Q. Re: UK ISDN/ASDL/&c.

unremarkableunremarkable
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I live in the UK, and can't find satisfactory answers to these questions on the web.



Can anyone explain to me what the difference is between ADSL/ISDN/cable and the like, and how the companies (blueyonder &c.) offer these things?



Is broadband the same as ISDN? Or cable?



How do I decide between them, and which packages are best? What are the installation processes?



Confused...



Thanks in advance!



un

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    ISDN is not in the same category as cable or ADSL: it still requires a phone call for connecting to the internet and has a maximum speed of 128Kb/s (compared to 500Kb/s for cable/ADSL and 56Kb/s for an V90 modem) when you use two ISDN lines at once. It's not that big a speed improvement over a 56Kb/s modem, still requires dialup and needs an ISDN line.



    ADSL and cable are what most people mean by "broadband" and offer around 500Kb/s to 1000Kb/s. The data and voice is transferred to your house over the same cables. Once there, the voice and data are separated, for use on your internal phone system and connection to your computer(s) respectively.



    "ADSL" is an upgrade of the old telephone network (operated by BT and resellers); "cable" is the new optical fibre based network operated by Telewest and NTL. Although Telewest and NTL are different telecomms companies, they rarely operate in the same area.



    Telewest and NTL have utilities on their websites to check cable availability in your postcode area; phone BT on 150 to check about ADSL availability. You don't have to get ADSL from BT: there are several resellers around. Only Telewest and NTL sell cable.



    You need a BT line for ADSL; using phone or cable TV from NTLTelewest reduces the cost of cable broadband.



    You may find <a href="http://www.adslguide.org"; target="_blank">ADSL Guide</a> useful in finding a broadband ISP.



    [ 02-24-2003: Message edited by: Stoo ]</p>
  • Reply 2 of 12
    unremarkableunremarkable Posts: 220member
    Brilliant answer!



    Thank you!



    About ISDN: who offers it, and what does it take in terms of installation? Does it require a special modem or software?



    [ 02-25-2003: Message edited by: unremarkable ]</p>
  • Reply 3 of 12
    lockstarlockstar Posts: 18member
    ISDN requires a hardware interface card to be installed.



    It also requires software.



    <a href="http://www.4sight.com/products/prod_overview.lasso"; target="_blank">http://www.4sight.com/products/prod_overview.lasso</a>;



    <a href="http://www.hermstedt.co.uk/pages/products/isdnproducts.html"; target="_blank">http://www.hermstedt.co.uk/pages/products/isdnproducts.html</a>;



    The ISDN protocol is also reliant on software versioning.

    e.g. I have had problems sending files to someone who runs different version of ISDM manager. or different software altogether.



    Have a look at the Hermstedt Stingray (all in one solution ADSL or ISDN) Don't have to have a computer dedicated to file transfer.



    very good reviews
  • Reply 4 of 12
    unremarkableunremarkable Posts: 220member
    So suppose you have BT ISDN thingy installed--you also need to buy the hard ware, or do they provide it as blueyonder does with the cable modem?



    Could I just get a company (which?) to do the cabling, then buy this?



    <a href="http://www.hermstedt.co.uk/pages/products/webshuttle.html"; target="_blank">http://www.hermstedt.co.uk/pages/products/webshuttle.html</a>;



    [ 02-25-2003: Message edited by: unremarkable ]</p>
  • Reply 5 of 12
    overhopeoverhope Posts: 1,123member
    Have a swing by <a href="http://www.bt.com/isdn/"; target="_blank">BT's ISDN pages</a>, should tell you what you need to know.



    I'm guessing you're in a non-ADSL area? Don't see much point in having ISDN if you can get ADSL...
  • Reply 6 of 12
    hadrianhadrian Posts: 40member
    For ISDN home use BT will supply Home Highway which includes a hub type box which allows you to plug a fax or phone in one port and your ISDN modem in the other. The ISDN modem is not supplied.



    If you are in an area which can get ADSL (BT) or Cable (Telewest or NTL) I would go for this everytime. Cost range from £24.99 to £34.99 per month, depending on your provider (ISP) and connection speed.



    I have an iMac at home, with a Hermstedt DSL Shuttle and a BT line. My monthly broadband connection is supplied by Demon. All of these are very mac friendly. Shuttle connects via USB to Mac.



    Cost to set up (leaving out the iMac!) were:

    DSL Shuttle - approx £100

    Connection/conversion fee: £50

    Monthly subscription: £24.99 - this gives me a 512kb/s d/l 256kb/s u/l



    A lot of the ISP's are offering free connection at the moment



    Telewest also offer a 1MB/s service but of course you have to be within their cabling area. There are also limitations (distance from the exchange) with BT's service so its always best to check first (Enter your postcode at: <a href="http://www.bt.com/broadband/"; target="_blank">http://www.bt.com/broadband/</a>; to see if its available).



    The Telewest service comes with a cable modem, but again is pretty Mac friendly. I have a mate who has the 1MB service and he is very happy.



    Keep away from Hermstedt Stingray, which is really for business use and those who have multiple connections on a network (ISDN & ADSL) and will set you back a few grand!



    Best bet is ring Demon who will sort out your installation (with BT) and provide you with your connection account and buy the Hermstedt DSL Shuttle.



    [ 02-25-2003: Message edited by: Hadrian ]</p>
  • Reply 7 of 12
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    I have Telewest's regular 512Kb/s service and it's fine. Dabs haven't sent me my router yet (1 to 3 days, right), so I've only got one computer at once on it.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    hadrianhadrian Posts: 40member
    [quote]Originally posted by Stoo:

    <strong>I have Telewest's regular 512Kb/s service and it's fine. Dabs haven't sent me my router yet (1 to 3 days, right), so I've only got one computer at once on it.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    My mate (mentioned in the post above) has Telewest running through a router in his flat, with his G4 and a mates PC laptop accessing the same connection.



    The only issue he found was that the router's MAC address needed to be registered with Telewest to get it to work. I think they have to assign the Mac address to your fixed ip. One to look out for

  • Reply 9 of 12
    overhopeoverhope Posts: 1,123member
    Lots of ISPs do this, but they're usually pretty relaxed about you changing it (just tell them you got a new computer): all they're doing is making sure you're not connecting anything too weird to it.



    My ADSL's through Brightview and I get rock-solid 530 down and 270 up (not bad when I'm only paying for 512/256!). They don't worry about MAC addresses, so I have a 4-port router which has quite happily sat with my Cube, my Powerbook and the Windoze machine all quite happily connecting to the Internet and chatting to each other.



    If you're buying routers, I'd recommend <a href="http://www.dslsource.co.uk/"; target="_blank">DSLSource</a>: they got my router to me next day...
  • Reply 10 of 12
    imac davidimac david Posts: 286member
    Blueyonder (Telewest) is very relaxed about changing the IP address. For various reasons I had to switch my computer from a PC, to a Mac, to a PC and back to a Mac withing a few months and each time it was a simple phone call and it was changed there and then.



    David
  • Reply 11 of 12
    unremarkableunremarkable Posts: 220member
    Heck, this is complicated!



    So, suppose I sign up for Home Highway (yes, ADSL is not an option--ISDN is necessary)...and I'm running OS X...



    ...and BT install a box...



    ...do I need a card? Do I need an external modem? Do I need Webshuttle? Are any of the above synonymous?



    The page at



    <a href="http://www.bt.com/homehighway/index.htm"; target="_blank">http://www.bt.com/homehighway/index.htm</a>;



    says I can connect via USB with no need for anything extra (no card or modem or Webshuttle)?!



    ...and...do I need special software? I can carry on using Entourage, Fetch &c., right? What are the "Leonardo" and so on packages on the Hermstedt site?



    *considering carrier pigeon*



    [ 02-28-2003: Message edited by: unremarkable ]</p>
  • Reply 12 of 12
    rodukroduk Posts: 706member
    [quote]Originally posted by unremarkable:

    [QB]and I'm running OS X...



    ...and BT install a box...



    The page at



    <a href="http://www.bt.com/homehighway/index.htm"; target="_blank">http://www.bt.com/homehighway/index.htm</a>;



    says I can connect via USB with no need for anything extra (no card or modem or Webshuttle)?!

    [QB]<hr></blockquote>



    I'm not sure about the OS X part. Having quickly glanced at the link, it seems to imply the USB drivers for the BT box may only be available for OS 9. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />



    (Bird seed is cheap... )



    [ 02-28-2003: Message edited by: RodUK ]</p>
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