ADSL Speeds - When will we match CABLE packages!

[Flibb]

BT dont have the activation process anymore, they were told by the regulator to get every possible exchange enabled. Hence the long distance trials and the activation triger levels have gone. They were told they would face action by the regulator unless they increased the speed that exchanges are enabled. They should hit 99.6% availabilty by summer 2005 and its trying to get braodband to 100% of the population using alternative technology.

[Stoo]

People knock BT because quite frankly they suck, and they can get away with it in most areas as they have no competition.

The first action of any complaint is complete denial, this repeats until someone finally gets either bored or takes pity of you, then they might send someone out to look at fixing the problem. Then they'll blame every single random bit of equipment in your house in a pointless attempt to throw you off the scent, one you've finally proven them wrong on every point, they then *might* start looking at their own equipment..
Then if they still can't find the problem they'll blame your equipment again, and round and around you go until you either give up, move or umm die lol.

Can you tell I'm having that *fun* game right now?

[Falcon2004]

I'm one of the ones who can't get broadband at all, Im currently too far away for ADSl and cable stop like 1/2 a mile away from my house (B*****DS!) so this distance increase by BT should be a good thing for me, FINALY getting off Dial-Up...its gonna be a dream come true! lol

[Flibb]

Well due to the greta service that the cable companys offe around here the 2 people on it I know are leaving and going back to BT. 3 days of no TV, combined with a telephone system that manages to have you engaged when nobody is using the phone, great. So around here thers loads of people with cable who cant get broadband nd have no chance of getting it in the forseable future. Cable is very peachy as long as they can be arsed to provide it in your area, unfortunately it isnt for many and the cable companys are not forced to provide it. I've had a BT line in the flat for 6 years and never had a problem with the line, parents have had cable for 2 and its arse, engaged lines, TV picture is worse than analogue terestrial, no tv for two periods of 3 days, the only prepay dialup they can use is AOL and the company called telewest broadband cant offer broadband. Its not like they live in the middle of nowhere its the middle of kent in one of the most populated areas of the UK outside the major cities. Given the choice I would luv a cable internet connection but the mob doing it around here errr dont. And they arnt gonna either because they dont have to.
And I've got a lovely day booked on Sunday, Ive got to go tothe parents and do windows patching and becasue they dont have broadband and cant get it on their cable its gonna take ages and ages and ages...etc

[TiG]

Heh adsl will never compete with Cable EVER!. A fibre with the top quality readers of data can do Tb/s transfer rates, i think the theoretical maximum for fibre bandwidth is 50 Tb/s

But then again to do these sort of transfer rates the reader costs about the same kinda 0's on the end.

If you want more bandwidth buy a leased line, will only costs you 30K+ for a 4MB line heh.

TiG

[DsW]

It makes me laugh how backward Britain is in terms of technologies such as ADSL.

In Britain we're talking about rates of between 512Kbps and 2Mbps.. in Japan you can get a 26Mbps connection for ~£20 a month.

Read that line again if you didn't take it in the first time

The BBC article on it is here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3278375.stm

cheers,
dave

[Jonny M]

Japan has a totally different population density though. Run a line to 1 apartment, and that's hundreds of subscribers guaranteed. Much different to over here.

[DsW]

Japan has a totally different population density though. Run a line to 1 apartment, and that's hundreds of subscribers guaranteed. Much different to over here.

Hundreds of people living in the one apartment?!! Bloody hell!!


cheers,
dave

[spazman]

Here in UK our 56k takeup is slower than most countrys take up of broadband. We suck at new technology, especially when its left to a company like BT. Why do more than the bare minimum when you can get away with it

[Stoo]

It makes me laugh how backward Britain is in terms of technologies such as ADSL.

In Britain we're talking about rates of between 512Kbps and 2Mbps.. in Japan you can get a 26Mbps connection for ~£20 a month.

Read that line again if you didn't take it in the first time

The BBC article on it is here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3278375.stm

cheers,
dave

Also helps that after the war Japan got billions in re-investment and revitalisation paying for all uptodate hardware and infrastructure, whereas Britain is still left with most of it's infrastructure left over from the 1930's.
BT/GPO did have several opportunities to completely revamp the network (Complete digital/fibre system anyone?), but decided to take all the profits and give it to the board members etc, and then later with their shareholders.

To my mind BT needs to be broken up and the main network kept as a public utility, but opened up properly to other telecoms companies to install their own kit, which would increase innovation and competition, and drive costs down at the same time..

[spazman]

Also helps that after the war Japan got billions in re-investment and revitalisation paying for all uptodate hardware and infrastructure, whereas Britain is still left with most of it's infrastructure left over from the 1930's.

I very much doubt that Japan was laying fibre networks to within 1km of 80% of homes after the war. Its just a case of BT wanting to make mega-huge profits rather than actually investing in anything worth while.

[Richie]

BT/GPO did have several opportunities to completely revamp the network (Complete digital/fibre system anyone?), but decided to take all the profits and give it to the board members etc, and then later with their shareholders.

I beleive Thatcher had more to do with this than BT. BT proposed complete fibre networks for Britain but Thatcher decided to not get it done due to costs.....

[Kumagoro]

Caged that seems like a pretty uninformed fact about japan. I lived in a pissy little
town where i had 26 Mbps and everyone has there own house its only the city centres
which have people living in apartments. Even in a town of 100,000 there are not that
many. A friend of mine he lived in a tiny farming town and even he had 8Mbps connection.

[Jonny M]

Caged that seems like a pretty uninformed fact about japan. I lived in a pissy little
town where i had 26 Mbps and everyone has there own house its only the city centres
which have people living in apartments. Even in a town of 100,000 there are not that
many. A friend of mine he lived in a tiny farming town and even he had 8Mbps connection.

Ah ok, in that case it's just BT being greedy bastards

[shamus21]

Yeah, that's the advantage of ADSL... small villages like mine have been passed by for cable, so I only have the option of ADSL. Gotta say, I'd be dubious about going for it anyways after my experience with Cable and Wireless a few years back.

don`t worry deck cable & wireless should not be your problem it will be BT Good luck

[shamus21]

See where I live?

Can tell you now that BT are getting a VERY hard time round here

I had to move house to get ADSL (mercifully the house I'm in is within earshot of the exchnange so 2Mbps is easy for me).

However I'm one of the lucky ones!

The council are trialing wireless Broadband, BT are trialing extended reach and yet there's still LOTS of people who can't get BroadBand.

You can say that again , a lot more then BT would like you to know.