OT dsl

From: Rob O'Donnell <classiccmp.org_at_irrelevant.fsnet.co.uk>
Date: Thu Jul 15 02:58:57 2004

At 16:07 14/07/2004, Jules Richardson wrote:

>Do you need to be subscribed to BT for their phone line in order to make
>use of a DSL company which uses the BT infrastructure? It used to be the
>case (reason the only choice I had was to go with NTL) but I'm not sure
>if it still is.


Yes, because DSL comes down the copper phone line, and the only people
putting in copper are BT..

Most of the ISPs just rent a combination of standard services off BT, and
re-sell it on to you at various prices.

BT won't provide DSL on a line that doesn't have active phone
service. Even though it's technically possible, I guess this is to
simplify their procedures.

Bulldog does work differently in that they are a LLU (Local Loop
Unbundling) operator, which means they put their own equipment into the BT
telephone exchanges, so can offer a different range of services (and this
explains their much lower coverage too). They are still tied to BT,
though, as far as that last piece of wire between the exchange and YOU is
concerned.

Have a look at www.adslguide.org.uk for informative comparisons and
ratings. Don't forget the forums ("message board") as they have a lot of
discussion about the various ISPs and thus you can see what the actual
users feel about certain services. (few messages generally == no problems!)

Rob
Received on Thu Jul 15 2004 - 02:58:57 BST