Broadband outages - a suggestion

[dudwell]

During the recent outage I found it very re-assuring to be able to revert to the old-fashioned dial-up so that at least I could get to this forum to see that I was not alone in having a problem.

It occurs to me that people who have recently become internet-capable may only know about broadband and they may simply not know how to use the older dial-up.

I'd like to suggest that there should be a page on this forum entitled something like "What to do if your broadband fails". It should be printed out and kept for emergencies. Part one: "If a slow internet connection would be better than nothing" -  a description of how to use dial-up. Part two: " If a reasonably fast connection is important to you" - a description of the mobile broadband approach with a pointer towards the best buys for very infrequent use. All kept very simple for those of us who are not experts.

[Steve]

You may have a good point there. 

[pctech]

I don't think a mobile broadband best buy guide is the best idea as IDNet need to remain impartial and it wouldn't be a good ad for their services would it?

If IDNet do have a backup dial up service it would be good to have a PDF of how to configure and use it.

[dudwell]

I don't think a mobile broadband best buy guide is the best idea as IDNet need to remain impartial and it wouldn't be a good ad for their services would it?

If IDNet do have a backup dial up service it would be good to have a PDF of how to configure and use it.

This forum is somewhat detached from IDNet and  I see that members freely mention other services when the need arises.

IDNet does indeed offer a back-up dial-up service on 0845 6021131. I've had occasion to use it several times in the past year and it always works perfectly - but very slowly of course.

[pctech]

Indeed, using 56K after broadband is an experience that teaches you great patience.

[Technical Ben]

However, most pcs no longer come with one installed. AFAIK.

[dudwell]

However, most pcs no longer come with one installed. AFAIK.

Oh, didn't know that, seems a pity. Then how about an IDNet network status page which could be accessed from any reasonably up-to-date mobile phone? Or perhaps there is such a thing already? It's the feeling that "perhaps I'm the only one to be cut off" that's especially dispiriting.

[pctech]

Dial-up modem cards are usually optional on built to order PCs, your average box from PC World or Staples is very unlikely to have one.

[Steve]

It is possible to get the IDNet status rss feed on some mobile phone browsers,it's fairly straight forward on a smartphone. Otherwise some detail can be found at the main website under network status.

Edit : This forum is also available by wap access for those unable to get a 3G signal

http://www.idnetters.co.uk/forums/index.php?wap2

[Gary]

Oh, didn't know that, seems a pity. Then how about an IDNet network status page which could be accessed from any reasonably up-to-date mobile phone? Or perhaps there is such a thing already? It's the feeling that "perhaps I'm the only one to be cut off" that's especially dispiriting.

You can access the IDNet status page from your mobile already.  Also I don't think the forum is detached from IDNet at all (no offence), Rik has a very close link to Tim and Simon (directors) and helps out in an unofficial capacity greatly along with Simon (not that Simon) and Steve and Lance and Ray all whom have good working knowledge of IDNet.

People are just trying to suggest alternative methods of connection with a decent speed as a back up thats not dial up. As has been said most home computers now don't have 56k modems. Heading here will always give you the low down on what's happening, and that you can do from most mobiles as well so hopefully that's all covered.

Above all I think people are being a tad over worried about this, in my few years here at IDnet I have not as far as I remember seen such incidents, so two so close is rare, one is rare tbh. People who do need home net access 24/7 should have redundancy, but it shows how much we use the net and think of it as a utility service now like electricity. Basically there are ways for most to use a 3G mifi etc if needed but to those that cant there is not much to do except pick up pen and paper and explain to work/uni/school that the internet is not without incident, after all unless  you have a huge UPS  a power cut will do the same to most.

This is hopefully a rare occurrence and we just need to see it as that, and maybe not put all our eggs in one basket so to speak.  

[pctech]

I do agree Gary but if your connectivity is criticial to your business you should have an LLU backup connection if possible (guard against BT exchange or backhaul network issues such as this) or at least a connection to another ISP in addition to IDNet.

[Simon]

During the recent outage I found it very re-assuring to be able to revert to the old-fashioned dial-up so that at least I could get to this forum to see that I was not alone in having a problem.

It occurs to me that people who have recently become internet-capable may only know about broadband and they may simply not know how to use the older dial-up.

I'd like to suggest that there should be a page on this forum entitled something like "What to do if your broadband fails". It should be printed out and kept for emergencies. Part one: "If a slow internet connection would be better than nothing" -  a description of how to use dial-up. Part two: " If a reasonably fast connection is important to you" - a description of the mobile broadband approach with a pointer towards the best buys for very infrequent use. All kept very simple for those of us who are not experts.

It's a valid and reasonable suggestion, Dudwell, but some equally valid points have also been raised, in response, in my opinion. 

One thing I would question is, if a person is 'newish' to the internet, would they necessarily have a dial up modem with which to set up and make a connection?  I assume I'm not being thick here, but I didn't think you could use dial up with a broadband router.   

[Simon]

Oops, I see the above has already been mentioned.  For some reason, I must have only read half the thread!   

[dudwell]

You can access the IDNet status page from your mobile already.  Also I don't think the forum is detached from IDNet at all (no offence),

I just tried to access the IDNet status page from my cheap Tesco PAYG mobile. I entered (very laboriously!) https://www.idnet.net/support/status.jsp but received "HTTP Error : 500  Internal Server Error". Should I have tried something else? I failed in an attempt to get to this forum also.

About detachment from IDNet, I was just trying to make the point that we all feel free to discuss non-IDNet services here - often in a negative sort of way but sometimes favourably .

I've discovered too that there are such things as USB dial-up modems available quite cheaply though of course I agree with Simon that newcomers to the internet won't have one.

I'm learning from all of this!

[Simon]

That link works for me, and on my phone, Dudwell.  To access the forum 'wap' version, you need to use:

http://www.idnetters.co.uk/forums/index.php?wap2

[dudwell]

That link works for me, and on my phone, Dudwell.  To access the forum 'wap' version, you need to use:

http://www.idnetters.co.uk/forums/index.php?wap2

Aah! That 'wap' link works   Thanks Simon. I'll make a note.

Going off for my bedtime cocoa now

[Simon]

Bookmark it in your phone, Dudwell. 

[Rudds]

I just tried to access the IDNet status page from my cheap Tesco PAYG mobile. I entered (very laboriously!) https://www.idnet.net/support/status.jsp but received "HTTP Error : 500  Internal Server Error". Should I have tried something else? I failed in an attempt to get to this forum also.

About detachment from IDNet, I was just trying to make the
point that we all feel free to discuss non-IDNet services here - often in a negative sort of way but sometimes favourably .

I've discovered too that there are such things as USB dial-up
modems available quite cheaply though of course I agree with Simon that newcomers to the internet won't have one.

I'm learning from all of this!

no probs with my tescomobile in fact its faster than my idnet connection at the moment, i am making this post from it.
Dont know whether the problem tonight is just a local one or not.

[Moonshine]

In response to Dudwell's original post, I'd just like to add my tuppence worth:

Having little understanding of anything remotely technical, during the outages I appreciate more than anything the simple use of the land line.  When the internet won't connect via the standard route, I have no alternative methods of connecting to the net (no dial-up, no internet mobile etc), so I simply dial IDNet's freephone number, and am grateful to find an answerphone message letting me know that I am not the only one experiencing problems (so I know it isn't my set up).  To be honest, that makes all the difference as far as I'm concerned, and prevents me from worrying that I have to do something to fix things, because I know it is an issue out of my hands.

I used to be with Tesco internet (big mistake) and Orange after that (bigger mistake), and used to become so stressed speaking to people in far away call centres on premium rate numbers, not having a clue what they were talking about.  Nothing is infallible, and there will always be times when things go wrong.  However, the marked difference between IDNet and certainly the other internet providers I have used, is that even for those of us who do not have alternative ways to connect to the net, there is always the tried and trusted land line with an answerphone message letting customers know what the problem is.

I would like to thank IDNet for continuing to keep customers updated via their answerphone message, because although I have the RSS feed, this obviously only works when I can access the net, so during an outage, is nigh on fruitless for the likes of me.  Long live a normal person's voice on something as old fashioned as an answerphone!!!

Just to add, I have often thought about adopting the dial up service that IDNet have.  However, from reading the forum, it would appear that it's not easy to obtain this anymore, as most newer computers are unlikely to have dial up built in.  Is there any way of buying something to add to a computer in order to make use of the dial up service?

Anyway, thanks again to IDNET and IDNetters for all their ongoing help and guidance (and please, never ever become too hi-tech to leave updates on the answerphone!!).

Moonshine.

[Bill]

if a person is 'newish' to the internet, would they necessarily have a dial up modem with which to set up and make a connection?

Even if you aren't new-sh to the internet it can be tricky... 3 modems somewhere upstairs, 5 assorted computers around the house but with nary a serial port amongst them

[wecpcs]

Just to add, I have often thought about adopting the dial up service that IDNet have.  However, from reading the forum, it would appear that it's not easy to obtain this anymore, as most newer computers are unlikely to have dial up built in.  Is there any way of buying something to add to a computer in order to make use of the dial up service?

Moonshine.

I think you can still buy PCI modems to plug into an expansion slot inside your PC. I used to use an external one (now somewhere in the shed) that I used and was simply plugged into a serial port, which most PC's normally still have at least one. I last used it briefly a couple of years ago when I had a failure on the dreaded O2 ACCESS.

Colin

[karvala]

Even if you aren't new-sh to the internet it can be tricky... 3 modems somewhere upstairs, 5 assorted computers around the house but with nary a serial port amongst them

You can get very cheap USB-to-serial port adapters that will give you a fast and easy serial port on whatever machine you want.  I use a couple with some old equipment that needs a serial port still, and they work fine.

[Bill]

You can get very cheap USB-to-serial port adapters that will give you a fast and easy serial port on whatever machine you want.  I use a couple with some old equipment that needs a serial port still, and they work fine.

Didn't think of looking for one of those for emergency use, cheers.

Though whether I could remember how to set up a modem after all these years is another matter!

[pctech]

Or you could just get a USB dial-up modem?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=dial+up+usb+modem&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=4534872416&ref=pd_sl_3on9ucri4d_b

[Gary]

I do agree Gary but if your connectivity is criticial to your business you should have an LLU backup connection if possible (guard against BT exchange or backhaul network issues such as this) or at least a connection to another ISP in addition to IDNet.

I agree if you have a business yes Mitch, but for some a second line etc is an overhead to much in these times, although a necessity really. I guess many do not think of internet redundancy as they think its always going to work.