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Last Updated: 06-Dec-2008

Broadband Selection and Installation Service: £90.00 (£103.50 inc. VAT @ 15%)

If you wish to upgrade to a Broadband Internet Connection, whether you've already got a normal dial-up service or not, then this service is for you.

There are some key issues to consider:

• Broadband does not require a second telephone line; all that happens is that your existing telephone cable will begin carrying two signals: your current analogue telephone signal and a new digital signal alongside.

• Consequently when you're on-line, your telephone will still operate as normal.

• Thus if you've had a second line installed previously specifically to cater for your internet connection, this extra line can be terminated and you will save the quarterly rental cost. Note that if applicable you will have to arrange with BT for the socket near the computer that is currently connected to this second line, to be attached to the normal line instead.

• When registering with Broadband Service Provider (BSP), you must be certain to provide the correct telephone number that is to be activated with broadband; thus if you are giving up a second line as above, please don't give this number during the registration process.

• Once your telephone line has been activated, it will carry two signals, as mentioned earlier; and in order to ensure that every apparatus picks up only the relevant signal, one or more "filters" are used (often called "splitters"). If not enough splitters are deployed, or if they're put in the wrong places, you will experience problems with either your broadband connection, or your telephone line, or more usually, both. Thus the "topology" of your telephone line circuit is critical to a successful broadband experience.

• If you're currently subscribed to BT's "Call Minder" service, this will have an effect on your ability to connect to broadband as and when required.

• The broadband market is very volatile, and as with mobile phones, there are numerous headline tariffs with small-print detail that is always confusing.

• If your present email address is directly linked to your Internet Service Provider (ISP), and you choose a broadband service from some other company, then in most cases you will have to stop using that email address and use one provided by your new service provider instead (but see below).

Our Broadband Selection and Installation Service begins with a visit to help you select a BSP that most suits your likely usage patterns, and of course, your pocket! We keep abreast of developments in the market, and also are guided by independent reviews of the performance of different BSPs; for instance at www.thinkbroadband.com, where it is possible to see graphs of comparative performance of up to six BSPs at once in respect of Speed, Reliability and Service.

Incidentally most properties in the UK are supplied with a telephone infrastructure by BT in their "wholesale" capacity, even if your Telephone Service Provider is someone other than BT's retail division. This means that you do not have to use the BT Broadband Service if your would prefer to select some other BSP.

However if your infrastructure and service are provided by a cable company, you do not have any choice: you must their broadband offering.

Once a BSP has been selected, we would use your existing internet connection to register on-line. Note that if you don't have a current ISP, we can set up a temporary connection based on an 0845 local rate number.

The registration process includes an on-line test to ensure that your local telephone exchange has been broadband-enabled and that there appear to be no obvious reasons why your property should not receive broadband.

After registration, there will be a delay of some 7-10 working days during which BT will test and "activate" your phone line. It is at this point that it may prove impossible for your property to receive broadband, normally if you live too far from the local exchange. The maximum cable-run distance is somewhere around 5.5KM, and any greater distance will mean that the broadband signal will be too weak to provide reliable traffic. If that is the case then your registration will be voided automatically by the BSP in question.

At some point during the delay period, your BSP will notify you of the expected activation date, and we will schedule a second visit for the day after that date or as soon as possible thereafter.

During this second visit we will hook everything up, place the splitters in their correct locations, and install the requisite software as supplied by your BSP together with the broadband modem normally supplied free of charge. Your new email address(es) will be set up too; however you may wish to take the opportunity of considering a Personal Email Domain (see left) at this point.

Finally if there are two or more computers at your property, you may also wish to consider a home network to allow your new broadband service to be shared concurrently; see Home Network in the sub-menu on the left.

A note about fees: in the event that you choose either or both of the above two additional services we will treat the combined set as a single project with a fee that will be less than the sum of the separate services.

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You are here: Home > Services > Broadband

Last Updated: 06-Dec-2008