What is ADSL
It's a broadband internet connection that uses existing copper-based or analogue telephone lines. It operates at speeds of between 500Kbps and 8Mbps - at least 10 times faster than traditional dial-up with a modem.

What is ADSL2+
This is the next generation broadband with speeds of up to 24Mbps. We use a system based on BT's new 21st Century Network technology to deliver this to enabled exchanges. Currently there are less than 200 enabled exchanges of the 5000 or so in the UK, but BT are working on enabling more and hope to have most completed by the end of 2010. During 2009 BT will start converting the old PSTN telephone network into an IP-based digital telephone network fit for the 21st Century.

How does ADSL it work?
It works by splitting your normal voice line in two - voice is transmitted at frequencies between 0 and 20kHz and the data part is trasmitted at the much higher 25.875kHz to 1.104Mhz frequencies. It uses a "broad frequency band", which is where the word "broadband" comes from. Effectively it's like one lane on a motorway for voice and a few hundred lanes for internet data.

Your computer connects to a router/modem either via Ethernet, wireless/Airport or USB (not good for Macs - usb routers tend to be much cheaper - these are the ones other ISP's give away!). This then is connected to your telephone socket with a MicroFilter in between to separate the voice and data parts. This is how you can use the phone whilst using the internet. All of your telephone points in your house which have anything connected (telephone, fax, Sky etc) must have a microfilter.

From your house phone line it uses the existing copper wires to your local exchange. Along the way the high frequencies used by the data degrades as the cable length increases. This is why people close to the exchange will get better speeds than people further away (over 2km).

Once at your exchange it is then authenticated and routed onto our network to it's nearest aggregation exchange - we have 10 in the UK for ADSL and 20 for ADSL2+. The connection then reaches our core network in London and traffic is routed over various fibre, submarine and satellite links throughout the world to every other ISP's network.

More answers can be found in our Frequently Asked Questions, or direct any questions to us using the contact page.