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Too far away from the exchange - can't get it?
The basic BT requirement was that you must be under 6.5km from the exchange. Cable distance ... not road! This is to be certain of the quality of the copper wires to take broadband. But some people will be marginal.
If you have pre-registered without problem, no marginal results, or order etc, but are now told they are too far away...
I can't do anything to help. However a few ISPs will do manual orders to get a line properly checked.
Possibly: Vispa or AAISP may be worth checking?
From 6.9.04 you might persuade BT to do a manual check.
From September 6, 2004, the reach limit for the 512kb/sec ADSL services will be removed. BT is also increasing the range for 1Mb/sec premium services from 4km to approximately 6km – making 1Mb/sec ADSL available to 96 per cent of homes and businesses connected to a broadband exchange.
The trial data indicates that removing the limit means 99.8 per cent of lines connected to a broadband exchange should now be able to get a 512kb/sec ADSL service. To date approximately 96 per cent of homes and businesses connected to broadband enabled exchanges were within range for 512kb/sec ADSL.
Previously there was a limit for 512kb/sec broadband based on 60dB of signal loss on the line (typical line length about 6km). This meant 512kb/sec services reached approximately 96 per cent of homes and businesses.
The new line loss limit for 1Mb/sec ADSL will be 60dB (approximately 6km).
While the removal of reach limits for 512kb/sec ADSL will mean the vast majority of people connected to a broadband exchange will be able to get service there will still be some who can not, even following a visit by a BT engineer. The trial data indicates this should only apply to an average of 0.2 per cent of lines connected to broadband enabled exchanges.
BT started a 10km trial in Milton Keynes on Jun 1. We are still likely to see all sorts of anomolies. e.g. neighbours where one gets 2mb and another who gets the message that there is no service. BT notoriously rely on the auto line test and are very reluctant to make a manual check. If you feel that there are genuine grounds for complaint then BT said: If you want a further check done on a line that gives the 'too far away' message, please email btw.broadband.deployment@bt.com |
Should I have Anti-virus software
YES! and keep it up to date. Preferably with auto updates. Well known ones include Norton, McAfee and Sophos. There are even free ones available too.
Remember that new viruses come out all the time and take a few hours to get added to the updates. So NEVER open attachments that you are unsure of.
Free AV software may be obtained from here:
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php
there are others too..... |
Understanding Contention
It's important to understand contention. When your telephone line is enabled for Broadband, BT connect your line into a piece of hardware (called a DSLAM) at the telephone exchange. This hardware is connected to the Broadband network. In a worst-case scenario, you might be sharing that piece of hardware with up to 49 other people, meaning that you are all sharing the same 512Kb/sec connection. This means your download speed could be poor, e.g. down as low as 10Kb/sec - worse than you get at the moment! However, in reality this doesn't happen for two reasons:
It's unlikely that you'll be sharing the hardware with 49 other people; not in a rural area like ours anyway! In reality this is probably nearer to 15 other people.
The nature of internet use is in "bursts". i.e. you download a web page, read it, download another; read it etc. As such, there are long pauses where you are not actually sending or receiving data. This allows many people to share the same resource.
So, if you're on a 512Kb connection, you can probably expect an average download speed of between 400Kb/sec and 480Kb/sec - in other words, almost maximum speed.
The contention ratio is one of the reasons for different pricing in similar services. |
Connection Speed
Choosing a connection speed is not a major issue for most "home PC" users. At present you're probably connecting to the internet at somewhere around 45Kb/sec. A Broadband package offering 512Kb/sec means you'll be connecting 11 times quicker; a 1Mb/sec package means you'll be connecting at 22 times the speed! But for most users of the PC this is not really an issues, as web pages will still appear to load instantly with both connection speeds mentioned. Some users are offered speeds of 2Mb/sec, whilst in the centre of London one provider is offering an 8Mb package (for an exorbitant monthly fee!)
For 90% of the users in this area, a provider offering a 512Kb service will be perfectly adequate. Many of us will not be able to have a faster one in any case due to quality of the line!
Broadband uses ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Link). The key word here is "Asymmetrical", meaning the line operates with a different transmit speed to the receive speed. So, when you see people quote a 512Kb link, or a 1Mb link, the this is the download speed, i.e. the speed at which web pages reach your computer; in all cases the upload speed is 256Kb. In reality this is not a problem, since most of your internet use will probably be to receive data, i.e. look at web pages and receive email. On the other hand, if you send lots of data (e.g. large emails, data files etc.) then don't think that a 1Mb connection will be better than a 512Kb connection - it won't, your upload speed in both cases is only 256Kb
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