RE-ADSL - is it any good?

[Lou]

Hi everyone

I have searched on this topic and found some references explaining what

RE-ADSL is, but not any opinions from anyone who is using it/has used

it.

We are currently using 56k dial-up with Wanadoo and have just

discovered (via the ariase website someone mentioned recently -

thanks!) that we can get 512k RE-ADSL - allegedly with three providers,

the cheapest of which is Wanadoo (surprisingly?!).

The weird thing is that Wanadoo's website appears to make absolutely no

reference to this service at all (unless I'm missing something

somewhere), if I put in my details and ask to upgrade it just tells me

I can't get ADSL - which we know!  France Telecom's website tells

me I can get RE-ADSL but that I have to go to their shop to sign up for

it.......

Does anyone have any experience of using this, and is it worth the extra 10 euros a month?

Thanks very much

Lou in the darkest reaches of the Hautes-Pyrenees (well, not in an ADSL area anyway!)

[Tresco]

Lou, I am a techno idiot, truly.

If time isn't your problem, then you can stay as you are.

If you get fed up waiting for a minute or two for something to come on screen, and if people post pictures and it takes forever etc, then even with the slowest version of ADSL, it is 5 times quicker.

I just changed to Neuf Telecom, and I get this slow version (it is all our exchange can handle anyway) but I also get all  phone calls free (mainly to UK and Sweden).

[TWINKLE]

We caved in to-day and ordered ADSL it's only just become available to the hamlet where we live.  However, we have to change from AOL to Wanadoo.

  I'm worried bout losing my address book, being very technically challenged as you all know please give me advice on how to safeguard all my bits and pieces.

[Tresco]

You could print it out.

Sorry that's as clever as I get with these things. A proper techno person may come along and help. I talked to Deimos about grass clippings, so he (or someone like him) will come along and help you guys. That's how it works isn't it?

It is faster though.

I wouln't have bothered, but the free phone calls to just about anywhere (check first) and unlimited time to talk nonsense appealed to me.[6]

[Deimos]

I’ve always felt that changing e-mail addresses is a compete nightmare – which is why I went and purchased my own domain name some time ago and tell everybody that e-mail address (which makes changing so much easier as I make the change and everybody continues oblivious to the change).

Sorry but no idea about AOL address books (though getting to understand grass cutting and lawn mowers a bit more – thanks).

One way round the issue (though does not help you at the moment) is that if you use something like Outlook or Outlook Express for you e-mail, keep all your addresses in those packages rather than with AOL/Wanadoo/whoever. That way when you change you hold your address book rather than your ISP. I tend to avoid webmail and generally use the ISP for as little as possible – just a connection to the internet and mail server – that way when I need to change (which I am bound to – if Wanadoo don’t “ask me to leave” after my call to then a few days ago – they are “sending me a letter”), then it makes life easier.

Sorry I can’t be more help.

If you do need to re-enter them all, might be worth thinking about where you re-enter them all into (i.e. to Wanadoo or to an address book on your PC that can move with you).

Ian

[TWINKLE]

Thank-you Ian you little sweetie you! 

I wish I could be as helpful to you as you are to me and others, I've just said something silly on another thread to you, and I feel useless now!  Can I make you some chocolate & walnut brownies to make up for it?

 

[Tresco]

Ian benefits from a bit of silliness (just my opinion) and he doesn't need any chocolate brownies to 'make up for it' (fact).

I do though.

[TWINKLE]

[quote user="Tresco"]

Ian benefits from a bit of silliness (just my opinion) and he doesn't need any chocolate brownies to 'make up for it' (fact).

I do though.

[/quote]

How do you know he can be silly?  One day you will taste my brownies - if you tell me what you work with the stars entailed!!

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

[quote user="Lou"]Hi everyone

I have searched on this topic and found some references explaining what

RE-ADSL is, but not any opinions from anyone who is using it/has used

it.

We are currently using 56k dial-up with Wanadoo and have just

discovered (via the ariase website someone mentioned recently -

thanks!) that we can get 512k RE-ADSL - allegedly with three providers,

the cheapest of which is Wanadoo (surprisingly?!).

The weird thing is that Wanadoo's website appears to make absolutely no

reference to this service at all (unless I'm missing something

somewhere), if I put in my details and ask to upgrade it just tells me

I can't get ADSL - which we know!  France Telecom's website tells

me I can get RE-ADSL but that I have to go to their shop to sign up for

it.......

Does anyone have any experience of using this, and is it worth the extra 10 euros a month?

Thanks very much

Lou in the darkest reaches of the Hautes-Pyrenees (well, not in an ADSL area anyway!)

[/quote]

First thing we did was to sign up for ADSL when we got to France. 23E per month for unlimited downloads and unlimited hours with a 1mb connection speed, we are constantly connected to the net with our 3 computers. Our children live in Australia so its good to be able to communicate whenever.

We went with Wanadoo and went into their shop and signed up. Took them 3 weeks to sort the connection out to our house, but now we're on ADSL we could never go back. It's great for downloading movies and songs etc, just leave on all night and download.

It is cheap, but it is Wanadoo but you get what you pay for.

[Teamedup]

I never use the e-mail service provided by my server. This family uses Lycos, Yahoo and Netscape, all free and accessible from anywhere. So when we have changed server we don't need to inform anyone.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

[quote user="Teamedup"]I never use the e-mail service provided by my server. This family uses Lycos, Yahoo and Netscape, all free and accessible from anywhere. So when we have changed server we don't need to inform anyone.[/quote]

We've had to keep the basic plan from our Australian ISP because we didn't do this so we can keep our old email address. Although friends now know our new address, we have hundreds of little accounts that are linked to a website we run that use the old Aussie email address. Can't face updating it yet, although the yahoo or the like email addresses would not work with our accounts as they require fixed names and not the annomnyte (spelling) that yahoo offers. :(

[Fewdyshen]

This has been worrying me.  Why did you HAVE to have Wanadoo?  Our comune has just become eligible for ADSL so we asked France Telecom to change our ISDN line back to the normal analogue line so that we could convert to ADSL.  They tried to get us to change to Wanadoo (which horrified us) as they said that we could have prolems if we didn't.  The only problem is only having an ISDN modem and having to wait for our Freebox to arrive.  Surely if the lines are ADSL capable then there should be a choice of ISP.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

We didnt have to have Wanadoo, it was just the only one we'd heard of over here. As we moved over from Australia and had heaps of other stuff to set up, we just opted for the easiest solution with regards the internet and so set up phone with FT and internet with Wanadoo at the same time. Once settled more we'd look into other ISPs. Overall I'd give Wanadoo about 7 out of 10 for the service so far. Compared to our old dial up back in Oz, this is much quicker although we're only on a slow ADSL connection, but 135kb a sec download rate if fine by me at present. Running out of hard drive space for the stuff we've downloaded anyway any faster we wouldn't be able to keep up :)

[WJT]

Well we do. Our village has only recently received ADSL and Wanadoo is the only option. We will be over in a few weeks and would like to have it in place before we arrive so will be calling France Telecom tomorrow. It does appear that for a period of time after availability Wanadoo is the only option for a while. Sounds a good way to keep competition out. [:-))]

 

By the way they told me that there is a monthly charge for the modem of a little over 3 euro, I think. Is this correct?  That would make the monthly fee around 29 euros.

[fulcrum]

WJT

I am in the process of transfering from Wanadoo dial-up to Wanadoo ADSL 1mega. The modem they offered me was a USB one for €3 per month but I have decided to purchase a separate Ethernet modem that connects using my RJ45 Network adaptor.

I don't know what other users have experienced with the USB type connections but I would be interested to hear.

[Deimos]

I think the Ethernet ADSL modem is a good choice (its only 10€). Also, best to avoid the Livebox unless you really need the services that come with it (e.g. ma Ligne TV etc.). Exactly what you get will depend on what Wanadoo are sending at any moment in time. As of a year ago, if you install the Wanadoo software it will use your Ethernet ADSL modem as a pseudo dial;-up connection, username and password held on the PC, connection not available from the connecting PC (i.e. not shared), etc. However, with mine I ditched the Wanadoo software completely (as its cr@p and restrictive and buggy and everything else you don’t want from software) and reconfigured the Ethernet modem to act as a router, NAT firewall, DHCP server, etc. and to maintain an “always on” connection acting as a true router. What I got from Wanadoo did not provide any facilities nor documentation to do this, but its not hard and far better.

If you are unsure, don’t use the Wanadoo software but post some questions here if things are not clear about how to set-up, etc. without Wanadoo. You should not need any drivers or anything from the Wanadoo CD for an Ethernet modem acting as a router.

Ian

[maureen]

I have changed my e-mail address three times, from Wanadoo ( hopeless) to Tiscali ( not TOO bad) to Free (excellent). I have never lost my "address book", that's on my computer, not my 'fournisseur'! I have had ADSL for over a year now, and it is just fabulous!

[Dick Smith]

I think the concern was that a change of provider would entail a change to the provider's browser and mail program, which may not allow for the transfer across of the address book, but as TU has said it is quite possible to use any mail program you wish. It is also possible to keep your old accounts and collect new mail via webmail, which is what I do, using Entourage (Outlook Express on PC but with more features). I collect from 5 accounts simultaneously, and only have to use specific accounts to mail out (ie when in France connected to free.fr I cannot email from Entourage on my UK Blueyonder account, although I can connect to it via webmail and send accordingly).

[WJT]

Oh dear, now I am really worried. It is very easy here in the UK, I use Onetel for a broadband connection of 1mg and they provide a free modem, never have a problem. I'm afraid I don't even know what Ethernet is, not to mention the language problems [:$] I am not looking forward to this.[:(]

[fulcrum]

[quote user="WJT"]Oh dear, now I am really worried. It is very easy here in the UK, I use Onetel for a broadband connection of 1mg and they provide a free modem, never have a problem. I'm afraid I don't even know what Ethernet is, not to mention the language problems [:$] I am not looking forward to this.[:(][/quote]

If your UK service provider Onetel is accessed via a USB modem and you are happy with it then there is a very good possibility that the USB modem Wanadoo provide will be fine. ADSL using any hardware (USB or Ethernet) is mainly a problem if you are a fair distance from the exchange. USB is a problem for some PC's because the USB ports on some PC's aren't up to the job.

I'm going to use Ethernet simply because I understand the protocol (connection) and it is reliable using generally available hardware (RJ45 port).

The Ethernet modem Deimos mentioned is now €69.00 to purchase outright.

[WJT]

[quote user="fulcrum"]If your UK service provider Onetel is accessed via a USB modem and you are happy with it then there is a very good possibility that the USB modem Wanadoo provide will be fine. ADSL using any hardware (USB or Ethernet) is mainly a problem if you are a fair distance from the exchange. USB is a problem for some PC's because the USB ports on some PC's aren't up to the job.

I'm going to use Ethernet simply because I understand the protocol (connection) and it is reliable using generally available hardware (RJ45 port).

The Ethernet modem Deimos mentioned is now €69.00 to purchase outright.

[/quote]

I am really going to show my ignorance now but I am happy with my USB Speedtouch modem that was supplied free from Onetel. The main reason, I just have had no problems but then again I am just outside of London. I will be using a notebook in Dordogne, however I am not sure if it would have the capability to handle Ethernet nor do I know if it has a RJ45 port [:$]. It does have WiFi if that has anything to do with it.

If you were in my position what would you do?  Sorry Lou if you feel that I am hijacking your thread, perhaps I should have started a new one. [6]