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What is ADSL Max?
Can I get Broadband from The Phone Co-op?
What is the minimum contract period?
How long does it take to activate?
Do I still have to pay line rental to BT?
Can I keep my existing telephone number?
What if I move location?
What speed can I expect?
What upload speeds do you offer?
What does 'Contention Ratio' mean?
How will my data usage be measured?
How will I know if I exceed my data allowance?
What effect will using Skype have?
What about Phorm - will you sell my browsing data?
Do you provide fixed IP Addresses?
Does The Phone Co-op offer a wireless service?
How do I move my existing Broadband service to The Phone Co-op?
What disruption can I expect during the migration period?
What happens once I apply?
What if I want to move away from the Phone Co-op?
Will I be charged for fault repairs?
See the EQUIPMENT FAQs for advice on routers, modems and more.
What is ADSL Max?
Watch this 5-minute video for an overview of what
ADSL Max is and what it will mean to you.
Can I get Broadband from The Phone Co-op?
You can check
here if broadband is possible on your phone line.
Phone Co-op Broadband is only available with a copper (BT) telephone line, and not cable.
It cannot be provided over the following BT services:
- Subscriber Meter Pulses Call Meter.
- 30K Loop/Out Of Area line.
- Private Circuit/Leased Line.
- Red ABC/RedCare alarm monitoring services.
- Featurenet or Featurenet 5000.
- PBX (Private Exchange).
- Auxiliary line - (has been mainly replaced by the PBX-based
Direct Dial Inward (DDI) service.
- DDI - If your line offers DDI this indicates that it is an extension
from a PBX and so is incompatible with ADSL (see above).
- ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network)/ Home Highway/ Business
Highway line. We are able to re-grade your line to a standard
line from ISDN, this is charged at £45 plus VAT directly to your
phone bill.
If you have two telephone numbers you will need to
let us know on your Application which number you would like to
keep. Please contact customer
services if you have any questions.
If you are unsure if any of these services exist on the telephone
number / line that you plan to use for your Broadband connection,
please contact BT on 152 or 0800 800 152 and get them to check for
you. If you have other lines coming to your building it is worth
checking with BT which services these lines carry as it is likely
that one or more of them will be ADSL compatible.
What is the minimum contract period?
The Phone Co-op broadband service has a minimum contract of 1 month
from the date the ADSL service commences. To cancel the service
we require 1 months notice
How long does it take to activate?
From the time we receive your application it generally takes 7
to 10 days to have your line activated.
Do I still have to pay line rental to BT?
No, you can save money moving your Line Rental to us.
Can I keep my existing telephone number?
Your existing BT phone numbers will be unaffected; most customers
will be able to keep their existing telephone number. If you use
another telephone service provider will you have to have a BT line
installed.
What happens if I move location?
We would need to activate your new phone line, with a charge of £29.99.
What speeds can I expect?
The actual speed you get will depend on the quality of your
phone line and distance from the BT exchange. 8Mbps is a theoretical maximum speed at the highest
end of the scale. The maximum speed is determined by factors such as the length and
quality of the copper telephone line to the telephone exchange.
As it is a 'rate-adaptive' product the speed at which it downloads and uploads will fluctuate. These
fluctuations may also change over time in response to any change in line or the environmental conditions
mentioned above. It is likely that speeds no greater than 2Mb will be achieved at peak usage times due to
contention in our network and our suppliers' networks.
You can check here
what speed is currently available on your line.
What upload speeds do you offer?
Business Services with a 20:1 Contention have a maximum upload speed of 832Kbps.
What does Contention Ratio mean?
This is the number of customers sharing bandwidth.
In the UK 20:1 is standard for Business customers.
How will my data usage be measured?
We measure the total data transferred over your connection, both download (receiving email,
web browsing, downloading files) and upload (sending email, file sharing).
How will I know if I exceed my data allowance?
Before you reach your usage allowance we'll send you a warning email, then a second if you have
gone over it. If you exceed the allowance you will then be billed for the over-usage at £1.50 per extra GB.
There is also software you can use to monitor your data transfer, although this may not give a
wholly accurate reading. The Phone Co-op cannot accept any responsibility if you incur additional
usage charges as a result of using third party software to monitor your usage.
What effect will using Skype have?
Using Skype internet telephony can lead to high data usage.
More information here.
What about Phorm - will you sell my browsing data?
None of our broadband suppliers is working with Phorm at present, and we have sought and received assurances that they will not allow implementation of Phorm on their networks without our permission.
Read our statement on Phorm.
Do you provide fixed IP Addresses?
All of our services have fixed IP addresses as standard. Business
customers can apply for additional IP addresses, however you will
need to explain what you are using these IP addresses for so that
we can justify the new IP numbers to RIPE.
Do you offer a wireless service?
Not as such. We provide a broadband connection which can then be
used with a wireless set-up in your home or office. We supply
wireless routers as an option for residnetial customers, or you can buy your own. We
suggest that you look at
this website for advice about equipment.
How do I move my existing Broadband service to The Phone Co-op?
First you'll need to check that you are not still under contract
with your current ADSL provider. Then you should request from them
your MAC (migration authorisation code) key, which we will need.
Once you have this you can fill in a migration Application form
and we will take it from there.
What disruption can I expect during the migration period?
You may experience some disruption to your service whilst it is upgraded to
ADSL Max. This disruption will be kept to an absolute minimum and you will
receive your username and password details for your ADSL Max service in the
post.
Disruption is possible during the first 10 days of the Max service, and speeds may differ greatly
during the initial 24-48 hours. You may also experience frequent disconnections of less than a minute in length.
This is not a fault.
This is because of monitoring systems used by BT to determine the Maximum Sustainable Rate (MSR) for your line.
The MSR will be set as the maximum speed you will be able to connect at.
What happens once I apply?
Once an activation date has been assigned to an order, an engineer
will carry out the necessary work at the exchange. The line will
be ADSL enabled (jumpered) by the engineer and then several tests
will be performed. These tests will be made to ensure that the correct
line has been enabled.
The engineer will also test the customer facing side of the line
to check that the quality of the line is suitable. You will be notified
of the activation date via e-mail. Once the activation has taken
place you will need to plug in your micro-filter(s), modem/router
and configure your computer/network accordingly. Please note, The
Phone-Coop cannot support the configuration of a LAN (Local Area
Network).
What if I want to move away from the Phone Co-op?
Please contact us to request your MAC code, which you will need to give to your new provider.
You can find our contact details here.
Will I be charged for fault repairs?
Where the customer requests a visit by an engineer to the customer’s premises to investigate
a broadband fault, if the engineer provides maintenance of any customer equipment
(including wiring) then a charge may apply. The charge is £144 ex vat.
If the visit is aborted e.g. the engineer does not gain any access then the abortive
visit charge of £50 ex vat will become payable.
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