| What is
broadband? |
| Broadband is a term
used to describe a fast connection to the internet. The minimum speed
for Broadband is generally considered to be a download speed of at least
512Mbps. Abthorpe Broadband is upto 1Mbps, which is the highest service
obtainable via ADSL in Abthorpe. The amount of data that can be
downloaded is not metered (although we do operate a reasonable use
policy) |
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| What does "always on" mean? |
| This is a completely new concept for anyone whose only access to the
internet has been via a dialup line at home. With broadband, as soon as you
switch your computer on, it will detect the network and be connected to the
internet – no more waiting for the modem to dial, and no more worrying about
disconnecting as soon as possible!!! |
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| So
does that mean that I need to leave my computer on all the time? |
| No.
The hardware we will use to support the wireless network will be on at
all times, and so will the broadband link. But you will
turn your computer on and off as you wish in exactly the same way as
before. It's just the internet link that is always on. |
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| What about my telephone line? |
| You will not need to use your telephone
line for the broadband connection. ABbA has several telephone
lines in Abthorpe activated as broadband gateways, and our members pick
up the connection via the wireless network. |
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| Will I still be able to use my existing e-mail
address? |
Almost certainly. If you use web-based e-mail
(ie
Hotmail) there will certainly be no problem. If you normally download your
e-mail to a mail client such as Outlook or Outlook Express, then you will be
able to pickup your mail with no problems. There are still some
un-certainties regarding sending the mail. We will need to look at
the facilities available with our satellite supplier before we can
answer with confidence.
If you use an ISP with a proprietary client then there will almost certainly
be a way of setting that account up for web-based mail or to use Outlook or Outlook
Express (Freeserve allows both of these options). Some ISP’s require you to
access your mail via their own service – you should check this with your
ISP.
If you have any doubts or questions, try the on-line help for your ISP or talk
to us and we will help you.
However, we will give you at least one new e-mail address in the form
joe.bloggs@abthorpe.net.
We will use this to communicate with you, so you should monitor it
regularly. |
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| But
my e-mail address is part of my existing deal with my dial-up ISP. |
| If your ISP does
not provide the the e-mail facility free of charge, and you don't wish
to change the address, then you would need to continue the
subscription. In these circumstances, we would advise you to
change your e-mail address, and just send an e-mail to all your contacts
telling them of the change. |
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| Will there be a new e-mail address available to use? |
| Yes. All users have a separate e-mail
address. Each member of a family can have their own. |
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| Will there be any additional costs to connect? |
| Yes. We have a connection charge
(£60) that covers the cost of the hardware required to connect your PC
to the network. If you want or need more than the minimum (eg to
install your own wireless network or to connect more than one PC) there
will be a small additional charge. |
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| What restrictions will there be on my usage of the
internet? |
| Absolutely none. You can use your connection for
as long as you want, at any time of the day or night. Neither are there any
limits on the amount of data that you can transmit or receive (although
reasonable use guidelines apply) |
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| What exactly is the speed of the connection? |
| The download speed is
1Mbps (this is at least 20 times as fast as the fastest modem connection).
The upload speed is 256Kbps. |
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| Why are the upload and download speeds different? |
| Most Broadband provision is
"asymmetric". The bandwidth available is optimised for download
because that is what most people are using the connection for most of the
time. At 256Kbps, the upload speed is still 5 to 10 times faster that a
modem connection. |
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| There are lots of concerns about mobile phone
masts. Isn’t the wireless network the same? |
| No. Mobile phones use a much higher power than the
Abthorpe network. The equipment we will use will have a very short range (only just covering the village) and can be compared to your cordless
phone at home. The power is less than a microwave. |
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| If the network is wireless, won’t anyone just be
able to access the connection? |
| No. There will be authentication for those who
have registered with us. Unauthorised access will be rejected. |
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| Will
the system run encryption on the wireless network? |
| Yes. |
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| If my computer is always connected to the
internet, won’t that allow people to hack in and cause trouble? |
| We have a firewall on our gateways that prevents any
unauthorised access from the internet into our network. Individuals
should still maintain their own anti-virus and anti-adware tools. |
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| I sometimes use
my computer to send and receive faxes - how will this be affected? |
| You will still need your modem
connection for faxes. However, for receiving faxes you can use the
free service at yac.com, which gives you a fax number where all faxes
are directed to your e-mail. This is a useful service and
completely free (and no modem connection is needed). There is a
similar service for sending faxes (from e-mail) but this is
chargeable. You can still keep your modem connection anyway for
sending faxes. |
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| What happens if
everyone wants to use the connection at the same time? |
| The connection to the
internet is shared between all users, and it is true that if everyone
tried to download information at the same time, the performance would be
affected. However, in practice we do not expect that this would be
a significant problem. |
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| Am I right to assume
that we will need to install wireless LAN/ WAN cards in our PC's and
wham bam your in (subject to verification etc)? |
| Yes - You will not need your
own wireless LAN - the whole of Abthorpe will be one network, and you
will be part of it. All you will need is a wireless
adapter for your machine. |
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| If
I have more than one PC will I need, say, two subscriptions? |
| No. We have a policy of one household
is a member and there can be multiple users (PC's) in a househald.
However, depending on the amount of work involved in connecting multiple
PC's, we may have to charge an extra connection charge. |
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| I've currently
got a BT ISDN line - presumably I will be able to cancel this and go back
to just one telephone line for conversation purposes?
|
You are very lucky to have an ISDN line in Abthorpe.
The advantage of ISDN is marginal - probably the best thing is the dial-in and connect speed.
I assume you use the ISDN side-band two analogue circuits for your ordinary telephone line(s), and yes, you would ditch the ISDN and get one only ordinary BT line. I think they will charge you for the privilege. |
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