GH-Solutions (FAQs)

Frequently Asked Questions.

ADSL Broadband Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is ADSL Broadband?
2. What are benefits of Broadband ADSL?
3. How Does ADSL work?
4. Who is ADSL aimed at?
5. What are the ADSL connection Speeds?
6. Are all broadband services the same?
7. What is the difference between ADSL and a normal dial up connection?
8. What is comparison between ADSL & ISDN - BT Highway?
9. Will ADSL work on any telephone line?
10. Do I have to have a new Telephone Number?
11. Can I still make Tel calls when ADSL is connected
12. Will I still need to pay my Telephone rental & pay for my phone calls?
13. Will my other BT services like ' call waiting ' still work?
14. What hardware/equipment will i need to use ADSL?
15. Will an engineer call to install the modem/router/filter equipment?
16. Do I need anything else?
17. When I place an order how long will it be before I can start using the service?
18. Currently I use ISDN, can I upgrade to ADSL?
19. What is an IP Address?
20. Dynamic Or Static IP address?
21. Is there a limit on data upload/download?
22. What is the minimum contract period for ADSL broadband services?
23. What is the cost for my ADSL service?
24. How Do I pay for my ADSL Broadband services?
25. How Do I pay for my ADSL Modem & filter?
26. How Do I pay for my Modem & filter Installation?

What is ADSL Broadband?
It stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. It is called "asymmetric" because it moves data faster from the telephone exchange to the customer than from the customer to the telephone exchange. This makes it particularly suitable for applications where the customer expects to receive more data than they transmit. An excellent example of this is Internet "surfing", where more information is received than is sent.

What are benefits of Broadband ADSL?
Broadband ADSL is FAST - with speeds of up to 2Mbps, ADSL saves you time and therefore money. ADSL PROVIDES A BETTER INTERNET EXPERIENCE - Enjoy real-time video and audio streaming, TV quality video conferencing, super-smooth on-line gaming and more interactive web sites. ADSL IS ALWAYS ON - there's no need to dial in to receive emails or surf the 'Net, so no more busy tones or waiting to connect. ADSL IS COST-EFFECTIVE - fixed monthly pricing includes all Internet access bills, so you will probably find it costs less than your current telephone bills. ADSL IS EFFICIENT - you can make telephone calls or send faxes and access the Internet simultaneously using the same telephone line - important calls will never be missed because you're on-line. ADSL IS FLEXIBLE - information and communication is improved across the organisation as Internet access is provided for the whole company network, including remote workers. ADSL IS an assett to BUSINESS - increased bandwidth capability enables employees to get closer to customers as they are always available online.

How Does ADSL work?
The copper wires that are used to carry telephone lines into most homes and offices are capable of transmitting information at much higher speeds than is necessary to convey a telephone conversation. The extra bandwidth that the wire could support is wasted at the moment. ADSL is able to take advantage of the available bandwidth by using additional equipment to transfer data at a higher frequency than that used for voice calls. Sophisticated electronics are employed to cope with electrical noise on the line and to ensure that there is no interference between the voice and data sharing the line.

The higher the frequency that is used to send a signal over a piece of wire, the faster the signal will degrade over distance. Because ADSL uses very high frequencies, there are limits over the distance that the signal can be reliably received. The 512K ADSL services have a maximum range of 5.5 km. Because of the higher bandwidth required, 2Mb ADSL services have a slightly smaller radius of 3.5km.

This means that only customers within this radius of the telephone exchange can take advantage of ADSL.

Who is ADSL aimed at?
ADSL service will be aimed primarily at the consumer market, teleworkers and SME's. It offers a faster connection than conventional dial-up, but at a lower cost than a leased line Internet connection.

ADSL also leaves the telephone line free to make and receive voice calls. Customers who spend a lot of time on the Internet via a dial-up connection may find ADSL an attractive alternative. However, ADSL does not offer all of the facilities of a leased line connection, which is still the preferred connection for high bandwidth business requirements.

What are the ADSL connection Speeds?
The use of ADSL technology will allow download speeds from the Internet at up to 2Mbps, while traffic in the upstream direction travels at a maximum of 256Kbps. However, there are a number of factors that can affect the actual data rate achievable; the main factors being:

Distance - The 512K ADSL services have a maximum range of 5.5 km. Because of the higher bandwidth required, 2Mb ADSL services have a slightly smaller radius of 3.5km. Quality of the Line - Much of the cable infrastructure in the UK has been in place for many decades and any problems with the cables can dramatically reduce effectiveness. Sharp bends and frayed cables should not affect voice data, but may impair a high frequency signal. The launch of RADSL can help here too. RADSL technology enables the ADSL signal to be successfully sent over telephone lines that were previously of too poor quality to receive an ADSL signal. Contention Ratio - Unlike a leased line which provides guaranteed bandwidth, with ADSL the available bandwidth is shared between a pre-determined number of other users. For example, if the service is contended at 20:1, it means that you share the bandwidth with up to 19 other users. Thus the performance of an ADSL connection will vary according to time of day and day of the week, depending on how many other users happen to be online at that moment.

The Contention ratios available with ADSL are either 50:1 or 20:1 depending on the ADSL service you choose. The lower the contention ratio (but higher the cost of service) with a better chance of reaching the optimum data transfer speeds.

Are all broadband services the same?
Although all ISPs offer the same range of ADSL services and every ADSL customer will connect to BT equipment on a BT local exchange, the quality of the ADSL services you will receive will vary depending on the ISP you choose.

When an ISP creates the infrastructure of their ADSL service, they must choose the amount of bandwidth required to connect customers from the BT local exchanges to the ISP's backbone. Because of the high cost of this connection, many ISP's have elected to use the smallest possible connection available and over-subscribe the connection. This means that customers have less bandwidth available than they should, at uk-business.net we take a more favourable approach.

The ISP's own backbone can also affect the speed available to customers. As the implementation and availability of ADSL increases, large downloads will become commonplace. Because of the always-on nature of ADSL, these high bandwidth demands can be made any time of the day or night. If the ISP you choose does not have enough bandwidth on their backbone, you may find the quality of your ADSL service is not what you would expect. As ADSL becomes more popular, you could even find the level of service you receive decreasing.

We have a reputation for providing high quality Internet access, and our ADSL services are no different. We are committed to ensuring that we use the largest connection available to connect our customers from BT's local telephone exchanges to the network.

And once our customers are connected to the Internet, they will be using one of the largest, fastest and most reliable network available.

We do everything possible to ensure that your Internet service is only contended at the local exchange and not at BT's connection to us.

Is ADSL available to everyone in the UK? No. In order to receive an ADSL service, customers must have a standard BT telephone line which is connected to an ADSL enabled local telephone exchange and is within 5.5km from the exchange for a 512K service or 3.5km for a 2Mb service.

At present approximately 70% of UK households and businesses are connected to an ADSL enabled exchange.

What is difference between ADSL and a normal dial up connection?
Price - ADSL connections will cost more than a standard Dial-up connection. This is simply because ADSL offers far superior connection speeds and provides you with a 24-hour a day, 7 day a week connection, all for a fixed monthly fee which includes the cost of Internet calls. Speed - The fastest access speeds currently available through standard analogue modems are 56.6 Kbps for download (data from the Internet) and 33.6 Kbps upload (data to the Internet). ADSL will provide speeds of up to 2Mbits for download and a maximum 256 Kbps upload. And because you would be connected all day every day, you don't have to wait while you establish a connection before browsing the web or downloading emails. The download speeds available will be 512Kbps, 1Mbps, or 2Mbps depending on the ADSL service chosen. Contention Ratio - When we refer to a contention ratio, we are referring to how many people would be connected to the network at any given time. For Dial-up access it would be modems hosted by us, for ADSL it would be your local BT exchange. For ADSL, the more people that connect to the exchange using ADSL the slower the service will be. The contention ratios will be either 50:1 or 20:1 depending on the ADSL services you have chosen. Availability - With UK-Bubiness.net as long as you have a computer, modem and telephone line you can connect to the Internet through us regardless of who provides your telephone service or where you live. ADSL is only available to those residents and businesses that have the special hardware fitted to their local telephone exchange by their telephone provider. Currently BT is the only telephone company capable of providing ADSL.

In addition, because of the distance limitation, ADSL will not be available to premises more than approximately 5.5km away from their local telephone exchange. It is also sensitive to the quality and maintenance standard of the copper wire used within the telephone line, so not everyone within the 5.5km limit will be able to take advantage of ADSL.

Only the 512K ADSL services have a radius of 5.5km. If you require up to 2Mb ADSL services the radius is 3.5km

What is comparison between ADSL & ISDN - BT Highway?
Price - Depending on the ADSL service you choose, ADSL is comparable in price to ISDN whilst offering significant advantages including permanent connectivity and greater speeds, all for a fixed monthly cost. With ISDN you will be required to pay a monthly line rental fee and both Internet call charges and voice call charges. With our ADSL you pay your line rental seperately, and a single annual fee which covers the cost of your Internet access and Internet call charges. You would still be charged for standard voice calls by your telephone provider. Speed - Under optimum operating conditions ADSL will generally offer higher download speeds than would be obtained using ISDN. It may not offer any speed improvement when sending data out to the Internet however.

Speed advantages aside, ISDN will always deliver the same consistently high level of performance regardless of how many people connect to the local telephone exchange, whereas the performance of ADSL very much depends on how many people that have ADSL connect to the same exchange at the same time. However, at its best, ISDN is only capable of transferring data at 64kbps unless 2 channels are used to transfer data. This would result in two sets of telephone charges. ADSL can send data over 30 times faster than a standard ISDN line all for a fixed fee. We anticipate that all our ADSL services will even out-perform an ISDN connection where two channels are being used.

Asymmetry - ADSL is asymmetric because most of its two-way or duplex bandwidth is devoted to the downstream direction, sending data to the user. Only a small portion of bandwidth is available for upstream or user-interaction messages, whereas ISDN (or BT's Highway service) is symmetric because the data rate is the same in both directions. Always on - ADSL-based Internet access is a 24-hour a day, 7 day a week connection meaning there is no wait while you connect to the Internet. ISDN does require you to dial-up and connect to the Internet when access is required.

Will ADSL work on any telephone line?
No, ADSL is only available to customers using a standard BT telephone line of sufficient quality that falls within the radius of 5.5k for our 512K services, and 3.5k for up to 2Mb services.

Do I have to have a new Telephone Number?
No, because ADSL has been designed to use your existing BT telephone line, your telephone number remains the same. If you use an alternative provider, you will be required to install a BT telephone line in order to receive ADSL. This may mean a change in telephone number, and set up costs for the new number.

Can I still make telephone calls when ADSL is connected?
Yes, ADSL will allow you to make telephone calls even while you are accessing the Internet. If you make calls whilst connected to the Internet through ADSL, you may notice a slight drop in the connection speed. This is because when a telephone call is made, a small piece of the ADSL bandwidth is used for the call.

You will still be charged for voice calls in the normal metered way.

Will I still need to pay my Telephone rental & pay for calls?
Yes, ADSL only enables you to use the Internet without paying ongoing call charges to BT. Your standard voice telephone calls and line rental will be charged by BT in the normal way.

Will my other BT services like ' call waiting ' still work?
Yes they will. BT Select Services such as 'Call Waiting', 'Call Return' and 'Caller Display' will all continue to be supported by BT and work as normal.

What hardware/equipment will i need to use ADSL?
We organise the conversion of your telephone line to ADSL only. It would be your responsibility to provide and install the ADSL Modem or Router and at least one Micro-filter. You can purchase the ADSL modem & filter via us here for an additional 'one off ' cost. It is simply connected to your computer at one end, and your phone line at the other end. The Micro-filter will enable you to send both data and voice/fax traffic down the same telephone line at the same time, two frequencies are used, a lower frequency for voice/fax information and a higher frequency for data. However, the two frequencies conflict with each other and prevent the use of a telephone/fax through the telephone line when the ADSL Modem is being used.

To prevent this, you will be required to connect a Micro-filter to all of the telephone sockets connected to the ADSL enabled telephone line. The Micro-filter acts as a barrier between the two frequencies and enables you to continue to enjoy simultaneous Internet access and telephone/fax use.

A Micro-filter is also used to connect your ADSL equipment to your ADSL telephone line. Without a Micro-filter you will not be able to establish a connection.

Unless you already own a Micro-filter or have chosen to purchase your ADSL modem from us (We provided ADSL modems include 2 filters as standard), you should order at least one Micro-filter when ordering your ADSL broadband service. Please note that because of technical limitations, telephone lines are only capable of supporting a maximum of 4 Micro-filters.

Will an engineer call to install the modem/router/filter equipment?
No. A common misconception is that a BT installation engineer will connect the modem/router/filter to the ADSL service and the customers PC or LAN. Although we can supply you with the required modem/router/filter, there is a additional installation charge for either BT or GH Solutions to install your hardware.

Do I need anything else?
Check that you have the necessary equipment at your premises and that there are sufficient mains power sockets for the BT NTE.

If you have chosen one of our Business 1Mbps or 2Mbps ADSL services, you will need to provide a mains socket for the ADSL Router. The Single User USB modem takes its power from the PC's USB interface.

The ADSL Router or Modem must be less than 30 (cable) metres from your existing PSTN master socket.

It is necessary to have a single wall mounted power socket for the ADSL Router. The power socket must be within two meters and be on the same wall as your ADSL port. If you do not currently have a power supply available in this location you will need to arrange for one to be fitted before submitting your PIPEX ADSL Application Form. These guidelines have been specified by BT and apply to all managed router based ADSL installations.

You must make sure that your PC matches the minimum specification required for your ADSL installation.

Your ADSL equipment may require some additional facilities which will be detailed within your instruction manual.

For basic Internet browsing your minimum requirements are:

Windows 95B, 98, 98SE, ME, XP, NT4 Workstation SP3 or 2000 Professional

A standard BT line and account.
For Windows based Computers;
Mouse or equivalent device
CD ROM drive
200 MHz PII or above
150MB available hard disk space
Video card/display capable of 800x600,
256 colours SVGA monitor

For Apple Mac Computers;

A standard BT line and account.
Mac OS 8.1 or later
256 colour monitor
20MB RAM
20MB available hard disk space
68040 processor
Open Transport 1.1 (OS9)

When I place an order how long will it be before I can start using the service?
After receiving your order,we immediately verify that the service is available in your area, it will then take approximately10 - 14 days for the service to be available to you, during this time you can make sure that you have purchased the modem & filter required, and ensured that you have a BT tel line, and no incompatable BT services operating on your Telephone line.

Currently I use ISDN, can I upgrade to ADSL?
Unlike the conversion of a standard telephone line, installing ADSL on an ISDN line requires the removal of the ISDN service during the ADSL installation process.

An additional fee, currently (£50.00 inc VAT) will be charged by BT for the removal of ISDN. This charge will appear on your normal telephone bill. Once we have received your ADSL Application Form, BT will contact you in writing requesting your acceptance of the conversion charge and any other monies due subject to your ISDN contract.

Whilst BT have indicated the lead time for installing ADSL on an ISDN line is 19 days, this is an approximate lead time only. The lead-time can be affected by the speed with which you provide BT with signed acceptance and how quickly BT processes your acceptance. During this period, we will endeavour to keep you as informed as possible about the progress of your order.

What is an IP Address?
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is basically a 32-bit binary number which identifies the exact position of a computer on the Internet, for example, 254.149.6.244. This can be compared to the function of a Postcode in locating a building on a street. Every piece of equipment connecting to the Internet has an IP address as it is the only way it can be found by other computers or servers trying to send it information.

Our ADSL broadband services have two methods of issuing an IP address, 'Dynamic' which means each time you connect you do it via a new IP address, or 'Static' where we provide a range of fixed IP addresses. All Our services are Dynamic IP based solutions by default as these offer greater security. However, a range of Static IP addresses services are available upon request for an additional monthly fee.

Dynamic or Static IP Address?
To offer the most secure services possible, all our Broadband ADSL solutions operate on a Dynamic IP basis by default. This means that each time you connect to the Internet you are allocated a new IP address. We can offer Static ADSL services which allows you to retain the same IP addresses. This option is available with some of the Business and Home services for an additional monthly fee.

Is there a limit on data upload/download?
No. Some ISPs do impose limits on the amount of data you can upload or download. You will only be restricted by the Upload and Download speed of the ADSL connection you have chosen.

What is the minimum contract period for ADSL broadband services?
Minimun contract period is 12 months, you need to give us 3 months notice if you wish to terminate the service, if you terminate before your contract period has legally ended, the total of the outstanding amount will become due. It is in your intresst to pre pay for your ADSL service, If you don't pay your tel line provider on time, and your ADSL telephone line is disconnected, or you haven't paid for your ADSL service on time, you may have to re apply for service and be charged the full ADSL installation cost as a new customer, as well as a reconnection fee to have your ADSL tel line reconnected by your tel provider.

What is the cost for my ADSL service?
Click Here for prices

How Do I pay for my ADSL broadband services?
The ADSL broadband service can be paid for - annually with a Cheque, or by monthly Direct Debit

How Do I pay for my ADSL Modem & Filter?
This can be paid for by Cheque, or by Credit Card depending on who it is purchased from. Click Here for prices.

How Do I pay for my Modem & Filter Installation?
This can be paid for by Cheque to GH Solutions. Any installation must be paid for in a advance.

FAQ Disclaimer: Although we endeavour to ensure that the information included within this FAQ is accurate and up-to-date, we cannot guarantee that it is exhaustive, or that changes won't be made at any time without prior notice.

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