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| GMLDSL - ADSL FAQ |  |
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For assistance with the End User sign up procedure, please see our End User Signup Guide.
What does ADSL mean?
ADSL means Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, and is defined as an "always on" broadband service delivered over a standard BT analogue line (PSTN).
Why should I choose ADSL?
Because this page would have loaded somewhere between 10 and 40 times faster than it just loaded for you on your 56k connection!
Do I need a special phone line to have it installed?
A standard BT PSTN analogue line is required for ADSL. Certain BT services and/or configurations are NOT compatible with ADSL, these include:-- PBX Switchboard
- ISDN 30(PRI)
- Surftime
- BT Data Stream
- BT Video Stream
- None BT Telephone Line
- Redcare Alarm Monitoring
- Pulse Metered Line
- Coin/Pay Phone
What is the difference between ADSL and DSL?
ADSL is a type of DSL where the upstream and downstream speeds differ (hence the "asymmetric" part). There are many variations of DSL technology for different types of application (HDSL, SDSL, etc).
How does ADSL broadband differ from cable broadband?
Cable access speeds varies depending upon the provider, some cable companies are still using one way cable where the uploads are still over dial up, two way cable providers are now starting to catch the vision of fast speeds to the end user, most are fairly fast download speeds and upload speeds are usually quite a bit less. Some cable speeds are capable of 1 Mbps speeds downloads. However, Cable has it own problems, if you are fortunate enough to be near the head end you could experience great speeds nearly all the time, but as kids come home from school and as more users log on in your neighborhood your speed will denigrate to the speed of dial up we have many who call up and had Cable and the speeds where great for a while and then they are back as dial up speeds at various times of the day.
How long does it take to activate the line?
New accounts - 7 days or less. Migrations - 7 to 14 days. PSTN/ADSL orders approx. 14 days.
How much is it per extra GB for PAYG, even the 330GB one?
50:1 PAYG - £0.85 net per additional Gb used, or part of.
20:1 PAYG - £1.00 net per additional Gb used, or part of.
Broadband MAX non-PAYG products (the 330Gb one) - customers who use more than their predefined transfer amount will be charged the difference between the amount paid for and the amount used on their next invoice. They will also be charged a £5 net service charge.
How do I monitor much am I downloading?
With the introduction of broadband packages that have download limits in place, it is useful to know how much you are downloading. Some software that will allow you to monitor the usage of a single PC is:
A number of ADSL routers will also record the amount of traffic passed, which is useful if you have two or more machines. Some ISPs can also inform you of this information if you use their products. Additionally the USB & PCI modems which use the Windows Dial Up Networking system will display the number of Bytes you have downloaded.
You can also estimate your usage if you know roughly what you do with your connection, for example:
- Web browsing averages out at around 10MB/hour (MegaBytes per hour).
- A single streamed broadband music video is around 13MB.
- Playing an online game like Counterstrike is around 10-12MB/hour.
- Listening to one hour of online radio is around 18MB/hour.
- Watching a streamed broadband video for one hour is around 150MB/hour.
- Email is generally very small, 300 emails use around 2MB, but if you add spam and emails with virus attachments this can rise to say 6MB for 300 emails.
The ISPs often display the limits generally in GB which is a GigaByte. A GigaByte is actually 1024MB (MegaBytes).
What are the off peak / on peak times?
Peak time is defined as Monday to Friday 8am to 10pm.
Does the monthly price include modem rent? or is that included in the connection cost?
No, the monthly price doesn't include a modem or router. We can supply an ADSL modem for < £15 inc. vat, or a router for < £20 inc. vat. with all new accounts.
How will I be charged for the service?
You will initially be invoiced by GML Networking Technologies for any connection or migration fee, along with your first months service charge, and any additional services you have ordered such as an IP block.
You will then be invoiced monthly in advance directly by EntaNet, GML's DSL Partner, for your ongoing service fee, be it monthly, quarterly or annually.
What are contention ratios?
Contention ratios are a measure of the shared bandwidth of the connection. At peak times with a lot of people all downloading at their maximum rates, lower contention ratios offer a larger share of the available bandwidth. 50:1 or higher is the standard ratio of most ISP ADSL accounts. Our home accounts are all 50:1 contention ratio, the Business ones are 20:1.
Switch Site
All accounts, including PAYG accounts, are allocated one static free address free of charge. How much for additional IP addresses? We offer either a NoNAT8 block (which will provide you with 5 usable static IP addresses in addition to your router and network addresses) for a one-off charge of £80, or a NoNAT16 block (which will provide you with 13 usable static IP addresses in addition to your router and network addresses) for a one-off charge of £160 How do you differ from other ISPs in your method of charging for additional IP addresses? Most other ISPs will rent you IP addresses for a monthly ongoing fee, typically £20 pcm. Our approach saves you money, typically within 5 months. Do I need a valid reason for obtaining additional IP addresses? Yes, a valid reason must be provided. The most common reasons are for creating VPNs or hosting web services from home, such as webcams or games Servers. How can I compare GMLNET against other ADSL providers? You cannot compare GMLNET directly against other providers, but you can compare our Partner - EntaNet - against other providers, by visiting this website, and selecting EntaNet and another 5 listed ISPs. Can I have 8mb broadband? Our Broadband MAX accounts offer connection speeds up to 8Mb. GMLNET will be able to offer you 8mb broadband IF your exchange has been enabled for the service, and IF your telephone line can sustain this speed. Typically the closer you live to your telephone exchange, the faster service you will be able to receive. Is there any downtime involved in migrating my account to GMLNET? No. Your existing service will remain current until the time of the migration. Once the service has been switched to GMLNET you can simply reprogram your router or modem with your new access information (or in English - enter your new username and password!), and immediately re-connect your ADSL. What information is required to migrate an ADSL account from another provider to GMLNET? All we require is the name of the losing ISP, the telephone number the service already exists on, and a migration or MAC (Migration Authorisation Code) which the losing ISP will provide you with upon request. How do I obtain a MAC code? The account holder needs to contact your current ISP, and simply ask them to provide such a code. They will either relay the code to you over the phone, or Email it to you. The codes must be requested from BT so cannot always be provided immediately - although if you are calling during normal BT working hours and are prepared to wait on the phone, there is no reason why such a code could not be provided within a short space of time. We recommend you obtain the code by Email, so as to ensure you have received a correct code - copied and pasted from BT's mainframe into your Email! We further recommend that you provide us with the code by forwarding the Email on to us! It is not uncommon (in our experience) for ISPs to employ stalling tactics, such as telling you they will Email you the code and then not doing so, or by providing you with an incorrect code over the telephone. Please ensure that if you are requested to provide your Email address, you spell it out and ask them to read it back to you so they cannot claim they took down an incorrect Email address. If you are provided with a MAC code over the phone, please confirm each letter or character, and whether it is a letter or a character (in the case of 0's and o's, for example). Remember the golden rule - ask your current ISP when they will have obtained the code by, and if you haven't received your code by then, chase them and remind them of their missed deadline - the code should now be readily available to them to allow them to relay it to you over the phone. Once you have your code - please preferably provide it to us by Email! What do I do if I experience problems with my ADSL connection? Firstly, reboot all your equipment - switch off your router, shut down your pc, switch off your ADSL modem. Then switch them all back on again, and try again. If you had a solid "DSL" light on your modem or router then your service is most likely still active. Think what might have happened to cause the problem. Has somebody installed a new phone without a microfilter? Removed a microfilter from another extension? Borrowed a cable? Hoovered near the equipment?!! etc. If you do NOT have a solid "DSL" light on your modem or router, or you cannot locate anything else that is wrong, then please log the incident with us via 01255 851 999 or 01255 672 103. We will pick up your call, investigate at our end, and return your call - usually within 15 minutes. From here, we will either log the fault with BT, or we will recommend further action you can take, or a site visit. |
