Braodband Questions

Broadband stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. It's a technical way of saying blindingly fast", "always- on-Internet access" down existing telephone lines. There's no need to wait for your modem to screech and bleep into action. Put simply, it will provide you with constant, broadband access to the Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no extra telephone, leased line or ISDN charges. The price of £18.99 will stay the same.

It is called "asymmetric" because one can download data quicker than one can upload it to the Internet.

What is the difference between broadband and ADSL?

There is no difference, some people choose one terminlology over the other.

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Who needs Broadband?

Our fairBroadband service is aimed at home users. Broadband allows you to be between 10 and 40 times faster on the Internet than with any current dial up connection. You can use the same telephone line to call a friend and be online at the same time. You get 512 kbps of bandwidth all to yourself. If you want more that's an option on our Business User account at an extra cost.

Why is Broadband good?

Lots of interesting websites include streaming information and animations, which won't work well over standard dial up connections. With fairBroadband you can see them as the web designer intended. A run of the mill modem can reach speeds of up to 56Kbps, and ISDN can achieve speeds of up to 128 Kbps. Broadband on the other hand has the capacity to go up to 40 times the speed of traditional dial up links, opening up a new Internet world in all its glory.

How does Broadband work?

Broadband uses your existing telephone line. Your phone line is being used to send and receive data and make phone calls at the same time. Two modems, one at your end and one at BT's local exchange, carry the signal. A "splitter" or filter, separates the telephony signal from the
"DSL signal"; meaning that telephone calls can be made at the same time as the Internet is being used. Ultimately broadband means instant website downloads, bigger email attachments and, best of all, streaming video and music without the hiccups and stutters of narrow bandwidth pipes.

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Is Broadband available in your area?

To see if broadband is available in your area click here

What is Self-Install?

FairBroadband Self-Install gives you the chance to set up your broadband connection cheaper than with any other provider in the UK. You simply plug in our recommended fool-proof filter/modem kit into your phone socket. With this service you will NOT get a BT engineer visiting your house or office and set it up on your behalf. FairBroadband's Home User service is recommended for use with a single PC. The lead-time is usually up to 14 days from the time of ordering.

I am moving house can I still keep my Broadband connection?

Make sure that you are not going to move house within the next 3 months if you want to apply for an broadband connection, because broadband is not transferable. If you move house before the end of the minimum contract period, you will be charged up to the end of the minimum period of 3 months. Re-applying for broadband at a new address is subject to availability. Re-register for a new order and enter a new minimum period contract. A relocation charge of £58 will apply.

How do I get Broadband/ADSL from fairBroadband?

Fill out the sign-up form on our home page http://www.fairbroadband.co.uk You will be notified by email that your order has been submitted. After that a line check is performed by BT. A number of tests will be taking place on the line looking at things like line quality and distance from the exchange. If these tests are successful, you will be notified by email of the set up date. Once the set up has taken place you will need to plug in your micro-filter(s), modem and configure your PC accordingly. There is a lead-time of up to 14 working days due to high demand, between the placement of the order and the final activation of the service.

How will I know my line has been Broadband enabled?

We have a live Account Status page to check the progress of your account.
Just go to: http://www.fairadsl.co.uk/account_info.php.

What are the minimum systems requirement for fairBroadband Home User?

For customers using PCs:

Pentium 200Mhz or more
32Mb of RAM
16 bit Sound Card
4 speed CD ROM
Monitor capable of 800x600 at 256 colours
150Mb free Hard disk space
Windows 98, 98SE, Me, 2000 Pro or XP
USB Port

For customers using Apple Macintosh:

Power PC 601 or equivalent 200Mhz
32Mb of RAM
Two speed CD Rom
Video driver/display 800x600 at 256 colours
100Mb free hard disk space
Mac OS 8.6 or higher
USB Port

What cable do I need?

To connect an broadband modem to the splitter you'll need an RJ11 lead which is supplied when you purchase your router/modem from us.

I have a problem with my Broadband connection who can help?

Your first point of contact is our upport help desk, at support@fairadsl.co.uk. If the problem lies with BT, our customer support representative will liaise with BT on your behalf until the problem is solved.

How does contention work?

The contention ratio for fairBroadband Home User has been set by BT at 50:1. This means that for a home user with a USB modem, the BT connection at the exchange is shared with another 50 users. It is rare that all these people will be downloading or uploading data all at the same time. Business users have a contention rate of 20:1 only.

How is the IP address allocated?

The IP address is allocated dynamically not statically.

How many computers can be connected to my service?

On the fairBroadband Home User account only one computer should be connected to the broadband connection.

What should VPI/VCIbe set as?

VPI/VCI tells you how the modem is setting up the connection. They are unique to the UK DSL rollout.

VPI should be set to 0
VCI should be set to 38

What is RADSL?

RADSL stands for Rate-Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line. It has been designed to increase the standard range of broadband from 4km to 5.5km and to make broadband available to more households and businesses in the UK. This service means that whenever you use RADSL your upload speed will be negotiated every time you are trying to send data across the Internet.Your upload speed varies between 64kbps and 256kbps. The download speed remains the same at up to 512kbps.

What is NO-NAT ?

Those of you who want to host their own servers, eg. a web or FTP server, will need a No-NAT (static IP address) service. With our No-NAT service we will provide you with a range of several IP addresses. Of those 3 IP addresses would be used for configuration the other 5 IP addresses are available to use. A No-NAT version of fairBroadband's Business User is available shortly for an additional £8.00 + VAT per month.

If you choose No-NAT, fairBroadband will not be able to offer you the option to send email through our mail servers and you will have to provide and administer your own mail services.

We do recommend that you operate a firewall on your network when using the No-NAT Broadband service.

Please note, if you plan to use your own broadband equipment and you need a No-NAT service, you must ensure that your Broadband equipment is capable of supporting a No-NAT (Static IP) service

Power Supply

For fairBroadband Business User customers only. You need to have an unfilled wall mounted power socket for the Broadband Router. The power socket must be within two metres and be on the same wall as your Broadband port.

If you don't have this kind of set up you will need to get a power supply fitted before submitting your Business User fairBroadband application form.