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Broadband > ADSL > Frequently Asked Questions |
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| Find below a selection of
frequently asked questions regarding ADSL. |
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| FAQ Contents: |
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| 1. What is ADSL? |
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Broadband is a term for highspeed
Internet access. It comes in a number of forms - depending
on how the data is delivered - for example via cable,
satellite and most commonly using your phone line. This
is the version of ADSL TouchComms offers. ADSL Broadband
is a service that connects at up to 40 times faster
than a standard dial-up modem. ADSL stands for Asymmetric
Digital Subscriber Line. ADSL is Sysymetrical which
means that the line operates at two different speeds.
Upstream connections are at a maximum of 256kbps and
can be as low as 56kbps these are affected by distance,
contention and noise on the line. The down stream speeds
can be 512kbps, 1024kbps or 2048kbps.
Getting technical, ADSL works by making use of the inaudiable
frequencies available on a phone line and sending the
ADSL signal over that space. This is why a line spliter
is needed.
Voice: 0 - 20 kHz
ADSL Data: 25.875 kHz - 1.104 MHz
Graphically, it looks like this:
ADSL and Voice Frequencies
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| 2. Can all phone
lines be converted to ADSL? |
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| Only BT analogue telephone lines
are suitable for ADSL conversion. |
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| 3. How do
I know if I can use ADSL? |
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You must live in an area where
the telephone exchange has been enabled by BT. You can
check whether this is the case by entering your telephone
number in the checker which can be found here.
The 512k speed BT products are rate adaptive. This means
that the efficiency of the service will diminish where
you are located more than 3.5km from the BT exchange.
BT will also have to perform a noise test on your line
to finally confirm that you will be able to receive
ADSL. |
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| 4. What happens
if I have ISDN? |
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| ADSL will not work with HomeHighWay
or an ISDN line, you will need to authorise us to contact
BT on your behalf and arrange for them to convert the
line back to a normal BT analogue line. After conversion
the line will be a normal analogue BT line and therefore
ISDN phones, routers, terminal adaptors will no longer
work on the line. Provided that we instruct BT, they
will be able to carry out the ADSL conversion at the
same time. BT will bill you £50 for this conversion
on your normal BT bill. |
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| 5. How long after
placing my order will activation take? |
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| Once you have placed an order
with us the whole process takes between 5 and 10 days.
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| 6. What do I do
once you have given me an activation date? |
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| If we have not supplied the equipment
that you need, you will need to ensure that you have
a modem or router and sufficient filters.On the day
of activation you will need to configure the equipment
you have purchased or that we have supplied following
the detailed instructions that are included in the equipment
pack. Once you have configured the equipment you will
be able to see if you have a successful connection.
If not, then you should call our support team. Please
note that they will only be able to support equipment
supplied by us. |
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| 7. How will I
know when my line is activated? |
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| Once you have placed an order
we will confirm that order by sending to you a connection
summary sheet either by email or post.We will update
you within 5 days of the progress of your order and
provide you with the estimated activation date. |
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| 8. How long is
my contract? |
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| This will depend upon the product
that you ordered and will be either 1 month or 12 months.
All business products are subject to 12- month contracts.
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| 9. How do I make
payment? |
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| You may pay annually, quarterly
or in some cases monthly in advance. We accept payment
by credit card, debit card, standing order and in some
cases cheque. Payment is required before an order is
processed. |
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| 10. When will
the first subscription payment be made? |
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| Your first subscription payment
will be taken on the day of line activation. |
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| 11. What does
contention ratio mean? |
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| The contention ratio represents
the number of other users who could be sharing the same
connection as you. If the maximum number of user were
online at the same time then the connection speeds would
slow down by either 50 or 20 times. Contention is imposed
by BT and applies at the local exchange and effects
all Service Providers in the same way. |
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| 12. Can I use
a fax on the line that is converted? |
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| Yes, but to be sure there are
no problems, your fax should be a BT approved fax and
you should check with the supplier that is compatible
with Broadband. |
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| 13. Are there
any services that cannot be used on the converted line? |
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Yes, you cannot use the ADSL line
for the following:
* Caller Display CD50
* Private Circuits
* PBX lines and PBX's (digital switchboards)
* PDQ equipment
* ISDN 30
* BT Home Highway
* Some new generation fax machines |
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| 14. What is an
IP address? |
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| An IP address is the method of
referencing your computer on the Internet. Every device
when connected to the Internet has a unique IP address.
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| 15. What is a
dynamic IP address? |
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| This is a unique IP address allocated
from a pool of addresses held by your Service Provider
that is issued to your computer when it connects to
the Internet. Many users share the pool of addresses
and you will not always be allocated the same IP address
when you connect. You can use dynamic IP's with the
NAT (Network Address Translation) option on a router.
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| 16. What is a
static IP address? |
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| This is where you are guaranteed
to have the same IP address every time you connect to
the Internet. It is like your home address and identifies
you when you are on line. |
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| 17. Do I need
a static IP address? |
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| You will need a static IP address
if you run your own mail server using SMTP delivery.
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| 18. Do I need
additional IP addresses? |
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| You may need additional addresses,
however the requirement for their use needs to be justified
to RIPE who control the IP allocation for Europe, which
we will do on your behalf. |
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| 19. How can I
set up my LAN with only 1 static IP address? |
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| You would run the NAT option on
your router, which assigns internal IP addresses to
each computer on your LAN. The internal IP addresses
would not be recognised outside of your LAN. The router
presents a single IP address to the outside world and
provides basic protection from Hackers. The router ensures
that the information received from the Internet is routed
to the correct internal computer. |
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| 20. Do I need
a BT line? |
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| Yes. ADSL is provided via a BT
analogue telephone line. |
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| 21. Do I keep
my current BT telephone number? |
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| Yes. There are very few circumstances
when this is not the case. |
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| 22. Can I still
use my telephone as normal? |
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| Yes, but you will need a Filter
(which we can supply) for each main BT socket that has
a handset attached to it. |
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| 23. Do I have
to pay anything to BT? |
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| Yes. BT will continue to provide
the telephone line and you will still pay a rental charge
to BT, plus any voice call charges. |
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| 24. Are there
any call charges? |
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| Yes if you use the line for normal
telephone calls. You will continue to be billed for
those telephone calls as you are now. |
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| 25. Do I have
to pay for calls to the Internet? |
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| No. The only call charges relate
to voice calls and line rental. |
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| 26. What happens
if I cancel my BT line |
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| You will cease to be able to use
ADSL. |
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| 27. What happens
if I move premises/House? |
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| ADSL operates on a telephone line
to a specific location. If you move you will have to
cancel the BT line and check whether you are able to
receive ADSL at your new location. There will then be
new activation fees. We will allow you to enter into
a new contract with us without penalty for the cancellation
of the existing contract, but there will be another
activation fee payable and the contract will renew on
the same basis as the previous contract with us. The
current activation fee is £58.75. |
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| 28. If I am a
business can the line go into my switchboard? |
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| No. ADSL will only work with a
standard stand alone analogue BT line. |
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| 29. Does an engineer
visit my premises? |
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| No. The service is wires only
and we are able to provide you with all of the equipment
and advice that you need to get started. |
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| 30. What equipment
do I need? |
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This depends upon whether you
a business or home user and the number of computers
that you need to connect.
A single computer
You will need a Modem and a Filter for each main BT
socket on the ADSL line to which you connect a normal
telephone handset. In some cases a 1 Port Router may
be an alternative.
More than one computer
You will require either a 1 Port Router or a 4 Port
Router and a Filterfor each main BT socket on the ADSL
line to which you connect a normal telephone handset.
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| 31. What is a
filter? |
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| The filter separates the high
frequency ADSL signals form the low frequency analogue
telephone signals and allows voice calls and data calls
to use the same line. |
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| 32. Where should
I purchase the equipment? |
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| You can buy equipment from any
supplier however we will only support equipment supplied
by us. |
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| 33. When do I
receive the equipment? |
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| Equipment purchased from us will
be despatched to you when BT confirm that your line
is suitable for conversion to ADSL. This is normally
3 days after the order is placed with us. |
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| 34. When do I
pay for the equipment? |
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| We will take payment
for the equipment when it is despatched to you. |
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| 35. When do I
pay the activation fee |
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| If there is any activation fee
to pay, we will take payment when BT confirm that your
line is suitable for ADSL. This will normally be 3 days
after you place the order with us. We will take any
activation fee and any payment for equipment at the
same time. |
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| 36. What happens
if the equipment goes wrong? |
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| All equipment provided by us comes
with a 12-month return to TOUCHCOMMS warranty. If you
report a fault we will issue you with a returns number
and send out a replacement together with prepaid packaging
for the retuned item. There will be a charge for incorrectly
returned items. |
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| 37. Who will
support the equipment that I use? |
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| TOUCHCOMMS will only support equipment
provided by TOUCHCOMMS and the features that are required
to allow connectivity. In all other cases the responsibility
for the equipment is yours and we will only be able
to confirm that the ADSL line is working correctly.
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| 38. Can I move
from another Service Provider to you? |
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| Yes. There is a migration process
that must be used and there is a BT charge of £35 +
VAT for the migration that we will bill to you unless
the product does not include this charge. The whole
process takes between 10 and 20 days and is dependant
upon the co-operation of your existing Service Provider.
You should not cancel your existing broadband service
as this will lead to a loss of service.TOUCHCOMMS are
currently unable to accept migrations from customers
that have a BT engineer installed broadband connection.
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| 39. What do I
need to take advantage of ADSL? |
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You will need a computer that
has an available USB port if you are using a modem or
a network interface card (RJ45 port) if you are using
a router.
A BT telephone line.
A modem or router.
See the TOUCHCOMMS
Hardware range
Filter(s) See TOUCHCOMMS
Filters information |
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| 40. Why might
I not be able to get ADSL? |
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You are not in a BT enabled exchange
area.
You are more than 6km from you local exchange (512k
connections).
You are more than 3.5km from your local Bt exchange
(1024k and above connections).
The quality of your BT line is not adequate to receive
the service because there is a noise level on the line
in excess of 55 decibels. |
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