ADSL Broadband at Home

Now ADSL Broadband is becoming available in more and more parts of the country, and prices are falling, it is getting easier for more people to take advantage of Broadband at home. These advantages include:-

• Using the Internet does not tie up your phone line

• Much faster downloads and web browsing

• Better security

• Quicker response when playing online games

• No call charges

• No usage limits (with some Internet Service Providers (ISPs))

• One Broadband connection can be shared between several computers

How do I get it? - step by step guide

1. Chose an ISP and order your Broadband ADSL service. Many will allow you to sign up on the web via a normal dial-up connection.

2. Once your connection has been confirmed, buy suitable ADSL hardware to connect your computer to your new Broadband connection.

You can use any ISP that offers Broadband (see here for a list including prices). You do not need to use BTs own ISP (BT Openworld) you can choose any that offer Broadband including your current ISP. If you elect to use your current ISP, then you will also be able to retain your current email address (see here for information about keeping your email address if you plan on changing ISP).

What does it cost?

Your chosen ISP will charge you a monthly fee (some offer monthly contracts - some yearly, and some both). There is sometimes a "one off" charge of £58 for conversion of your telephone line. This is levied by BT but actually paid to your ISP. Note that many ISPs will wave this fee if you argree to stay with them for a certain time. Finally, once your line has been activated for ADSL, you will need to purchase your ADSL connection hardware. Prices can start from under £50, for a complete router based connection with a single plug in filter.

We recommend that you do not order ADSL hardware until the line activation has been confirmed, just in case your telephone line fails the line test and is not suitable for ADSL.

Any Recommendations?

We currently recommend PlusNet as a Broadband ISP since, in our opinion, they offer a good service at a very reasonable price.

Prices can vary by a margin of over £20/month for similar services depending on which ISP you choose.

Some ISPs will include bundled ADSL hardware which may seem like a good idea, but check carefully what is on offer since it may work our more expensive (and less flexible) than buying your own hardware. You may also find that ISPs who bundle hardware are unwilling to offer technical support to customers who use their own hardware rather than the bundled offering.

Some ISPs may also waive the £58 conversion charge for your telephone line when you sign up for a years service. However it is probably not worth choosing an ISP for this reason alone, so check that the whole package is appropriate for you.

It is also important to understand that some vendors offer a service as Internet Access Providers (IAPs) rather than ISPs (e.g. BT Retail offer such a service under the slightly confusing title of simply "BT Broadband"). This gives you access to the internet but limited access to other services like email, and newsgroups etc. While this can be handy for a company that runs its own mail servers, most people will find they need to arrange for these missing services separately with other providers - often at extra cost.

Do I need a special "modem" for ADSL?

In a word yes! ADSL modems come in three flavours:

Its good to Share!

One of the advantages of ADSL is its speed. There is enough available for several users on different computers to use the link at the same time without experiencing delays. The best way to share a connection is with a proper ADSL Router. With a router a whole group of computers can share a single connection and yet be hidden behind the Routers firewall so they are less vulnerable to attack from other internet users.

Internal PCI cards - Not often seen, and mostly for PC users, these install inside the computer in a spare expansion slot. Cheap and Simple, but more difficult to make secure, and more difficult to share your ADSL connection between computers.

USB Modems - connect to a spare USB port on your computer. Works well with Mac and PCs. The simplest to setup and also cheap. The level of security of USB modems is now improving but still not as good as with a router. Also a little more difficult to share a connection with other computers.

Routers - connect to your computer, or in fact, several computers at once via Local area network (Ethernet) connection. These are also pretty simple to setup and give the most flexibility and security. Some routers even offer wireless connectivity as well. So you can enjoy Broadband on your laptop at the end of the garden!

We recommend use if a router for connection to any ADSL service. Prices start from Under £50 and for that you will get good flexibility, and strong security as standard.

We can supply routers from a range of manufactures, but normally recommend models from Solwise. See the Solwise web site for information and current pricing.

Security

Once you have Broadband, unless you have a router, your computer is connected directly to the internet 24 hours / day. As a result there is a far greater risk that other internet users may be tempted to "tamper" with your computer if they can. Many high profile "Worms" and "Viruses" that make the headlines from time to time can be particularly dangerous for Broadband users.

Many of the PCI cards and USB connected ADSL modems, rely on the (often poor) security facilities built into the host operating system, or add on "firewall" software products to protect the computer from attack.

In our opinion this on its own is not an adequate level of protection. This is another reason we recommend that our customers always select a router for connection to their ADSL line.

A router will include usually some form of "firewall" that will hide your computer (or your whole network if you have several) from the rest of the internet.

What about filters?

Because ADSL uses the same phone line for both voice calls and data, it is necessary to make sure that voice calls do not interfere with the data connection. This is done using "micro filters" (aka. "Splitters", "filters" etc). Typically you will need to purchase one of these small devices to plug into each telephone extension that has a telephone, answering machine, or conventional modem, connected to it.

However, if you have more than 4 extension sockets in use, you may find it cheaper (and neater) to fit a filter at the master socket so that the whole house is filtered in one go, rather than have separate filters for each socket. You will then need to run one additional cable from the master socket to where you have your ADSL modem or router situated.

We can carry out filter installation for you if required. We can also install additional telephone, network, and modem/router connection points.

You can find more information and pricing on filters here.

For more introductory information on ADSL see the Think Broadband Guide here

Want some background
information on Broadband? See here.

We sell a full range
of ADSL routers and
other hardware at
competitive prices.

We can provide a
full install and setup
service in your own
home if required.

For more information
and prices,
drop us an email,
or give us a call.