Beginners' FAQs
Who offers ADSL?
Many ISPs offer an ADSL service. Please visit www.adslguide.org.uk/isps/summarylist.asp for a list.
Do I still have to pay BT line rental if I get ADSL?
Yes. BT's telephone billing (line rental and call charges) is unrelated to your ADSL. You will however not have to make any calls to the internet as the ADSL is an always-on connection.
What can I do with it?
A simple answer to this would be: Anything you already do with your 56k connection just much faster. However, you can do things that wouldn't be viable on a dialup connection:
- Play games with much lower latency.
- Multitask - download a file, browse the web, check email at the same time - all still much quicker than using a dial up connection.
- Streaming media - You can now watch high quality streaming media on your PC such as music videos, movie trailers and concerts.
- Use VoIP (Voice over IP) and web conferencing .Some users now leave their systems running 24/7 and operate their PC remotely.
What does contention mean?
Please visit www.adslguide.org.uk/howitworks/contention.asp for more information on contention.
I'm not a BT customer - Can I have ADSL?
Not yet (unless you live in areas where competitors to BT are operating). LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) will hopefully mean that ISPs can offer you the service and will allow BT to be bypassed; this is in very early stages so expect to wait a while to see any benefits from this. You may be able to get broadband through a cable modem however which uses the local cable providers' network rather than the BT telephone network. This offers similar speeds and services.
How long is the contract?
Contract length varies from product to product and ranges from 1 month upwards. Please visit www.adslguide.org.uk/isps/search.asp?type=advanced to filter and order by contract length. Some service providers may offer longer contract periods in return for lower charges.
I have a Mac - Can I use ADSL?
Yes. Wires-only customers should buy a modem which supports the Mac. If you purchase an Ethernet router, you will need a standard network card. Visit www.adslguide.org.uk/qanda.asp?faq=DSLHardware for a list of popular modems and routers. If your ISP supplies a modem for you, check for Mac support before ordering. Older IPStream services (i.e. non wires-only) are supplied with an Alcatel SpeedTouch USB which fully supports the Mac.
Which is better, IPStream or DataStream?
Neither IPStream nor DataStream is 'better' necessarily. These are both BT Wholesale provided services but they deliver the connection to the ISP in a different way.
IPStream is a service where the user traffic is routed longer inside BT's managed network whereas with DataStream, the ISP takes one or more 'virtual path' (VP) circuits to each local exchange so they can manage contention themselves.
Most ISPs use DataStream to deliver services with high contention ratios spread over very small numbers, so often DataStream will deliver worse performance, however technically it is capable of more customised services, including 1:1 contention. Therefore, you should not choose a service solely because it uses IPStream or DataStream but look into user experiences of the particular service. DataStream's advantage in the current market is for ultra low cost services, or low contention/uncontended services and where Quality of Service (QoS) is needed.
Can I have ADSL on a line with BT RedCare?
Yes. Since August 2003, the standard RedCare service from BT is available on ADSL lines, although there are some caveats and restrictions. More information can be found at www.redcare.bt.com/security/products/adsl.htm
How much am I downloading?
With the introduction of broadband packages that have download limits in place, it is useful to know how much you are downloading. Some software that will allow you to monitor the usage of a single PC is:
A number of ADSL routers will also record the amount of traffic passed, which is useful if you have two or more machines. Some ISPs can also inform you of this information if you use their products. Additionally the USB & PCI modems which use the Windows Dial Up Networking system will display the number of Bytes you have downloaded. You can also estimate your usage if you know roughly what you do with your connection, for example:
- Web browsing averages out at around 10MB/hour (MegaBytes per hour).
- A single streamed broadband music video is around 13MB.
- Playing an online game like Counterstrike is around 10-12MB/hour.
- Listening to one hour of online radio is around 18MB/hour.
- Watching a streamed broadband video for one hour is around 150MB/hour.
- Email is generally very small, 300 emails use around 2MB, but if you add spam and emails with virus attachments this can rise to say 6MB for 300 emails.
The ISPs often display the limits generally in GB which is a GigaByte. A GigaByte is actually 1024MB (MegaBytes).