|
Interested in lobbying BT for Broadband access?
Contact
us!
June 2004 - Week 2
The emails are categorised:
|
While it's good news that some of us are getting broadband now - some
even earlier than they expected, we should balance that with some of the bad
news. To nobody's surprise, I take my own case as the example.
I signed up for the trial as soon as the ISP list was available, and had
already pre-ordered by the 17th, explicitly to take part in the trial.
On that day, my line status mysteriously changed from red to amber, so the
ISP couldn't apply under the trial but had to make a normal application and
get a BT man out to test the line.
On the 27th the BT man finally arrived to make arcane measurements, which he
couldn't understand or explain.
On the 1st of June, the start date of the trial, my order was again rejected
by BT because of line loss. "Trial?" they said, "What trial?".
With pestering by the ISP, BT accepted my order under the trial, and set an
activation date a week ahead.
So right now, 4 days into the trial, I'm waiting for delivery of the router
and then into next week to find out if it's going to work.
I'll post the outcome if there ever is one.
Cheers - Frank, Kents Hill
I can report that, having signed up for Broadband on the day it was
announced - must be about four years ago - I exchanged my first bytes of
data via ADSL on Tuesday. The connection has remained solid and trouble free
since then.
I do not propose to withdraw from the group - I will continue to take an
interest and lend weight to the arguments with BT.
Whilst I am delighted that I have at last acquired a connection, I am left
with a question, and it's this:
One of the BT people who visited to do line tests seemed relatively senior
and knowledgeable about the technology. He assured me that no new technology
is used for the Long Reach trial - it's just the same kit that has always
been used. In my case the only change that was made was to replace my
original (fitted by BT) master socket with a different one, of a type that
is normally used by BT for managed connections.
This change could have been made years ago, and I could have had service
then. The same goes for all the other triallists who have found that they
get a satisfactory connection even though they are "too far away".
So why were we all denied broadband service when it was technologically
available? It could be argued that BT was negligent in refusing the service
without ever trying to see if it was possible. All of us have suffered
inconvenience and many of us financial loss through denial of the service.
I realise it may seem mean to raise this question, and for myself, I will
take it no further. But it would be interesting to poll opinion in the group
and to get a response from BT.
Best regards - Frank, Kents Hill |
| I’m a Business Highway user but have decided to join the MK
trial. I have chosen to apply using my domestic line which is a standard
(but very long) line. I’m doing it through BT Business who needed to convert
my home line to business line – but that’s no problem, just accounts I
think. My neighbour (also a member of the action group) has done the same –
wish us luck! If it works well then I can go to the next stage which will
involve removing Highway Robbery, I mean Business Highway. I’ll let you
know how we get on.
A question – does anyone know if there are issues with line length from the
DSL filter to the router? I’m just working out where to position the kit
because my home socket is no where near my office. Options are:
1. Short phone cable from DSL filter to router and long network cable to a
network hub
2. Long phone cable to existing router / hub device
[I'd go for 1: Short phone cable from DSL filter to router and long
network cable to a network hub.]
Any help gratefully received.
Regards
Stuart, Wavendon Gate
I’m on the extended reach trial and it’s going well so far. In fact too
well because I would like an ADSL face plate fitted but can’t get one from
BT because there are no problems with the service!!! :-)
Does anyone know if they are a DIY fit or do I need to pay BT?
Regards
Stuart |
My broadband connection came up today. Working fine. My ISP
tells me that the signal level is 62.5db, the cutoff for normal broadband is
60db, so we were always only a gnat's whisker away from being able to get
it.
I'm getting download rates very close to the theoretical maximum (500K or
so)
At last, three year's wait is over...
Looking forward to getting shot of the satellite equipment (assuming that
the trial is successful).
All the best
Nigel, Newton Longville |
Just to let you know BT have tested my line for use under
the trial and they say everything is OK. I am just awaiting the ADSL
hardware and I should be good to go.
I am also still on the NTL wireless trial - and this is superb. I will have
to do back-to-back tests to see which one I should keep at the end of the
trials.
Keep up the excellent work.
Adam, Monkston |
We are also on Broadband.
We were informed by our service provider Plusnet on Thursday but we had to
wait till yesterday to get our router etc connected.
We seem to be working ok.
Nobody has told us yet about what records etc need to be maintained
Thanks again for your help to the Milton Keynes community.
Regards
Shyamal, Middleton |
However, I actually went on to the broadband trial
yesterday (well, early this morning after work) and early indications are
that it's working ok.
I'll keep you posted.
Bob, Racecourses |
Just a short note to let you know that I am now using
broadband on the MK Trial. NDO have been fantastic - they pushed my request
to get on the trial through despite the rejections by BT.
It's great to have the extra bandwidth!
Thank you for the support you've provided for all of us who've been without
broadband for so long.
Regards,
Colin, Stantonbury |
This is to thank you for all your hard work in the past
months towards getting us all on the information superhighway via broadband.
I registered with BT for the trial and I'm now surfing and enjoying the
benefits of ADSL access.
Many thanks to you all and please keep up the good work. Its just too bad
that you are not running for office, it would have made my decision of who
to vote for a lot easier.
Ademola, Bolbeck Park. |
I am now on Broadband with Eclipse -speed connected at 57.8
with downloads at about 55 - 56. No dropped connections - if all BT did was
fudge the number database then how many other customers have been told the
wrong results I wonder?
Richard, Racecourses |
| JUST TO LET YOU KNOW I have been but on the BT trial and
broadband is great! Carl, Loughton. |
Here in Willen I was successfully connected last Friday via
Zen Internet and have had a constant connection with no drop outs, and full
speed, for the past week. No issues at all.
Cheers
Julian, Willen |
I just wanted to say a very big thank you to Nick and the
team, as of about 5pm last night I finally got ADSL back after almost
exactly a years absence.
I chose Zen as my ISP after seeing various reviews on their speed, the fact
they gave me a rolling 1 month contract, good support and 5 free usable
static IP's. After initially registering a few weeks ago I found that I had
to email them a few times to get the feedback I wanted about being added to
the trial. My enable date was set for June 3rd, and after reading the
reports of people getting ADSL enabled early I waited with bated breath. The
3rd came and went and nothing happened. I was then unable to do any testing
until yesterday. All the time I was reading reports of how it was working
for everyone all over Milton Keynes, and also that BT had chose 3 areas in
the country to do some fibre tests in the autumn. At this point I started to
get worried as they were getting very specific and saying that one of the
areas was not only a generic Milton Keynes, but Bolbeck Park where I live.
Why had they chosen my estate in particular (and my ADSL wasn't showing any
sign of working at this point).
Anyway, I tested my ADSL router at a friends house first, it worked. Then I
brought his router to mine, no joy. Then I phoned the guys at Zen. He did a
quick line test and said that it was coming up as if I had a problem with my
wires...uh oh.. He then suggested that I locate my master socket and take
the faceplate off of that to reveal the real master socket. Plugged into
that and all of a sudden I was back in the 21st century...... hurrah.
The only dilemma I have now is to work out whether it is worth having my
house wiring redone so that I can plug my sky box back in. Everything else
is wireless so it doesn't matter that my master socket is sat in my garage.
Anyway sorry to give a long drawn out story, but wanted to share my lessons
learnt.
Nick and Co. thank you very very much. It just shows what can be done when
someone takes the bull by the horns and organises a group of people
(customer) to stand up to large companies and make them take notice.
Simon, Bolbeck Park |
I responded to a flyer sent out by ISP - Mailbox Internet -
for broadband access & can only sing their praises !! My Bletchley address
(MK3 postcode) was on a DACS system & not only did Mailbox resolve what BT
couldn't seem to, they did it all within 20 minutes !
Impressive stuff even to me & I work for a global IT Corp.
Best regards,
Tony, Racecourses |
I finally got the trial and check my speed =
468K actual (approx 500K with overheads) 248K actual (approx 250K with
overheads)
Excellent I think
The thing that makes my blood boil is that BT knew this would be the case
and refused to do anything in the past due to corporate politics and cost
limitations
Kind regards
Phil, Old Farm Park |
I have been on the BT Broadband Extended reach trial for
over two weeks now, and has proved to be reliable and fast. I'm very
pleased!
Regards,
Alan, Walnut Tree |
Our lane is now enabled and fully functioning with our
original ISP AOL. Neighbours all ordering to keep up us.
You've made a real difference, thank you very much.
Alix, Great Linford |
Our broadband went live on Wednesday am. Achieving 8192000
bps, more then happy with this. Have telephoned your contact at BT, to thank
her for her intervention in us getting onto the extended trial.
Would also like to offer our extended thanks to you for your support in this
matter.
Yours faithfully,
Doug, Walnut Tree |
I thought you might like to hear of my experience with the
trial.
All three lines in my house had always been "red" - too long for broadband.
I was very interested in the trial, but very disappointed when ISDN lines
were excluded, as the line I use for Internet is Home Highway.
Another line is a business line and not available for me to "stick" ADSL on
it, and the "main" telephone line has a burglar alarm on it. Previous advice
from the monitoring company had been not to have ADSL on the phone line to
which a burglar alarm is connected.
However, I contacted the company again, and they said that it was OK,
provided one of their engineers fitted a filter. The burglar alarm is
"hard-wired" into my internal phone wiring, not connected via a socket.
So I ordered ADSL service from Andrews and Arnold on the phone line to which
my burglar alarm is connected. The alarm company engineer was due to call in
a couple of days for a routine maintenance visit. However, it turned out
that he didn't carry DSL filters in his van. In fact, the alarm company
arranged to order it - at a price of £50 for the filter, plus another
call-out charge to fit it! I think this is daylight robbery by the alarm
company - but that's another story!
I fitted filters to the extension telephones and installed a DSL router. I
had been quoted a 1st June installation date for the ADSL, but that came and
went with no sign of service on the router. So late on Friday 4th June, I
contacted my ISP. They carried out some tests and confirmed that it looked
like a line problem, so passed the fault to BT.
On Monday morning, 7th June, BT called me and confirmed that there was no
fault at the exchange and made an appointment to visit me on 9th.
The engineer turned up at the appointed time and measured my line at the
master socket with the internal wiring disconnected. The measurements showed
my line should be good enough (the loss level was just over the "normal"
limits which have been ignored for the trial, but the noise level is quite
good).
The engineer did identify that my internal wiring was connected wrongly -
the electrician who had done it when the house was extended seven years ago
hadn't used the wires in pairs: a very basic mistake. Rather than change the
wiring (which is a chargeable service by BT), the engineer fitted a "service
specific front plate" to my master socket.
The SSFP seems to be a special sort of filter which places all of the
internal wiring on the analogue side of the filter. SO I can only plug my
DSL modem into the master socket - but that's not a problem as it's 1m from
where my DSL modem would normally be situated anyhow.
After re-booting the modem, it came online immediately. Even more
impressively, I got a text message from my ISP within 30 seconds (Andrews &
Arnold can text line status changes to your mobile).
The speed test at adslguide.org came
out very good indeed, and since then, everything has been working perfectly.
The engineer said that although he had done a few trial sites, this was the
first SSFP he had had to fit. He also advised me to report a fault if the
line started to drop repeatedly, but not to report a fault if it was just
occasional. Apparently, if one reports multiple faults, there's a risk that
BT will decide that the line is not suitable for DSL.
So - a success story. I'll give it a month or two, and then cancel my Home
Highway line.
Thanks for all the work by BB4MK.
Tim Arnold
PS. More than two weeks after I contacted them, there's still no sign of the
£50 filter from my alarm company. Now I don't need it, so when (if) it ever
turns up, they can take it away! |
I’m connected at last!!!!!
I got connected today with BT and now I am a VERY happy chappy.
Thanks to you all for all your hard work.
Your efforts are much appreciated.
Cheers!
Darren, Walnut Tree |
Thanks to your tireless efforts, from tomorrow we should be
connected to BT Broadband as part of their trial.
Many thanks,
Val, Kents Hill |
After being accepted for the long reach trial and being
activated I was somewhat disappointed to find that my router would not sync
with my ISP (Merula).
I have just had the engineer round and he has fixed the problem - I still
had a HomeHighway box connected to my phone line.
I have just run the adslguide speedcheck and got 464kb down and 243kb up.
Interestingly enough when the engineer did the line test the noise levels
indicated that I was ok anyway - I did not need the extended trial - a story
that I think we shall see repeated again and again!
I would like to thank Nick and his crew for their efforts on all of his -
you've done/are doing a sterling job.
I would also like to give a mention to Merula who have been great in solving
a few problems with getting BT to attend this error - they have been great.
Regards
David, MK Village |
Just a quick update from the wilds of Newton Longville.
BT engineer called last week and did a lot of testing (both locally and
remotely) on my noise levels. Final figures came back at 72dB for an approx
7km distance from exchange. He installed a new faceplate as part of the
visit.
So far no dropouts and good speed. Figures are;
Direction Actual Speed True Speed (estimated)
Downstream 461 Kbps (57.6 KB/sec) 497 Kbps (inc. overheads)
Upstream 241 Kbps (30.1 KB/sec) 260 Kbps (inc. overheads)
So good to be part of the civilised world again!
Again, many thanks to Nick and everybody else who pushed this through.
Regards,
Mark, Newton Longville |
BT engineer came on Friday, did lots of testing, installed
a new face plate. Reading of 66dB, connection still kept dropping out.
BT engineer back today, he swapped my copper pair, my reading is now down to
53dB, so into normal limits.
My USB Fujitsu modem kept dropping the the connection, but seemed to
re-connect ok.
The BT engineer suggested buying a different modem, they one they used
connected, and stayed connected without any problems.
BT engineer said "as I am now into normal limits, if I get problems with a
new modem, BT will come out and fix the problem."
Have just brought a D Link wireless router, and all appears to be well :-)
Many thanks to the group
Dave, Racecourses |
I have two phone lines - one is 8.9km away the other could
not be measured for some vague technical reasons. This second line is now
broadband enabled with speeds of 460kb/s and 237kb/s. Nothing special was
done to get it working - although its always been denied when I've tried
before. The noise on the line is 59.5dB, so I guess I just scrape in.
I went with Powernet (I've been a member for nine years), I have a single
static IP address and a ZyXEL 650R ADSL router.
Thanks for everybody's help over the last months. Now to figure out how to
get fibre to our doors :-)
cheers
Loz, Kents Hill |
Just to report that I had broadband successfully installed
today.
I am using Powernet.
Though without expertise of my son I would have been baffled!
Thanks for all your efforts.
Ros, Middleton |
This is to update you following a recent visit by a BT
engineer, who, I'm pleased to say, has now sorted out my previous ADSL
connection problems. This was effected by installing a new primary
ADSL/phone socket, and I now have a stable ADSL connection, which is great.
I should also say that the BT engineer who came along was extremely helpful
and knowledgeable, and that he provided me with the new socket and an
extension cable, and his time, entirely free of charge. This was by virtue
of my being part of the MK Long reach trial. So, I'm extremely grateful for
all the hard work that you've done to set up the trial and to ensure that so
much helpful information has been made available - many thanks indeed.
Best wishes
Anthony, Whaddon |
| I ordered the trial was activated on 3rd June.
No signal though, we went on holiday and so it was last Tuesday the BT
men cometh to investigate. A man arrived at 12:30 and another, a supervisor,
at 13:30. Seemed my internal wiring was causing a problem after having Home
Highway removed. They fitted a special filter so I can only have broadband
on 1 BT socket, but I do not have any other filters on any of the sockets.
Anyway about 16:00 all working with f2s.com. All is fine.
BT are most helpful in my opinion, I guess they want the trial to be a
success.
Andy
Andrew, Bow Brickhill |
I now have broadband as part of the BT trial (decided to go
with BT as my ISP as well for simplicity) - touch wood, everything seems to
be working perfectly.
Thanks for all your efforts over the last couple of years!!
Terry, Middleton |
|
|
BT have been alerted to all the following emails...
I am thrilled a lot of people are now getting BB through out MK, this is
great news.
Is there anyone who is now, after all this time getting BB in Windmill hill
Drive area of Bletchley?
Is there any way of showing where people are now starting to receive BB?
[I'm currently building up maps. I rely on reports from members.
BT say nothing, only in the most general of terms. Confronting engineers
face to face, and a supply of Jaffa cakes, is the only way of getting
tangible information out of BT.]
Ian, Bletchley |
Anyone using Zen as their trial ISP.
I applied for the trial through them (11 May), but then heard nothing after
their 'we will contact you' email. On mailing them yesterday, they
apologised and have now ask me to apply for BB through their normal
channels. I'm worried that this will be indicative of their level of
service.
Any suggestions for another ISP?
Matthew, Willen Park
Martin, Walnut Tree replies:
"Zen did a similar thing to me, I was concerned that my request was
not being dealt with, so I phoned them. I let the phone ring unanswered for
about 15 minutes when I thought, sod this, I'll find another supplier.
"I tried Freedom2Surf, who have a similar unlimited fixed IP service
for £22.50 per month. Freedom have done a great job, they were very friendly
and helpful on both occasions I phoned them, and the service was switched on
early!" |
Is there any progress to report to us folk who took the
Midband Option from BT and are now being excluded from the trial?
All the good news being reported on the sight is now beginning to hurt!
Also, if I read once more that John Bint has won Broadband for All in the
Middleton Ward I will probably scream.
Is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Is there a tunnel?
Clive, Middleton
[This was strongly raised in this morning's meeting with BT. "This is
under consideration."] |
|
Thanks for all the info you have sent, and for being proactive for us all.
I live in Bletchley, but work in London.
I'm also studying in my own time - so I never have time to attend BAG
meetings!
I just wanted to ask...
Apparently I live too far from the exchange. The checkers tell me I am
able to get Broadband but I can 'only' get a 512Kbps service due to the
length of the line. The 2Mbps service I want is unobtainable and no area for
negotiation exists...i.e. 1Mbps either.
I've been hovering on this brink for ages... yes, I'm still on dial-up!
I want high speed broadband... now!
Why can't I surf top speed like others? It's just so unfair! Where can I go
in terms of the services I want?
I feel strongly that if services are being advertised nationwide the area
you live in should not make you exempt well isn't that a breach of some
equalities law or something?
LOL - is it that I'm going to have to settle for less that what I want? Then
they talk about.. 'don't get left behind on the information super-highway'!
It would be nice to get on highway in relative terms!
I'm sure its some form of discrimination!
Anyway thanks again
Ken
[Who said life was fair?
The 1Mbps and 2Mbps distance limits are being re-evaluated by BT.] |
I live in Shenley Church End, just off Oakhill Road. I was
successfully connected to Broadband last February. I used it a lot, up to
several hours a day without any problem. But six days ago my connection
failed to synchronise. I reported it to my ISP immediately. Since then, I've
had numerous phone calls with the ISP and various people from BT, including
two attendances at my house by technicians. Without exception. all of these
people were courteous, concerned and helpful. However, only today has the
service been restored. Even now, BT report that despite this, there are
still faults showing on my ASDL connection, in particular noise. They have
booked an appointment tomorrow to visit my house to try to improve the
signal. Apparently, I am outside the normal line length for ASDL.
Incidentally, because I was having no problems, I asked you to remove me
from your address list last week. Clearly, this was premature!
Has anyone else had these problems after such a long period of successful
operation?
Davy, Shenley Church End |
BT engineer was out here yesterday afternoon and although
they will run a couple more tests today, at 9.8km from Shenley Church End
exchange, I'm still too far away even for the Long-Reach Trial.
Hopefully I'll get my dial up speed back when they disconnect me from the
broadband line and put me back to normal.
What a bummer!
Rosemary, Nash - only 4km to the exchange as the crow flies! |
|
My understanding is that you should keep the ADSL-side as short as you can.
The network side can run for 100 meters without a problem, as long as you
use a good category 5 cable.
However, there is a third option that might work out for you. A couple of
companies make wireless network extension devices, called wireless bridges.
The one I have looked at and intend to use if we can get my neighbour's
broadband up is the Netgear WGE101. D-Link makes one as well.
A pair of bridges is equivalent to a cable. The simplest configuration is to
plug one bridge into your router and the other one into your hub. The two
bridges create a virtual cable between the two devices.
An alternate config, and one that could save some money, is to install a
wireless ADSL router on one end, and a wireless bridge on the other. If you
don't already have the router, this config saves around £30 because a
wireless router + 1 wireless bridge is less expensive than a cable router
+ 2 wireless bridges.
The config I will use is a combination of the two. My neighbour bought the
cabled ADSL router. I will buy an access point (a Netgear WG602) and connect
it to the router. I will then use a WGE101 bridge to cross the garden
between our houses and connect my firewall (which is also a hub) to the
access point, and thus to the ADSL router. My neighbour will buy another
WGE101 to run a virtual cable from the ground floor of their house up to the
third floor.
You might ask "why did I buy a cabled router instead of a wireless router?"
Because I am concerned that the trial won't be successful, and this reduces
the potentially wasted upfront cost. If the trial fails, we wasted £30 less.
If the trial goes well, then we end up spending around £30 more. We also
have a better idea of who owns what equipment.
Next question might be "Why an access point + bridge instead of two
bridges?" An access point provides marginally better security than 2 bridges
operating in ad-hoc mode because access points support a list of devices
(MAC addresses, actually) that are allowed to connect to the access point. I
have never seen similar support in ad-hoc networks.
Good luck!
Charles |
Having used broadband in Leeds for some time, I am planning
to transfer to Milton Keynes.
Not yet a MK residents, but hoping to become residents by this autumn, when
our son goes up to university, we would naturally be keen on obtaining
broadband in MK as we have become accustomed to using it.
I agree that it does not make sense for a modern, beautifully planned area
such as Milton Keynes not to have broadband.
I suppose you have considered wireless facilities for areas that cannot
obtain a broadband facility. The co-ordinating web site of Community
Broadband Network is
http://www.broadband-uk.coop/
However, with a wireless broadband facility I do not know how it links in
with the service providers. I checked with AOL and they suggested that a BT
line is best in order to obtain freefone access on an 0800 number.
As soon as I have made the transfer I will apply for broadband service
through AOL and find out whether the service is available on the particular
estate where I can find a suitable property.
In any event, I agree that the whole area of Milton Keynes should have
access to broadband via fixed telephone lines.
Good luck with your campaigning!
Kind regards
Richard |
Hypothetically, BT may decide on a new set of evaluation criteria as a
result of the trial. Let's face it if they are selling a service it has to
work consistently and we have heard stories of dropped and inconsistent
access. I can see BT deciding on a new set of values that prove reliable,
let's say 7 km 65db loss. What happens to all the people who now have
broadband on the trial, but are above the limits? I'm sure the terms of the
trial give no guarantees of long term access past the end of the trial, and
I can remember stories on this board of people who had broadband but were
disconnected as a result of 'my neighbour has broadband' complaints. This
all has to be especially worrying for those that are considering migration
from HH/ISDN!
Do we know where we stand with regard to access beyond the trial?Dale,
Monkston |
|
Previous week's emails
Next week's emails
Links
Milton Keynes Broadband Home
Activities
If you live in Milton Keynes, and want Broadband, let
us
know!
|