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DrAwesome's Useful ADSL Info & News
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Old 12-12-2003, 15:21   #1
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DrAwesome's Useful ADSL Info & News

(Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer)

The reason I'm leaving NTL to go back to BT is i want a faster connection and not for any other reason which means because NTL dont offer ADSL to residential customers i have no option but to transfer back to BT as a telephone subscriber

Transfering my NTL Number to my 2nd BT Line (the NTL phoneline to BT bit)
Having decided to have my NTL telephone number transfered to my 2nd BT line, the number transfer and the 2nd line activation was set for the 8th of Dec 2003 a BT engineer would call between 10:30am and 1pm, sure enough the BT engineer arrived (11am) and it took him just 8mins to activate the line and transfer the NTL number, (he told me before his visit he had tried on 2 occations to get NTL to release the number on the third attempt the number was transfered otherwise he would have been earlyier to activate the line).

Before the BT engineer left he told me the only problem now is when will NTL decide to release the ring tone (the problem was that the phone will ring on the NTL phoneline until NTL decide to release the ring tone) so after a 7-8 hour wait NTL still hadnt released the ring tone (prevously the BT engineer gave me a phone number for NTL, 0808 100 880 he advised me to call that number if the ring tone hadnt been transfered).

So i phoned 0808 100 880 and i just got a continues tone as if the number didnt exsist so i called my local NTL customer services to ask if someone could manually release the ring tone as it was rapidly getting to the time when NTL staff pack up and go home, i was then told it would be released some time during the rest of the day but they couldnt give me a time when.

So i thought sod this i'm not waiting around for the rest of the day/evening i did have other things i had to do so i called BT customer services 0800 521 125 and briefly explained what had happened upto the point of calling my local NTL customer services, i was put on hold for a short while and when the BT cs woman returned she told me that she had had a word with someone that would help sort the problem out "personally" and that it would all be sorted in under 30mins and apologised for the inconveinance, about 20mins into the half hour i checked the NTL line it was dead (no dial tone) the problem had been sorted.

My Free BT answering service was activated soon after (This service has to be asked for and doesnt interfear with you adsl connection).

Decided to take up BT Option #1 3p a minute for Daytime calls anywhere in the UK 6p for any Evening and Weekends calls you make in the UK - for up to an hour each call which Just £11.50 per month if paying by Monthly Payment Plan or Direct Debit, includes rental of your first line.

Tip
On an evening/weekend if you go over the hour your charged 1p per min so the best way to get by this is hang up before the hours up and re-dial the number and continue your conversation

I also get 5% off all calls I make to UK mobiles Reduced Evening and Weekend calls to our most called International destinations

These probably wouldnt benefit me as i dont make alot of voice calls outside the UK but theyre part of the option package as additional extras.

Additional 10% discount on five Friends & Family Overseas numbers Extra ways to save on International and Internet calls with a range of add-ons.

oH! nearly forgot if you re-connect to BT you want to get sky installed its only £1

Warning
Non of the BT options cover 0870/0845 any number Locall/National Numbers charged at local rate so if you have to queue in a BB help line etc you wont be making a saving taking any of the BT options at peek/non peek time inc weekends. (most people think that Locall and Local mean the same but they dont where options are concerened)

If anyone has any questions feel free to post them

Prt #2 The ADSL bit will follow in a few days
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Old 17-12-2003, 12:33   #2
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Just when you think its all over

added note *Transfering my NTL phone number to my 2nd BT line

Little did i know that NTL managed not transfer the ring tone correctly/at all last week as first thought, as the NTL phoneline was dead (didnt have a dial tone) i naturally thought NTL had released the ring tone but they hadnt and the result was if someone phoned the BT line wouldnt ring

(i guess NTL must have thought i was a physic)

I was advised by BT to check with my local NTL cs that they had released the ring tone and notified BT (under oftel regulations NTL has to notify BT that the release is/was complete)

upon ringing my local NTL cs i was told by the local NTL csr yes everything had been done at their end but she would have a word with someone and re-check, as i was put on hold the call dropped.

So i decided to call BT 150 got straight through & spoke to a BT csr i was then transfered to BT number portability & told they would re-check that NTL had sent the importing orders if the line is still the same in 20mins call back and we will investigate things further, as soon as i put the phone down it rang amazed i picked it up and it was the NTL csr phoning me back as she had realised the line had disconnected while i was on hold and to let me know the line was now released, i thanked her for phoning me back to let me know.

Problem sorted

I then phoned BT to let them know that NTL had phoned me to confirm that the problem had been rectified.

So it seems something as straight forward as transfering an NTL Number to BT phoneline can run into complications.
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Old 17-12-2003, 14:43   #3
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Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer

Is now a good time to tell you that NTL are launching an ADSL service over BT lines in 2004? lol
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Old 17-12-2003, 16:20   #4
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Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Nikon
Is now a good time to tell you that NTL are launching an ADSL service over BT lines in 2004? lol
Lord Nikon where did you hear that from and do you know what speed(s)?
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Old 17-12-2003, 16:32   #5
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Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer

It's a fairly well known fact Doc, nobody really knows much more than that at the mo-except that it will be 'Off-net'
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Old 17-12-2003, 19:56   #6
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Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil
It's a fairly well known fact Doc, nobody really knows much more than that at the mo-except that it will be 'Off-net'
Bet its cheaper than cable, its got to be its NTL. Bet they end up competeing with each over because the off net service will be cheaper.
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Old 17-12-2003, 21:26   #7
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Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer

I imagine that the off-net service will be about £11.50 (or the price of monthly phone service charge) cheaper so that it all adds up to the same amounts when compared.

If that makes sense to anyone.
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Old 18-12-2003, 00:17   #8
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Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer

NO


????? what is this 'off net' about
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Old 18-12-2003, 00:24   #9
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Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer

Cheers for the info all...

I guess it wont be a faster connection than what NTL BB cable is at the moment, but i wonder why NTL plans to aim for the lower market end again seems a waste of cash 2me

I thought NTL had the lower BB user market pretty much wrapped up with their lower end cable BB service and their offers combining different products offering NTL dialup customers low than normal monthly subscription.
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Old 18-12-2003, 20:51   #10
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Prt #2 The ADSL Bit

The Adsl Bit

After searching Google for an ADSL isp i came across various ISP's that offered 1meg and 2meg service and as my NTL number was now a BT phone number i had to wait 24hrs until i could use the phone number checker to see if my local BT exchange was ADSL enabled you can use your post code but (its only 80-90% accurate as its an area check) your BT number inc your area code is checked to your local exchange.

If you wanna play here is the link to Post code & BT phone Number checker

BT has extended the distance limit from the exchange to 6km instead of 5.5km (about 3 miles i think? you work it out) if you decide to go for 1/2/4/6 meg the closer you are to your exchange the better chance you have of getting it if your too far away to get the 1meg service you wont be able to get any of the 2/4/6meg services that the adsl isp that you have choosen can provide.

BT ADSL check
you must be within 3.5km to pass for 1Mbps and 2Mbps ADSL,(also your local BT exchange must support these speeds) and within 5.5km for the 512kbps ADSL. This is based on actual line length as opposed to the physical distance from the exchange. Secondly, BT will test the quality of your line. This test is normally based on current records for your line & geographical area, but BT may need to test your line at street level before confirming (to the ADSL ISP that you have choosen) that they can supply ADSL to your location..

While searching for an ADSL provider i looked at Pipex, Nildram, Eclipse and of course Bulldog i came across ADSL forums that were full of complaints from various other ADSL ISP (inc the ones mentioned above) and quickly came to the conclusion that NO ADSL ISP is complaint free, then i looked at reliability, level of service, how long would i have to wait in a queue for support or advice if i became a customer and then most important of all the monthly cost of the service (some ISP's offered supscriptions to be paid quartaly & annually but it made no different to the price if you settled your subscription above 1 month so why bother?), some ADSL ISP's offered a free modem free activation fee/lower price activation fee.

some other deciding factors
Is their a cap/restriction in force (how many gigs are you allowed to use per day/week/month)

Minimum Contract (if i found the service crap how quickly can i leave and choose another ADSL ISP)
examples to watch out for.. Pipex advertise 1 month min contract but if you read the very very small print if you leave in the first 12 months after activation there is a charge so what pipex mean is 1 month after the first 12 months of your contract. (its all in the wording)

Is there a cost for switching to a lower or highier level of service (the majority of ADSL ISP charge and it could be £15-45+)

Migration
Moving from one ISP to another by doing this you can save money on the set up fee depending on which ADSL ISP you are migrating to. in normal circumstances you should also benefit from little or no 'down time' on your service. If you have a 'self install' account you can migrate it to the equivalent service, but if your previous install was by a BT engineer its gonna cost you more.
ADSL ISP's can delay your release if they choose so try not to loose your temper.

Dont just rush into joining any ADSL ISP on your friends say so, what is good for him maybe the oposite for you, it will save you money in the long run if spend more time looking at what is on offer and the good and also bad.


How to Install ADSL yourself in 5 easy steps

Activate your BT telephone line for the ADSL digital data connection buy and install your modem software on your pc, Plug splitter into telephone socket & connect your modem/router to it Your ADSL line is now ready to be used

its that easy

Once your line is ADSL activated, you may experience a loss of quality until you install line splitters in any active telephone sockets


Here is a link to the cheapest ADSL line splitters i could find (free postage as long as you order on line)


1meg (£29.99 ) & 2meg (£39.99 a month) ISP's (are these ADSL ISP's the cheapest?)

FireflyUK

50:1 Services ideal for home or small business use.
512K, £23.99 / month
1Mbit, £29.99 / month
2Mbit, £39.99 / month

I dont know weather this ISP has a cap/restriction on Newsgroup access, if your interested in joining this ISP it might be a good idea to phone them or email them and ask.

All FireFly ADSL packages are provided with the following :

Server-side email anti-virus protection
Email anti-spam prevention
200 megabytes of webspace
Unlimited POP email addresses
Webmail
Giganews USENET Access <--This might please somebody
National Rate Technical Support

__________________________________________________

Silvermead Internet

.....Speed.....Contention.Usage..............Cost. (inc vat)
Home 256k 256k.50:1.......Unlimited.(No Cap).£1 9.99
Home 512k 512k.50:1.......Unlimited.(No Cap).£2 4.99
Home 1Mb..1Mb..50:1.......Unlimited.(No Cap).£2 9.99
Home 2Mb..2Mb..50:1.......Unlimited.(No Cap).£3 9.99


All packages inc. 1 free static IP address as well as all the usual features.(Email & web space)

I also found out that there is no charge if you decide to move to a lower speed or upgrade to a low speed to a higher speed (which the majority of adsl isp's charge) and the Min contract is 3 Months (not 3 months after your 1st 12 months)

About ADSL & SDSL

ADSL Modem
I looked around at all the options (and there is a big selection of ADSL modems to choose from) i finally decided to buy a Netgear DG834 £89.99 (Free postage)
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Old 18-12-2003, 20:56   #11
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Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer

Quality post Doc.
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Old 18-12-2003, 21:33   #12
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Re: Prt #2 The ADSL Bit

Quote:
Originally Posted by DrAwesome
The Adsl Bit
Here is a link to the cheapest ADSL line splitters i could find (free postage as long as you order on line)
Cheap Dr A but not the cheapest.

Try these, very good feedback on them and a third the cost.
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Old 18-12-2003, 22:36   #13
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Re: Prt #2 The ADSL Bit

Quote:
Originally Posted by handyman
Cheap Dr A but not the cheapest.

Try these, very good feedback on them and a third the cost.
jeez...

cheers for the link Handyman

they are alot cheaper i guess i didnt look hard enough

When i read this from the link i posted"Our micro filter works reliably with Caller ID and has NO noise problems. Some cheap micro filters do not work reliably until you modify them by opening them up and cutting a wire"

made me think that not all ADSL filtres are the same.
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Old 18-12-2003, 22:49   #14
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Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer

They come as recommended by several of our customers that they are better than the 9.99 ones we supply.
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Old 01-01-2004, 11:33   #15
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Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer

**Bumping this post back to the top of the forum again

I forgot to mention that NTL require 30 days notice when you cancel their phone service & broadband service when you cancel (if you cancel by phone ask the person who you speak to to verify the day of disconnection) you pay your phone rental and broadband service rental 1 month in advance so you should be only billed for the un-billed calls that you made on your NTL phoneline after your 30 days are up.

Your ADSL connection (depending on who/which ADSL isp you sign up with) can take just over a week to get you up & running **(subject to the result of the BT survey on what ADSL tier service you have chosen), when you phone & speak to the ADSL provider(s) you have choosen ask them to give you an estimated time if they can because some ADSL isp can take a little longer to get your ADSL line activated..

Example: If you order your line on Jan 10th our link to your exchange would be due on the 18th - this means that your line will then be live around 5 days following that date giving you an activation date of early next week, just before Jan 25/26th.

30 days should give you more than enough time to sort yourself out with a re-connection to BT or instalation of a new BT phoneline.

Sign upto an ADSL provider of your choice

Buy an ADSL modem/router/hardware firewall of your choice.
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