daft question time

[Baz]

my daughter is moving into a new house soon and wants internet.

question is...do you need to take a phone package to get internet access.

what do you do to get the line connected or fitted.This has to be BT yes? can you check that the line is connected or if there is a number allocated to the house.

looks like the last owners had some sort of satellite package as the dish and cables are still fitted.Also near the cables in the house is a phone point so my guess is it may have been sky.

[Technical Ben]

You can see if the phone has a dialing tone? But I guess new connections have to be BT. Any wired internet needs a phone line (so land line call packages ). Unless you go mobile internet, and that could be problematic depending on reception.

[Rik]

Plug a phone in and see if there's a dialtone, Baz, if so, dial 17070. If you get a reply it's a live BT line.

[kinmel]

 Although BT Openreach will install it, any line rental company, including BT Retail, can arrange the provide.

If you are having SKY, they have the cheapest new line provision and unlimited packages at the moment.

[Baz]

thanks   daft queation but its ages since ive had to do it.


so if the line is live does that mean you still have a number or do you need a new one or will it just work.


also, again daft one, how do you actually get internet access until you have an ISP provider.

[kinmel]

so if the line is live does that mean you still have a number or do you need a new one or will it just work.

If the last subscriber did not do a "cease" the line may be active and you need to change customer details with BT.  More likely the line will need to be re-connected and a new number issued.

also, again daft one, how do you actually get internet access until you have an ISP provider.

Until you have a broadband connection, you would have to use a dial-up connection ( remember those ?) or a mobile telephone dongle etc.

May be a neighbour would allow you to temporarily piggy back on their connection by a wireless link.

Reality is, you need a telephone service provider to supply a telephone line connection with a broadband connection.  Some allow you to have the broadband working from the moment the line goes live. 

You need to speak directly with providers to discover what is actually possible at this property and the associated costs.

[Lona]

Satellite

In some rural areas, the only high-speed Internet service available is satellite. This also does not require a phone line. The service provider installs a small satellite dish in the user's yard, which transmits and receives data wirelessly. Satellite Internet is almost as fast as DSL and cable, but access is less reliable than with other forms of high-speed Internet, because strong weather or other obstructions to the data flow between the dish and the satellite can interrupt the transmission.

[Technical Ben]

Just as a small correction, the satellite option only receives a the internet wirelessly, replies are sent back over the landline. Although, I think actual satellite enabled mobile phones do send messages back (that's how it does 2 way communication ) but in general, the internet service uses the landline for uploads to reduce straine on the ISP. Satellites are expensive!