Broadband
What is ADSL?
ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. It transforms a twisted copper pair of wires between a local telephone exchange and a customer's telephone socket into a high-speed digital line. It is called "asymmetric" because it moves data more quickly from exchange to customer than from customer to exchange. This makes it particularly suitable for applications where customers expect to receive more data than they transmit such as use of the World Wide Web, corporate intranets, and reception of digital audiovisual material. In short, it will provide you with constant, broadband access to the Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no telephone, leased line or ISDN charges.
Who is ADSL aimed at?
Our ADSL service is aimed both at our business customers and our home users. It will enable you to send and receive data between 40 and 50 times faster than any current dial up connection. ADSL also leaves the telephone line free to make and receive normal phone calls. Apart from being extremely fast, customers who spend a lot of time on the Internet via a dial-up connection may find ADSL cheaper in the long term.
What are the key benefits of ADSL?
Speed: a standard modem can reach speeds of up to 56Kbps and ISDN can give speeds of up to 128Kbps. ADSL on the other hand has the capacity to go up to 2Mbps, opening up a new world of fast graphics and large file transfers via the Internet. Always On: customers no longer have to waste valuable time obtaining a dial-up connection to their Service Provider.
How does ADSL work?
ADSL operates over a normal telephone line. Your existing telephone line can be used to send and receive high-speed digital data and make normal voice calls at the same time. The signal is carried by two DSL modems, one at the user end and one in the local exchange. The modems have been designed to exploit the physical transmission capabilities of the copper line, achieving higher data rates over the line than ever before.
A 'splitter' (which is a filter), one at the user end and one at the exchange end, separates the telephony signal from the DSL signal. This means that telephone calls can be made at the same time that data is being sent or received.
ltimately ADSL 'squeezes' up to 99% more capacity out of a phone line without interfering with your normal telephone services.
Is ADSL available in my area?
To see whether ADSL is available in your area click HERE
If my area is not listed, what can I do?
We can only provide ADSL in areas where BT has the infrastructure in place. BT is constantly increasing the area in which the service is available, and you may well be able to sign up in the future.
Currently BT have upgraded 500 exchanges covering Birmingham, Belfast, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, and Newcastle. Further upgrades will include the Home Counties (Oxford and Newbury), the South Coast (Brighton, Bournemouth and Hastings), the South West (Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Portsmouth and Taunton), and expanding Northern coverage throughout Blackburn, Carlisle, Liverpool, York, Durham and Warrington. After these initial phases BT will extend ADSL into Wales, Northern Island and Scotland (including Aberdeen). BT intend to cover half of the UK's home and business addresses by the middle of next year and reach 70% by the end of 2002.
What is "Self-Install"?
The self-install range of ADSL packages (otherwise known as wires-only) runs alongside Corpex's engineer-install range of ADSL packages. With this service you may source your own modem or router and you will not require a BT engineer to visit your premises. You just plug a micro-filter into your phone socket and use an ADSL modem.
Corpex Self-Install products are available for home and business use with a choice of three download speeds - up to 512Kbps, 1Mbps and 2Mbps and an upload speed of 256kbps.
The USB package Corpex Solo Self Install has a contention ratio of 50: 1 and is recommended for use with a single pc. The remaining packages have contention ratios of 20: 1 and are recommended for use with 1-5, 5-10 and 10-15 machines respectively.
What are the advantages of "Self-Install"?
The Corpex Self Install packages are far more cost-effective than engineer-install ADSL, with cheaper installation charges, and a shorter lead-time -usually up to seven (7) days from Corpex ordering the ADSL line on your behalf. "Self-Install" gives you the freedom to control how and when you want to set up your broadband connection.
What is a splitter/micro-filter?
The purpose of the micro-filter is to split the telephony service from the ADSL service. This is the equivalent of the ADSL front plate that is installed as part of the existing ADSL services. As the existing front plate requires rewiring work to be carried out micro-filters are being used in its place. One micro-filter is required on every telephone socket that supports an appliance. They filter out the Data from the Voice segments hence getting rid of any interference on your telephone line when the ADSL service is in use.
Can I buy these micro-filters from Corpex?
Yes - they are available at £7 each + VAT. You can order microfilters from Corpex by contacting one of our consultants on 0844 251 1988.
What if my PC is not next to a telephone socket?
If your PC/network point is not next to a telephone socket then you will need to install a BT approved extension kit and plug your micro-filter into this. Extension kits are available from a variety of suppliers. The extension must be no more than thirty (30) metres from a telephone socket.
Can I use my own modem now?
Yes - you can use a modem of your choice for the consumer product and a router of your choice for the business product. If you do not have a modem or router, you can order them from Corpex by contacting one of our consultants on 0844 251 1988.
Do I have to support my own router or modem?
Yes. However we will be launching a service later this year, which will include support of Corpex approved hardware purchased through ourselves.
