Soon be joining

[weevil]

It's been a long wait but will soon be moving house and joining IDNet.

My plan originally was to go for a sim provide but dealing with BT has put a stop to that - mention sim provide and it draws a blank response from 99.9% of call centre staff. It's been a nightmare even just taking over an existing line.

Basically, I should have a working telephone line on Wednesday which means I can then put the order into IDNet. IDNet have informed me that it will then take 5 working days for the broadband to install.

Is the 5 days cast in stone or is this the maximum time it takes i.e could it possibly take 4 days?

Would I get notification from IDNet when it is up and running?

[Rik]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Migrations tend to take about 3 days, but new provides do seem to come out at 5, due to the extra work involved and the need for BT's system databases to update. OTOH, if they have an engineer going to the exchange you can get lucky.

You'll get an email from IDNet when they are told by BT that activation is complete.

[Sebby]

It shouldn't be too long before you join us now.

[Dangerjunkie]

It's been a long wait but will soon be moving house and joining IDNet.

My plan originally was to go for a sim provide but dealing with BT has put a stop to that - mention sim provide and it draws a blank response from 99.9% of call centre staff. It's been a nightmare even just taking over an existing line.

All you need to so a sim provide is give your BT order number to IDNet. This number is sometimes called a "CSS reference" but often just an "order number." If I remember rightly it will be a couple of letters, some numbers and a couple more letters. Something like AB123CD. It should also be on any paperwork BT have sent you confirming your order (if they actually sent you any.) Do you have this number? If not it's probably worth a call to BT sales to ask for it.

Once you've got the order number give IDNet a call on 08000 267 237, tell them you want to join and give them the BT order number. The magic should (BT permitting) then happen.

Good luck,
Paul.

[Danni]

...or not, as I found out.

As your BT installation date is tomorrow, there's not even enough time to fight them. Never mind- put your order in as soon as you can, and remember to remind the BT engineers if they come around you want it for broadband- they may give you the shiniest line of the bunch

[Dangerjunkie]

I was working on the principle that at making the call today should cut a day off the waiting time and (if the gods of ADSL are smiling) the ADSL equipment assignment may make it onto the BT guy's screen so it may get wired up at the exchange.

Cheers,
Paul.

[David]

Hi Weevil and a very warm welcome.hope it goes smoothly for you.rest assured you will be a happy little Weevil and 4 or 5 days ,24 hours can seem like a lifetime..have one of these  and put your feet up and take advantage of the rest,with the prolific posters here you had better A leave your sanity in a drawer and B  get a cumfy chair.......................you will become addicted     





Edit: Smiley markup sorted

[weevil]

Thanks all for the advice.

Doing the sim provide and getting the CSS ref seemed like it would be such a simple thing. I even had the exact words, order of events etc. sent to me in a link from IDNet support.

I put the order into BT precisely and they basically put in what they thought and pressed "send" without reading back the order (didn't even ask for bank details). Once it got to that point and they realised they had made a mistake it was a question of "computer says no" (think Little Britain) and there was no way to change things (apparently)!

Anyway, the sooner BT are out of the equation the better and I can put the broadband order in tomorrow.

As soon as I am up and running I will post up my stats and you can advise me on eeking out all the speed I possibly can.

[Rik]

You may find you're flat out already, of course.

[Dangerjunkie]

Hi,

As soon as I am up and running I will post up my stats and you can advise me on eeking out all the speed I possibly can.

Well the first thing I did was to decide to plug my modem into the master socket. As it was one of the new NTE5 sockets (where you take the screws out and the bottom half comes off) I went and ordered one if each of the following (you may need to change the length of the cable)

http://www.adslnation.com/phpapps/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=105

http://www.adslnation.com/phpapps/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=120

If you are attaching a Sky or Sky+ box to the line I would also get one of these:

http://www.adslnation.com/phpapps/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=54

Sky boxes are notoriously noisy electrically and, even though the faceplate filers the extensions many people recommend having two filters on a Sky box. Fitting these things should give you the best ADSL performance possible.

If you get the order in you should have them in time for ID-Day

Cheers,
Paul.

[Rik]

I'm one who recommends double-filtering, Paul. 

[weevil]

Phone finally became active today, so I immediately called IDNet to place the order.

My call was answered on the second ring and the order placed in a couple of minutes - no messing about!

Broadband should be online on 25th so it's a relief to finally sign up.

I'll probably post my stats shortly afterwards and see what you guys think (i'll hold fire on ordering the bits and pieces from adslnation until I see what kind of results I get).

Cheers all for the advice and support.

[Rik]

Have you got any idea how far you are from the exchange?

[weevil]

2.4km straight line.

Speed result comes up as 2mb or greater

[Rik]

As a rule of thumb, double the distance for the cable run, so maybe 45-48db attenuation. If the line is good, you could sync at maximum speed, overall, my best guess is you'll get around 6Mbps.

[weevil]

Thanks Rik. If I could get anywhere near that I would be seriously happy

My big fear was moving in a finding the speed was under 1mb, so it all looks promising!

[Rik]

Well, let's put it this way, my attenuation is 57db, approximately 5km from the exchange and with a poor quality line. I manage a 3Mbps profile.

[Lance]

Well, let's put it this way, my attenuation is 57db, approximately 5km from the exchange and with a poor quality line. I manage a 3Mbps profile.

You forgot to add "with the 2700HGV"!

[Sebby]

The miracle router.

[weevil]

Unfortunately I do not have the miraculous 2700HGV!

I've been using a Netgear DG834G, which has been good (to my knowledge). Do you think I should get decent performance with this?

[Dangerjunkie]

I'm about 3 miles away and the BT engineer that installed my line admitted the pole junction box is corroded (as well as being right next to a high-speed electrified railway line) I get a 3.5Mb profile. Hopefully you should do better than that.

I would recommend you get a filtered faceplate and a premium cable for install day. During the first 10 days the system determines the rate below which your line can be considered faulty. This means the worse the rate you get during those 10 days the worse your line has to get before BT will accept a fault report. If you install those things later you may well end up with a lower fault threshold which means if your line does start to go bad you will have to wait longer for it to get worse before you can report it.

Cheers,
Paul.

[Lance]

Good advice, Paul

[Sebby]

The DG834G varies from line to line (I suspect due to the manufacturer of the DSLAM), so I'd say see how it goes. If you need to replace it, we can recommend something.