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What is ADSL? |
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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. |
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Who is ADSL aimed at? |
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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. |
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What are the key benefits of ADSL? |
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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. |
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How does ADSL work? |
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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.
Ultimately ADSL 'squeezes' up to 99% more capacity out
of a phone line without interfering with your normal telephone
services. |
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Is ADSL available in my area? |
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To see whether ADSL is available
in your area click HERE |
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If my area is not listed, what can I do? |
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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. |
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What is "Self-Install"? |
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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. |
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What are the advantages of "Self-Install"? |
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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. |
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What is a splitter/micro-filter? |
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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. |
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Can I buy these micro-filters from Corpex? |
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Yes - they are available at £7
each + VAT. You can order microfilters from Corpex by
contacting one of our Internet advisers on 0207 430
8000. |
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What if my PC is not next to a telephone socket? |
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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. |
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Can I use my own modem now? |
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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 Internet advisers on 0207 430 8000. |
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Do I have to support my own router or modem? |
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Yes. However we will be launching
a service later this year, which will include support
of Corpex approved hardware purchased through ourselves. |
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Can I upgrade from ISDN? |
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If you request ADSL through Corpex,
we can place a single order with BT to request the conversion
of the ISDN line to analogue and subsequent activation
of ADSL. Conversion of BT ISDN2 and BT Home/Business Highway,
to BT IPStream Home/Office is done by an engineer with
a 10-day lead time. This is currently charged at £27.99
by BT and may be subject to changes.
Should the conversion fail for technical reasons, the
engineer converts the line back to the original service
and all associated charges are cancelled. Customers who
choose to manage a conversion independently of this process
are responsible for all costs incurred, due to the conversion
and any subsequent costs of re-instating the original
BT ISDN2/Highway service if the conversion is unsuccessful
(i.e. the converted PSTN line will not support a DSL service). |
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What are the call charges? |
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There are no call charges at all
for ADSL, just a quarterly or annual subscription payable
to Corpex. |
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Will I still need to pay for my phone rental? |
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Yes. To subscribe to Corpex ADSL
service, you must have a BT telephone line and account.
Normal phone rental fees will apply for your voice calls.
All VOICE calls and associated charges will be charged
by BT as normal. |
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Is there a minimum period contract? |
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There is a minimum period of twelve
(12) months on the ADSL service. If the contract is cancelled
before the twelve (12) months are completed, the customer
will be charged for the remaining term of the minimum
period. |
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What if I modify/cancel my contract with BT? |
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Any cancellation or alteration
of the BT contract for the telephone line on which the
ADSL service is installed (installation line) may cause
BT to disconnect the installation line and/or modify the
contract number associated with the installation line.
As a result of this, BT would automatically cease the
ADSL service on the installation line and your ADSL Service
provided by Corpex would terminate. If this happens before
completion of the minimum period contract, you would be
charged for the remaining term of the minimum period (twelve
(12) months). |
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What happens if I move house? |
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ADSL is not transferable. If you
move house before the end of the contract, you will be
charged for the service up to the end of the minimum period
(twelve (12) months). If you wish to reapply for ADSL
in the new location, this is subject to availability at
the new address and you will need to resubmit a new order
and enter a new minimum period contract. A relocation
charge of £50 + Vat applies. |
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Can I migrate from standard ADSL to Wires-only? |
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You can transfer from engineer-install
ADSL to the equivalent self-install version once you have
fulfilled the twelve (12) month minimum contract period
on the engineer-install service. You need to contact Corpex
in order to request the transfer. The subscription fee
associated with the self-install package will apply from
the next billing date onwards. |
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How much does it cost? |
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Prices start at £29.99 Inc
VAT per month for the USB package Corpex Solo Self Install.
A one-off installation fee also applies. |
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What is the activation procedure? |
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You need to fill in the Enquiries
Form available here, or contact one of our Internet advisers
to place an order. Once we have received payment and confirmation
of the order, we will start the activation procedure for
ASDL.
In the first instance a remote line check is performed
by BT. A number of tests will be performed on the line
covering such things as line quality and distance from
the exchange.
If successful, an activation date is assigned to your
order and a Corpex engineer will carry out the necessary
work at the exchange to enable ADSL on your phone line.
You will be notified of the activation date. Once the
activation has taken place you will need to plug in your
micro-filter(s), modem/router and configure your PC accordingly.
There is a lead-time of about seven (7) working days between
the placement of the order and the activation of the service. |
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How will I know the line has been ADSL enabled? |
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Once the necessary work has been
completed at the exchange, Corpex will notify you using
the contact details supplied during the ordering process. |
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What are the Minimum Systems Requirements for ADSL
Self Install? - PC |
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Pentium 200Mhz or more 32Mb of
RAM
16 bit Sound card
4 speed CD Rom
Display capable of 800x600 at 256 colours
150Mb free Hard disk space
Windows 98, 98SE, Me, 2000 Pro or XP
USB Port for the consumer product
Ehernet card for the business product |
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What are the Minimum Systems Requirements for ADSL
Self Install? - Mac |
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Power PC 601 or equivalent 200Mhz
16 bit Sound card
2 speed CD Rom
Video driver/display 800x600 at 256 colours
100Mb free hard disk space
Mac OS 8.6 or higher
USB Port for the consumer product
Ehernet card for the business product |
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I have a problem with my ADSL, who should I contact? |
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For any ADSL technical problems
and enquiries you can contact Corpex Technical Support
- telephone 0207 430 8000 (9am - 6pm) or email support@corpex.com
If the problem lies with BT either department will
escalate it as a fault and Corpex will liaise with BT
on your behalf until the problem is resolved. |
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