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BT Broadband
by: Neil Shevlin
Approximately 4 million people in the UK use ADSL with an
extra 2 million using a cable connection, meaning 6 million
people in the UK have an always-on internet connection. Of
these over 1.7 million are subscribed to BT's broadband
package, making them the UK's main broadband provider.
Back in August 2000 BT first launched its high-speed internet
connection to customers. Initially only available to around
one third of UK households and costing £500 a year it
was the first step in many to Broadband Britain.
There are currently only 2 ways to connect to ADSL in the
UK. Recently a technique called Local Loop Unbundling means
you don't need to have a BT phone line, but at the moment
only 1% of people on broadband in the UK use this method.
The only other way to connect transforms an existing BT phone
line into a high-speed digital line. This is only available
with a BT phone line though, so even if you don't subscribe
to BT's package your ISP still has to pay BT money to
maintain and connect your line. Because of this BT has been
able to dictate the availability of broadband in the UK for
a few years now.
For fear that UK telecoms watchdog Ofcom would break-up the
company because they held a monopoly by owning all the phone
lines and means to connect to broadband, BT has agreed to
offer rival companies access to the "Local Loop",
which is the network of telephone lines around the country.
By doing this BT could stand to lose many customers as other
companies can offer their broadband directly and without having
to pay BT expenses.
Since the introduction of ADSL in the UK many potential customers
found their local exchanges were simply out of date and the
lines too old to be able to handle this new technology. Campaigns
run country-wide as BT will only upgrade exchanges if there
is adequate interest. ADSL is still not available in many
villages and more rural areas of Britain but BT is vastly
expanding and upgrading its network to try and cover all the
country, Broadband is currently available in more than 96.6%
of all UK households.
BT's standard package is 2Mbps with a 1 GB monthly
download limit. This means you can only download 1 GB's
worth of content, be it WebPages, music or movies, a month.
This is more than enough for typical WebPages, but excessive
music downloads will result in your account being suspended
or limited for the rest of the month. You can upgrade your
broadband to a 15 GB monthly limit for a little extra a month.
BT also offers Pay As You Go dialup and unlimited dialup contracts.
BT Broadband also offers a variety of packages and upgrades
designed to suit every user. You can upgrade to a gaming account
to play xbox and PS2 games online, you can setup parental
filters for your children, and there's protection against
spam, junk mail, pop-ups, virus's and online intruders.
One of the main reasons people will continue to signup to
BT is its reliability. They have broken the mould of all ISPs
having poor customer service and are incredibly helpful with
setting up your connection.
BT are aiming to trail their 8Mbps connection soon, intending
it to be in common use by the end of the year. BT's
ultimate goal is making broadband available throughout the
country, including rural areas.
About The Author
Neil Shevlin is the owner of UK Cheap Broadband which is
a great place to find broadband links, resources and articles.
For more information go to: UK Cheap Broadband www.ukcheapbroadband.
© Copyright 2005
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