 |  | By Neil Hawkins Staff Writer Friday, 28 March 2008 |
IT’S all quiet on the broadband front in terms of new offers this week unfortunately, but there is news of a device which could help you achieve your best broadband speeds ever, plus, how to alleviate boredom when your baggage gets lost at Terminal 5.
Rescue your connection for £10
SOMETHING that slipped past the radar un-noticed (a rare occurrence I’m pleased to report!), was a story concerning a £10 device that can dramatically increase the reliability of your broadband speed.
The inexpensive device is close to being launched by BT and is called the iPlate.
It works by acting as a shield against background noise and interference from other electrical devices in the home.
The device simply slots into the BT master socket in your home and has been trialled by BT with around a thousand customers with connection problems.
"We've seen huge increases in speed," claimed Ashley Pickering from BT Wholesale's broadband access solutions team. On average, it makes one and a half megs of difference."
The impact that other devices can have on broadband connections has been highlighted as an issue that most broadband users don’t know much about.
Recently, BT bought a customer a new television because the one that he owned was responsible for causing all manner of problems for broadband connections in his cul-de-sac.
The device should be available soon via your broadband provider or BT.
24 Mbps broadband packages draw closer
BT will soon begin the nationwide rollout of services utilising what it calls its 21st Century Network (21CN).
From the end of April customers should be able to have access to new higher speed services from many broadband providers not just the handful that offer it at present.
This is because BT is in the middle of consolidating the entire UK telecoms network into a single digitally-based beast.
The upgrade means that BT can wholesale its new ADSL2+ (up to 24Mbps) services as it currently does with its ‘up to’ 8Mbps services.
This doesn’t automatically mean that you’ll see a vast improvement in speeds, but ADSL2+ can usually improve a line that suffers from being quite a distance from the local exchange.
There are some who criticise the rollout saying that ADSL2+ is a ‘now’ technology and doesn’t future proof the network.
Indeed, broadband providers like O2 Broadband and Be* Broadband have been offering ADSL2+ for years.
Nevertheless, broadband customers with these providers seem relatively happy compared to most, so maybe the future of broadband is looking up!
Flying from Heathrow Terminal 5 this weekend?
YOU may have heard yesterday, about the nightmare opening of Terminal 5 at London Heathrow airport.
Despite being at the forefront of technology, in terms of moving bags around a large warehouse, the opening was far from smooth and led to the cancellation of 34 flights and countless delays.
The end result must have been a lot of frustrated, bored passengers.
But fear not! British Airways will offer free wi-fi in all of its lounges at UK airports form April 1st, thanks to BT Openzone.
The Queen, when opening the new terminal, announced that, “It gives me great pleasure to open Terminal 5 - this 21st Century gateway to Britain and, to us, the wider world.”
It seems though that the only people who’ll get speedy access to the wider world at present are the ones in the BA lounge using the internet.
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