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July 2004 - Week 3
Tiscali
Tiscali applied to join the trial and then failed to process any orders,
which has led to confusion and dissatisfaction. BT Wholesale have been aware of
this for some time.
I have decided to remove Tiscali from the ISP list.
Community Network Groups
Mark emailed me the following list of community network groups:
Manchester Wireless - very hands on practical mailing list
Consume - London based
- overarching group working on lots of projects
Free2Air - London
based networkers - more directly east end wifi
Access to Broadband
Campaign - not so sure about how good this is but does link to govt and
other initiatives
Redbricks - the
guys that inspired me in the first place - 250 houses wired across their
neighbourhood, cables across roads!
http://www.broadband-uk.coop/
ADSL2
Faster Broadband... read ADSL guide's report on
ADSL2.
This week's emails..
The following emails are categorised:
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We too have now got broadband. We went to sign up for the trial but ISP
'ZEN' tested the line and told us they could supply a service.
We bought the kit but could not get it to synchronise. BT arranged a house
call and eventually a fault was found with the bedroom extension. Once this
was removed, everything worked fine.
Brian, Walnut Tree |
It seems you can add me to the count of members who have
successfully been connected to broadband.
My line's loop loss is 64.958 dB. The connection was very iffy before BT
installed a new face plate.
Although it is only 4 days since installation the service appears to have
jumped from 20% working to 100% working.
Best regards
Philip, Giffard Park |
Thanks to your efforts, I now have had broadband for a just
over a month and every thing seems to be working okay. Download speed is
great, normal surfing is great. The only problem is my old PC which having
trouble copping with the speed, it can't deal with doing to much at once,
audio and video streaming is a bit hit and miss. So I have ordered a new P4
PC, then I will be able to tell how well the broadband is really performing.
But over all it's looking very promising and I wouldn't want to be without
it.
Thanks
Peter, Middleton |
Add another one to the list of successful installations.
After removing my 25 year old extensions all is well.
Thanks,
Andrew, Newton Longville |
Just to let you know, after the RED light turned to GREEN
in BT connection terms, I was successful in getting an AOL connection.
Thanks for your support.
Ian, Neath Hill |
I am now up and connected with BT broadband and my services
seem to be fine. I hope others can get connected as well.
Carl, Loughton |
Just to let you know that I am now successfully connected
to Broadband, some phone calls with Bt services and the placement of one
more filter later (we have satellite TV and it you need a filter at that
phone connection too).
The instructions are not that easy to follow, especially the satellite bit.
Anyway, we are now happily 'broadbanding' away...
Many many thanks, and the best of luck to everyone.
Francine, Bradwell Village |
Just to let you know, we have managed to get Broadband
through Eclipse, and it works great, no problems at all. We tried through
Tiscali, who we had dial up with, but they would not except the order.
Eclipse was a doddle, and all installed and working within a week. Thanks
for all your help.
Ian, Furzton |
I now have broadband with PlusNet.
Initially BT did a line check and said it was OK for broadband, however I
could not get a signal on my modem. BT came to investigate & it turned out
that the signal was available on the master socket but not at any other.
The engineer kindly relocated the master socket to the room I was using to
connect and all is well.
Kind Regards,
Mahesh, Middleton |
I am now Broadbanded too however the tale is a little odd.
Being a home based worker, I have a business use ISDN (Highway) line and a
domestic line. Every time I apply for the Highway line to be converted to
Broadband, I am told that the line is not of sufficient quality.
However when I applied for my domestic line to be converted everything went
through in about 6 days and the line quality and speed seems adequate.
Are BT running a cost saving exercise here? - if the line is iffy and it is
ISDN, don't convert it because the cost of re-enabling ISDN is prohibitive.
But, if it is an ordinary PSTN line, turn it on, send a modem and then let
the user complain if the service is not up to scratch?
Thank for all of your updates on this subject they have been very useful,
[see this ISDN link]
Chris, Conniburrow |
Just wanted to say that we have broadband (trial) now in
Newton Longville.
We occasionally have a problem connecting - but this doesn't happen often
enough to bother us. BT have been great, checking that everything is going
OK, by phone and letter and have also sent a survey form we need to fill in.
They did add broadband charges to our phone bill, but as soon as we queried
it, they credited all charges again, so no problems at all.
Michelle, Newton Longville |
Just to let you know. I was successfully put on the trial
using BT Openworld.
I have been getting full speed and perfect connections so I am a happy
bunny.
Richard, Great Linford |
Been on now for two days and it has not dropped off once
(so much for BT thinking it was a waste of time) rx 576/tx 288 not bad as a
year ago a BT engineer visited me with meters and alike and said I was well
outside the area and would not get connected until new designs were put into
place, So I think we should call Nick a "new design".
A big thanks to Nick and the rest of the gang.
Steve, Old Farm Park |
I'm up and running on the broadband trial.
Thanks to everyone that has pushed this through - lets hope they keep
rolling it out until we can all get broadband!
Tony, Loughton |
| We have been connected for a month now. There had been a
delay with sending out the starter kit Chris, Kents Hill |
Just thought you might like to know I have been on the
trial via NDO and its an exceptional service.
The reason for the email, I got a questionnaire from BT to complete - 13
questions in total, and not 1 question about how good the service is - very
odd?
They just wanted to know what equipment was being used.
Regards
Paul, Great Holm |
| I applied for Broadband some time ago and was turned down,
despite my next door neighbour having it and our telephone lines coming off
the same pole. When the trial began I signed up with Prodigy and BT enabled
the line, but my Origo ASU 8000 modem couldn't connect , but it did keep
trying. On Wednesday, a very polite and helpful BT engineer arrived, having
checked things at Woburn Sands Exchange then began checking with the main
phone connection and worked his way through the telephone wiring until the
problem was pinpointed to the telephone extension lead going to my desk. We
replaced the lead, it connected and has worked fine since then, running at
576/288.
I live at Hulcote, right out in the country, so you would think if it
reached here it should reach everywhere in MK.
Many thanks for your efforts. A job well done.
Yours gratefully,
Harry, Hulcote |
| Now that I am successfully attached to broadband (via
Freedom2surf) how long should I wait before cancelling my dial-up contract
with Tiscali? In other words, how long is the MK long-reach broadband trial
planned to last? [September]
The question arises though; what happens in September? And, crucially,
who will decide whether the trial has been a success or not, and whether
people like me will continue to be broadband-connected after September?
So far as I am concerned, it is working very well and I want to keep it.
I've cancelled my dial-up contract with Tiscali on that assumption (and to
avoid paying for a service I'd ceased to use.)
Regards
Jim, Great Linford
[On the BT Trial page we read:
"7. What happens when the trial is over?"
"Assuming successful trial results, you the customer will have the choice of
continuing with the service or ceasing it."
Then on this
page
"What is the cut-off point for an acceptable level of service and who
decides that - consumer or ISP?"
"BT: An acceptable level of service is defined by the broadband product’s
description. Please check this with your service provider. It’s also defined
by the customer’s satisfaction i.e. if the service runs acceptably,
customers do not log faults."
... But I think BT needs to clarify this further. (I've have others in the
group asking this question too.)
I'll forward BT this email.] |
I’m delighted to report that we now have Broadband here in
Broughton.
We’ve signed up with Zen because they were courteous when I contacted them
originally, got a Vigor 2600 router, and John Baker keyed in the clever bits
and had it running in about five minutes (Many thanks!). Thanks to all who
offered advice on wireless routers and old, thick wall: so far we’ve wimped
out and used wires but we may try some wireless stuff in due course.
Interestingly, the Attenuation is -60.5dB, which implies about 5km of
cabling – which begs some questions about the line length checker that had
originally said we were 10.8 km from the exchange. We’ve not moved, and to
the best of my knowledge neither has the exchange. Funny, that. And
apparently it’s faster than John Baker is getting in Monkston, too. Perhaps
that’s because so far there aren’t many users in Broughton.
John Bint
Broughton, MK10. – now part of Broadbandland. |
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|
BT have been alerted to all the following emails...
| Here's my
latest posting on my blog. It closes the loop 'so far'... hard to
summarise, so check it out... Marc, Loughton |
I am with BTopenworld, and was accepted as part of the extended trial about
a month ago.
When the package arrived from BT I duly installed it as per instruction, and
suddenly my internet was turbocharged.
Then I hit a problem. As always, I put the computer to 'sleep' when I'd
finished for the day, but when I switched on the next morning the broadband
wouldn't kick in. A reboot proved successful on this occasion, but soon
after the broadband froze me and I was unable to get back in.
Calls to the helpline followed — the first occasion the suggestion was that
my BT line was at fault, and this necessitated a BT engineer's check, which
turned up nothing. Then, 24 hours later, it was suggested I should swap the
filters around, even though we only use one of the two inputs.
This worked briefly, but soon it all went tits up again, and after extensive
checks by BT Broadband on the line, it was decided an engineer's visit was
in order. After every conceivable check (he was with us for over two hours)
he fitted a new face plate filter.
That was 11 days ago, and since then there have been no problems, although
it must be said that the whole thing appears to be working much more slowly
than at first, not much faster than the old system, in fact.
I asked the engineer if my line would be suitable for any faster link-up,
but he said the 512 was the best I could hope for.
Bob, Racecourses[Try the
ADSL guide speed test.] |
Still no joy on getting connect to broadband, all the ISPs
in the trial (8 that I have tried) have all come up with the same reply:
"The line is to long."
It still doesn't make any sense to me as I'm the only one in the court that
can't get it, yet all the lines run into a splitter box in my meter
cupboard, then of to the exchange.Please any more that you can think of
would be of help as I'm now at a lose end, so to speak. If I had any hair I
think I would have pulled it out by now.
All the best
Terry, Heelands |
I went onto the trial site, however we have Midband fitted
and this appears to make us ineligible for the trial - is this correct? [Yes]
Kind regards
Julia, Shenley Lodge |
Have you received any reports from broadband users who lost their connection
on Sunday 18th July?
On that day around 8pm, I was online and all of the sudden the network icon
disappears and the ADSL LED on my modem started flashing which indicates
that there is no ADSL signal.
[If the broadband service is "iffy" BT can be asked to fit a master
socket face plate filter.]John, Middleton |
| You mention that people with "slow or "iffy" service should
get their ISP to call out a BT engineer to your house - they'll probably fit
a face plate filter to sort it." My questions are:
1) What if your ISP is BT?
[Contact BT, your ISP provider. Remind them about the MK trial. Explain
the problem with your connection speed.]
2) What is a face plate filter?
[A replacement front to the telephone master socket in your house. The
filter separates the normal telephone (speech) signals from the broadband
signals where the telephone line enters your house.
BT will fit this free of charge under the trial.]
Keith, Loughton |
| I have the BT BB working at a reduced speed. I don't think
its a long way off from what it is supposed to be. Any chance you could send
me the spec of how fast it should be going. [For 512Kbps Typical
Download Speed is 460 Kbps, Upload 220-260 Kbps.]
Andy, Great Holm |
Just to let you know that we have recently installed a BT
broadband at our home in Stantonbury.
So far it is OK. Not brilliant but the our Kids are happy with the service.
We were subscribers to the NTL wireless scheme. But we decided to ditch it
as it never worked properly despite a few visits from their Engineers.
It was a waste of time as far as I am concerned.
Regards
Fuad, Stantonbury. |
I have received a BT broadband modem and have had an
engineer around, to change me from ISDN to broadband, only to have him
reinstall ISDN in the same day. Understandably I am very disappointed as I
have two computers with wireless capability that are of no use to me. What
can you advise me to do.
Kind Regards
Peter, Willen |
I signed up with Plusnet (who I know really well, as a web
development manager) as part of the MK Trial. They advised me not to
purchase any hardware until it was confirmed that the line was up and
running.
I have to say, I thought that moving to MK would involve automatic ADSL, and
my job does rely heavily on it.
So, Plusnet took my money and said the line was active and it was okay to
purchase the equipment. I bought a wireless ADSL router, with a bridge for
my server and Xbox and a PCMCIA card for my laptop. It didn't work, none of
it. The router can barely see the link to the exchange.
I have now spent the last 2 weeks having Plusnet and BT arguing over what
the problem was (BT checked the exchange 3 times, and said there was nothing
wrong).
Today they finally came to my house and tried the connection back to the
exchange, and confirmed that we do NOT have broadband due to the distance. I
was told by a BT engineer last week that there was someone else in Crownhill
with a similar problem to mine on their problem list.
BT today apologised for wasting my time. I get the impression that they have
no real intention of providing Crownhill with the service.It was
suggested that I might consider a Satellite dish. PAH!
I am now waiting the official line, meanwhile I have expensive equipment
that is useless to me and no service. And I'm annoyed.
Hope this helps our cause, I may cut my BT line altogether and go to NTL.
Idiots!
Regards
Craig, Crownhill |
I have now had BT Broadband Basic for a week and a half (in
Crownhill) and am extremely pleased with the speed.
However, on average I lose the connection once a day. There is no indication
of this, until I can't load a web-page or my e-mail fails to download. I
then have to manually re-connect, and away I go.
Is it just me? Or is this a fairly typical experience? Never having had
Broadband before, I don't know whether to adopt the "This is unacceptable"
view, or the one I'm more inclined to - "Hey, living on the edge of
Broadband availability, I'm just lucky it works most of the time!"
Should I be telling BT of this "problem" ? [Yes]Gordon, Crownhill |
| Engineer turned up looked at the work that the previous
engineer had done and said he could do no more. Seems that the ADSL
faceplate cures most problems but not mine and that is about all they can do
at his level. He will talk now and cases like mine get passed on to see if
there are further avenues to pursue (engineer said there was). I expressed
my concern of being left out in the cold if everybody else around is OK. He
said the desire in BT to make this trial a success was very high and thought
that they would get the situation sorted and not to worry. I can see that
if this trial works for a majority then that will be it for the rest of us.
And you know I don't only want 512 I want all the faster speeds next.
It just does not seem that it will happen unless they replace the wiring
though.
Doomed to the dark ages.
Still as I travel the world 75% of the year I can go to remote areas and
get better speeds in remote hotels.
Let you know what happens next.
Andy, Wavendon Gate |
|
I spoke to a BT engineer this very morning (21st July) on Kents Hill and he
told me that he was just finishing off the optic cabling for Kents Hill.
Regards
Ken |
Just to let you know what is happening here.
I contacted BT who sent me the appropriate equipment to run Broadband for
the last approx 4 weeks free. The TV advert stated that the charge was £19
but on enquiring was told that for unrestricted use it was £28 plus extra
for full use of E-mail.AOL only charge £19.99 for the complete package
that has no limitations at all, so I have cancelled BT and will arrange with
AOL as soon as BT have removed their system, as a 77 year old pensioner this
is a better deal.
BT are missing out on this.
Thanks for everything Nick,
Regards
Roy, Downhead Park |
| I asked BT if I could join the FTTH
trial in Walnut Tree. They should I should contact BB4MK but I wasn't
aware you were running any administration regarding this trail. Any
thoughts? If you are registering interest in FTTH, please can I sign up?
Andrew
[Watch this space. All members will be advised when there's something
to sign up to.] |
I feel a bit cheated when AOL and Freeola offer Uncapped and Unlimited
broadband.
Freedom2Surf gives a 5 GB limit which is okay, but unlimited is unlimited.
Any chance you could highlight the differences between the ISPs to put
pressure on the other ISPs to remove the limitations?
Thanks
Lawrence, Willen[I'll see what I can do.] |
| Two BT vans parked on the verge in the Groveway near the
Frithwood Crescent entrance to Kents Hill this morning. Didn't see any
cable, but they had the covers off the ducts. Frank, Kents Hill 6/7/04 |
|
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3894225.stm "By 2009, Germany
will have the largest broadband market in Europe, with
13.5 million households, followed by the UK, with 10.2 million"
"The Netherlands and Sweden will have the highest proportion of high-quality
broadband users" |
I have just received a letter from BTW asking me to
complete a 'Broadband Trialist Survey'. Did everyone on the trial get this
today? (15/7/04)
There are several questions about the number of phones and sockets, but they
haven't included any more fundamental questions like:
Does it work?
Did you have any problems getting it to work?
How well does it work? - speed - dropouts
Router/modem stats? - attenuation - SNR
Level of satisfaction
etc
Guess they are assuming that if you haven't complained everything must have
worked perfectly. In my case I had loads of problems until I disconnect the
ringer wire on my internal extensions and then everything was fine (even the
phones still ring). I know I could have tried to get them to fit a new
faceplate but, if I can avoid it, I don't really want another wire running
from my master socket to my router (opposite ends of the house) and its
working so well now it doesn't seem worth changing.
Chris |
Just so you are aware, there has been some extensive work
being done in Bolbeck Park in the last 2 days, specifically the main road
and Orne Gardens, at least 3 vans, lots of cable and men actually
working........
Cheers
Scot, Bolbeck Park 14/7/04 |
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