[ Paul Doherty ] Broadband Overview

Broadband Overview

This article explains the things you need to know about getting broadband, and introduces the basic things you should consider. It provides a general introduction to broadband, and contains links to further information.

What is broadband?

A fast, permanent connection to an ISP. Bit of a marketing term, in that it can mean pretty much what anyone wants it to mean.

There are two types:

Cable broadband (on a cable line, for example NTL)
ADSL (on BT lines)

This document only really deals with ADSL, which is the type of broadband you can get on BT lines.

What speeds are available?

Towards you: 512K, 1M, 2M
Away from you: 256K

Or thereabouts. (K=thousands of bits per second, M=millions of bits per second.) Some cheaper but slower services are also available.

Note that, because ADSL is a contended service, speeds are not guaranteed, but most people seem to get about the expected speed from their services.

Some suppliers also call their 128K service a broadband service.

Broadband traditionally has had no monthly usage limits, but some services now have a monthly cap (usually of 1 Gbyte). ("BT Broadband Basic", one of BT's ISP offerings has just such a cap.)

Do I need an ordinary BT line?

For ADSL, yes. ISDN lines (for example, Home Highway) must be converted to "normal" analogue lines before they can carry ADSL, but this can be done as part of the ADSL order.

Although you need a BT line, you don't have to get your broadband from BT -- you get it from an ISP, and there are many of those, including some from BT. Be aware of the distinction between BT-the-phone-company (which looks after your line) and BT-the-ISP. BT-the-ISP is one of the more expensive ISPs.

Do I have to pay BT extra for connection to broadband?

No. You pay the ISP, not BT. You don't even have to contact BT, or tell BT anything about it, and you don't pay BT any connection or setup charge, nor any extra line rental.

You still pay BT your normal line rental (and you can have BT Together, Friends and Family, Call Minder, Caller Display, all the usual things) and you still pay for your phone calls at the normal rates.

How do I choose an ISP, and what sort of prices do they charge?

Subject of much argument. Prices range from about £30 per month to about £15 per month (both for the 512K service).

Smaller, good personal service: Wizards, Merula, ICUKnet

Bigger, generally good service: Eclipse, Zen, Nildram.

Cheap-and-cheerful suppliers (and not necessarily any the worse for that): Plusnet, Metronet, and V21.

People tend NOT to recommend the BT ISP offerings (BT Yahoo and BT Broadband) as they are overpriced, usage is capped, and they have a very bureaucratic, scripted approach to customer service.

Can I convert a home highway connection to broadband on the same day?

Yes. Make very sure your ISP understands the order -- you want a HH to ADSL conversion (one thing) not a HH to analogue followed by analogue to ADSL (two things). The work involved is the same, but if it turns out that the analogue line can't support ADSL the first method reinstates your HH, the second doesn't.

What can I do if my connection stops working?

Contact your ISP. They will liaise with BT if necessary.

Do I go for an ADSL modem, or an ADSL router?

A router is a lot better and much more secure, but slightly more expensive and a bit more difficult to set up. If you go the modem route, make sure you always run a personal firewall such as ZoneAlarm.

More here.

Do I have to change my e-mail arrangements once I'm on broadband?

If you do e-mail via a web interface (the normal way of using services like Hotmail and Yahoo mail) no, nothing changes. If you use a "proper" e-mail client like Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Eudora or The Bat, it will be using POP3 to collect e-mail and SMTP to send it. You will almost certainly have to reconfigure it to send using your broadband supplier's SMTP server, and you should probably reconfigure it to use your broadband supplier's POP3 server. More sophisticated e-mail arrangements are possible -- you might choose to run your own e-mail server such as VPOP3.

Note that the ISP service from BT called "BT Broadband" does not include e-mail.

What are microfilters and do I need one?

ADSL works by sending and receiving high-frequency signals up and down your normal phone line; normal phone calls can happen at the same time without interference. A filter is necessary to protect any phone device (phone, fax, answerphone, PC with V90 modem) from the ADSL frequencies and to stop any stray high frequencies that the phone might generate from leaking onto the line.

This filtering is performed by a "microfilter", which is a small device, like a phone doubler or "splitter" which must be fitted to EVERY phone socket into which a phone device is to be plugged. Microfilters also incorporate a second, unfiltered, socket into which an ADSL device (modem or router) can be plugged.

Filters vary in quality: some of the cheap ones (from places like www.ebuyer.co.uk and www.solwise.co.uk) usually work well, but the best is generally reckoned to be the Fujitsu FDX 100. Best supplier seems to be www.adsl-filters.co.uk.

Where can I buy my router?

From specialist suppliers such as www.solwise.co.uk or www.dslsource.co.uk; from general computer suppliers such as www.ebuyer.co.uk or www.dabs.co.uk; or from single-manufacturer suppliers such as www.seg.co.uk. BT also sell their own brand of routers.