, as broadband is about the same price. It is not just the speed of access to the net which is so much better but the size of security downloads these days (M'soft and Antivirus) must put off an awful lot of people when they go on for so long. Recently I had to update a laptop with 42 security updates (on pay-as-you-go dialup !) It took hours and that did not include Service Pack 2 for XP, which I loaded from a disk. If I had downloaded that I would have to let it run all night. So, call me a Internet snob if you like, I really feel that there is NO alternative to Broadband (and Windows XP or Vista for that matter). As for Pay as You Go dialup, that is no longer economic. Programs such as Zone Alarm Free (firewall) are now 27 Mb; AVG 7 (free) is 19Meg and frills like Quicktime and iTunes updates are as much as 65Mb.
Some people will say " Well I only use it for the occasional e-mail". If
so, they are not on line long enough to get the security updates that are
so essential these days - and are thus prone to virus infection and doomed
to face endless trouble just to stay on line (and likely to infect others)
.
But, if you really want to ignore the inevitable you might wish to
take a look at another very useful site at
http://www.practicalpc.co.uk/computing/comms/speedup.htm
Carphone Warehouse is advertising free laptops if you go for an AOL or Orange Broadband contract. (Sunday Times 22/7/07) The AOL deal gives a better quality laptop (worth £500) but not until September 07 whereas the Orange deal laptop is worth only £300 but can be picked up at Pcworld within 10 days. But the AOL 8 Mb service costs £19.99 compared with Plusnet for an 8Mb broadband for only £9.99 a month and with a good service record (according to Uswitch). So you will be paying over the period of the contract, which is two years in both cases. .
Eventually it is expected that Broadband speeds will increase substantially, allowing rapid download of TV. NTL, using fibreoptic cable, is talking about 50Mb (currently copper wired (BT type) landlines have difficulty delivering 8Mb). Japan, Sweden, Korea and Finland all offer 100Mbps broadband connections (UP as well as DOWNload), as all four countries have switched to fibre optic networks. Makes our 500kbs and 1Meg to 8Mbs connections look a bit 'last year'.
A TV + Broadband + freephone war has broken out between BSkyB, BTVision and Virgin.net /NTL. All are offering 'bundles' with combinations of mobile or landline telephone, TV and broadband. Other 'bundling' deals include Tiscali, TalkTalk and Orange. Some offer cheap or free broadband with mobile telephone contracts. BT will combine it with Freeview, via a set top box. Sky's offering is £26 a month for TV, Broadband and some free calls. But you still have to pay BT to rent your line. It is all up for grabs as they say. I am happy with my Virgin Media TV, free anytime calls with 2Mb broadband all for £32.50 Being via cable the speed does not depend on my distance from a BT exchange.
Tiscali subscribers get FREE telephone line rental and local and national calls with your Broadband (up to 8mb) for £19.99. But check the latest on Tiscali. Their initial package looks very cheap.
In a recent Which survey Waitrose, better known for its grocery stores, was the only household name to be made a best buy, with 72% of customers saying its £18.99 (8mbps) service was very satisfying. Waitrose's package was highlighted as good for computer novices, as its helpline is free to call if problems occur, unlike some providers who charge up to 75p per minute for assistance. The big-four suppliers were mediocre in the study.
Another useful site is http://www.ispreview.co.uk
For another listing of Broadband services from www.ukoffer.com see HERE
http://www.madasafish.com/ are offering up to 8Mb speed for £11.99. They do a wireless modem offer for a one-off £25.
An advantage with Broadband is the fact that you do not need an extra line in order to use the telephone at the same time as being on line. This can be quite a saving and should be taken into account when calculating the total cost.
Want to see how fast your Broadband connection is ? Have a go at http://www.adslguide.org/tools/speedtest.asp. You may be surprised at how slow your 'upstream' speed is. That is why it may seem to take an age to send a video file or large picture to someone but why downloading things is much faster. My downloading was correct at nearly 2Meg. (As against 45k on dialup). But uploading was a mere 127k - in other words, less than a TENTH of the speed of downloading. Other sites which does this is http://www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/ and http://www.speedtest.bbmax.co.uk/
N.B. You may be disappointed that your broadband speed is nothing like what you are paying for. This can be down to more than one factor. The first is (in the case of BT telephone line based broadband) the distance from the nearest digital exchange. In the case of cable it can be down to the 'contention level', meaning the number of people in your area competing for the line. But another factor seems to be rearing its head. One contact (using cable) had complained he was not getting the very fast speeds he was paying for. He decided to replace his expensive Norton Internet Security Suite with free software, such as AVG and Zone alarm. Suddenly the speeds on ALL of his connections (he has four) increased dramatically. So, it does seem likely that security software can slow things up by spending time checking everything that goes on.
Want to change from one ISP to another ? These days is should be
comparatively easy, although you should check the small print to see if you
have any 'tie in' with your current provider. With Broadband, as they
often supply equipment and software there is often a 1 year contract.
Having sorted that out what you need from your current ISP is a MAC
address. That is nothing to do with those pretty computer often favoured
by designers. It stands for Migration Authorisation Code. Once you have this
it should be comparatively easy to change. Internet Providers have an
Association. See www.ispa.org.uk, especially
if you have a complaint against one that you cannot resolve.
You can get useful information from places such as Internet Magazine,
which lists ISP's and how well they are doing
SkyDSL is promising broadband downloads (via satellite) anywhere in Europe
from £4.57 a month and can provide up to 16 megabits per second for
£33. However, you require a dish and a dialup connection to
your own ISP, too, which takes the shine off that rather.
****************
One of the main things to look for in an ISP these days is how they handle
Spam and, even more important, how they deal with Viruses.
For instance, whilst I was using AOL I did not receive any attempted
virus for months, whilst others are getting them almost daily. AOL also
effectively blocks Spam and Popups. When you hit the 'Report Spam' section
they are deleted and a copy is sent to AOL who block future spam from that
address (if they get a few reports). This system helps but can be rather
draconian. AOL (version 9) has a Spam folder. Sometimes things get
in there that shouldn't, so check. Generally it won't stop emails providing
you have the address already in your address book so, if you WANT a particular
advert, make sure you do this. My alternative e-mail address, especially
useful when I am away from base, is with Googlemail. It, too, has a Report
Spam and Report Phishing facility. So, if you are being bothered by either
you might consider changing your ISP or getting a Googlemail address.
What if you have Broadband and also have a laptop or second computer which
you would like connected to the same system ? The answer is a small
local network. This can be achieved by connecting the two machines via a
cable but the popular way these days is a Wireless connection. For
this you will need each machine to have a wireless gadget. Modern laptops
usually include this on board. Earlier models will need a wireless
PC card adapter or, possibly, a USB2 wireless adapter. The main machine
will need either a wireless card or a USB2 Adapter. I must stress that
the faster USB2 is needed to cope with the Broadband connection. Lastly,
it is preferred (I found essential) to have an additional gadget called a
Router, which sorts out the various connections to Broadband. This will have
tiny aerials on top and will sit on the PC or on your desk. This will be
connected to the PC via a USB2 cable or, in the case of Cable Broadband (e.g.
NTL, Telewest etc) you will need an Ethernet cable connection (NOT USB)
Although it is possible for connections to be made between Windows 98 and
ME machines it is easier and preferable if they are all using Windows XP
(SP2) I would also recommend that all the equipment is by the same manufacturer.
The big names are Linksys, Belkin, Netgear and BT
To settle complaints about ISP's you can look at the following sites www.ispa.org.uk (Association of ISP's) www.otelo.org.uk (Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman), www.cisas.org.uk (Internet Services Adjudication Scheme)
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