Getting ADSL broadband
The Garboldisham exchange is due for conversion at the end of April 2005, and from that time anyone with a 681xxx or 688xxx number should be able to get broadband Internet service in the same way that most people do, through their telephone line. There are some restrictions. The range is only about 6Km from the exchange, and may be less if the telephone lines are not in good condition. BT will conduct a survey of the line before providing service. There are ways of sharing a line between two telephone numbers, and ADSL will not work if your line has one of these. This will show up on the line survey, and BT should remove the sharing, but this may mean it takes longer to get service. Anyone with ISDN service (Highway) will have to have that removed before the line can be used for ADSL.
You can get an initial idea of the level of service that might be available by submitting your telephone number to the BT availability checker.
To make use of ADSL broadband, you will need a modem to connect to a telephone socket. These are different from the modem that you may use for a dial-up service, and come in various forms:
- PCI cards. These are fitted inside your PC and provide an ADSL connection for that machine. Your operating system may let you share that connection among several computers if they are joined by a separate network. Around £40.
- External Ethernet modems. The commonest form. They connect to the computer by a network cable. Recent computers will have a suitable port, but older ones may need an adapter card (costing £10 or less.) They can also be connected to a hub or switch in an existing network. They should work with any operating system. Usually about £40, but own-brand models can be cheaper.
- External USB modems. These use a USB port rather than an Ethernet port: again, most computers will already have a suitable port. They should work with any operating system. Usually about £40.
- Modem-routers. These are external Ethernet routers that have several Ethernet ports so they can form the basis of a local network for connecting several machines together. Some will offer hardware firewalls to help keep hackers out of your system. Mostly £40 and upwards.
- Wireless modem-routers. These add a wireless connection to the basic modem-router, so that a wireless-enabled computer can connect to the Internet without needing cables. Built in wireless is becoming common in laptops, but most machines will need a wireless adapter to make use of a wireless connection. Wireless modem-routers are available from about £70.
ADSL broadband is ordered through an internet service provider (ISP), who then makes the arrangements for the line conversion with BT. There are hundreds of ISPs to choose from, and most of them offer a choice of services. The main differences will be:
- Cost. This is probably the easiest thing to compare. Most ISPs charge a fixed amount per month, although there are a few "pay as you go" services which charge for the time connected or data downloaded. Some ISPs will charge an initial connection fee, but the monthly rate is then likely to be lower.
- Speed. "Standard" ADSL provides 512Kbit/s, or about 10 times the speed of an ordinary modem. Many providers offer a cheaper 256Kbit/s service, and will also offer faster services (1Mbit/s or even 2Mbit/s) at higher cost. These are maximum downloading speeds: data you send out will always be transmitted more slowly, especially if you are a long way from the exchange. The faster services are more limited in range, too.
- Contention ratio. Roughly speaking, this is the number of people you might be sharing your connection with. Typically, domestic services have a contention ratio of 50:1, with (more expensive) business services typically offering 20:1. If 50 people all decide to download something at exactly the same time, then each will see a rate of 10Kbit/s, or 1/5 the speed of an ordinary modem. However, this is unlikely to happen provided most users are just browsing the web and sending e-mail.
- Usage caps. Some providers limit the amount of data you can download each month. Others impose no limits (although most will reserve the right to take action if you spend all day and all night downloading files).
- Equipment included. Some providers will supply a complete "start-up" package including a suitable modem, while others offer a "wires only" service where you provide your own (but have a choice of what you buy).
- Contract terms. Some providers will expect you to sign up for a year. Others may just need a month's notice to end the service.
- Other provisions. Different ISPs offer different numbers of e-mail addresses. The size of the mail boxes, whether spam and viruses are filtered out of them, and the ways in which you can pick up your mail, also vary between providers. ISPs also usually offer some basic web site facilities, if you want to have your own personal site. These will differ in the amount of space offered, and whether your pages will have advertising banners on them. It is also worth checking what they will charge for use of their telephone help line. Some services bundle broadband provision with other telephone services.
Although the service will not be available until the end of April, many ISPs will allow you to order now.
Unlike a dial-up service, you cannot use several different broadband ISPs from a single telephone line. You can switch supplier by giving the required amount of notice under your contract, and most ISPs will not charge to take over your service from another ISP, even if they charge to start a new broadband connection.
You can make switching between ISPs easier in the future by asking us for a garboldisham.net e-mail address. Mail to these addresses can be redirected to any other mail address, or you can read it directly. See our e-mail page for details.