Broadband - 'if' we get it, I have questions...

[Iceni]

Now the first thing is that I have a date for ADSL for September. The speeds also look good - another friend in another local area has an earlier date but with speeds that are equal to my dial-in so to say I am 'confused of the Lot' is an understatement.

1. It looks like the company I will probably have to use is Wanadoo. I want to use Tiscali
2. Do they HAVE to unbundle to allow us to use a provider other than Wanadoo?
   
   I thought I read recently that FT have been told to open it all up for the next year starting now - but I am a bear of small brain
   
3. I understand that from July this year it is easier to cancel an annual subscription with a company such as Tiscali - is this in fact true and if so how do I do it.
   
   The annual subscription expires in October so I am happy to cancel and then renew if at all possible.
   
4. I have two machines. Assuming that what can go wrong will go wrong I intent to set up the broadband on one while keeping the other running on dial-in until I am sure that it is all OK.
   
5. Most of the 'fast stuff' runs from my office in the UK, I have forgotten the difference it can make, lets hope the dates given are real and true and not just a nasty joke

Thanks in advance.

[Mpprh]

Hi

I've been down the same road. Degrouptest said that ADSL would be available on 2/3/05. The date did not change over 6 months. Wanadoo said unavailable.

Come the 2/3/05 Degrouptest said now available - Wanadoo only. Wanadoo said unavailable. But it was available, and after waiting for others to test it, I signed up with Wanadoo (again) because they were the only ones offering ADSL.

I don't like Wanadoo, but I had no choice. And, I guess we are too small to be degroupe in the near future.

The distance from your nearest node is important. I've got 2mb, but I can see houses with 8mb & 512kb from here. The postcode does not help : you need to check out the actual phone number to calculate the degradation over distance.

However, the difference is unbelievable. I recently was travelling and accessed the dial up again with my laptop : like watching paint dry !

Peter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Eslier]

Firstly, it would be ebst to check with your Mairie as to when and if ADSL will be available in your area. Having ADSL available in the commune does not necessarily mean it will be available in all areas.

When ADSL is introduced, it seems that France Telecom allow themselves the luxury of a period without competition when Wanadoo is the only isp able to offer the service. I suppose that's fair enough if FT have invested the money in upgrading the local exchange.

When ADSL was introduced in our village earlier this year, FT had a well publicised open day in the village library when people had the opportunity to call in and sign up for anything between 512k and 8Mb connection. In practice, they were about two weeks later than the publicised date when it was finally switched on but by that time we had everything sorted out and were ready to connect.

You would be much better setting up a wireless network to enable your two computers to use the same ADSL connection. It is very easy to set up and works extremely well. It is better to buy your own equipment and use a seperate ADSL modem/router so that either computer can connect at any time without the other needing to be on. This way you get the best connection speed for both computers and you are only paying for one connection.

Regarding giving notice on isp contracts, this can be a nightmare as you will see if you read the many threads on this subject. You need to start the process now, having first read every detail of the "small print" you can find. Don't rely upon telephone calls or e-mails, send a recorded delivery letter. I'm sorry to say that Tiscali seems to have one of the worst reputations for this so good luck. Before you cancel, it might be worth changing your payment method to direct debit rather than credit card (assuming you currently pay by card). If it comes to it, you can cancel a direct debit but it is virtually impossible to cancel an automatic credit card payment.

[maxsan]

In our region, 79/86, FT have kept to their promises and their dates re adsl.  You can check if you are to be given adsl on FT's own site albeit with some searching.  You can also go to adsl facile or dsl valley to check whether anyone else is providing in your area. Usually in the non-degroupage zone it seems to be cegetel, free and anyone of the others. The best speed at the moment in the non zone seems to be 2.4 mbs.  I am changing from wanadoo in september not because I don't like them, but because I can get the same speed from Free for substantillay less per month.  Free seem to say that although the norm is 2.4mbs in non-degroupage,  it is possible to obtain up to 10 mbs. I have to say that, apart from their scandalous service charge for phone calls Wanadoo have been fine.  Indeed, a friend was cut off due to a line fault and was told by FT no refund. Wanadoo gave him a month's refund.  You can also get information via the english speaking Ft help line which is advertised on their site.

[ChezShells]

Hi

We also have a date of September, they say its a new way of being able to get it because if the way our line connects, they wasnt able to give more details but say it'll be 512K at the start, not sure wether to sign up as our house is up for sale, I know it will be a while but wonder what it will cost when we leave and have to cancel.

[Nick Trollope]

[quote]Hi We also have a date of September, they say its a new way of being able to get it because if the way our line connects, they wasnt able to give more details but say it'll be 512K at the start, not ...[/quote]

Most contracts are for 12 months. The cancellation charge will be the remainder of the contract.

[Deimos]

In my area, when we got ADSL, Wanadoo was the only company offering and service for the 1st six months. However, even now (almost 1 year later) only one other company offers any service and that is at only two speeds. I don’t know about FT/Wanadoo/Organge keeping other ISPs out, but it may also be that in more rural areas the other ISPs may not been so keen (lower population) – the real money being in the cities.

If you do go Wanadoo, make sure you get an ethernet or WiFi (RF) router ADSL modem. Don’t use the Wanadoo software (as this only operates as a pseudo dial-up conection from only one PC) but rather configure the ADSL box as a true router and just set up each PC to use that router. Wanadoo wont help you do this (at least they would not help me) – but when I got round to it it was not that difficult.

You could use a USB modem (or Wanadoo software) and internet connection sharing, but a true router is so much easier (plus you can switch the “main PC” off).

The actual date we got the ADSL service was a couple of months later than the scheduled date and then it took FT over a week to activate it on my line (they quote up to 2 weeks to do this).

I’m quite rural (close on the ADSL telephone line length limit) and tend to lose my ADSL connection during thunderstorms. I have just kept the dial-up connection on my PC and only use it when the router has lost its ADSL connection (maybe once a month). Point is you can use the router from all PCs and still keep your dial-up connection but only use it if/when you have ADSL problems.

If you have Wanadoo, once you switch to ADSL (with them) they disable your dial-in contract account so you need to use a pay-as-you-go. For me its rare so its not a big cost.

Ian

[LesLauriers]

"If you have Wanadoo, once you switch to ADSL (with them) they disable your dial-in contract account so you need to use a pay-as-you-go. For me its rare so its not a big cost."

With www.free.fr, ADSL also comes with a free unlimited dial up for when FT are working on the line. It also comes with a free modem router and is lower cost than any other provider I can find for phone and ADSl combined!