I just got 1.5mb

[Kharn]

I am half a mile from my local exchange if that. But one of my neighbors (78 year old guy) who only uses it to look up his family tree an play bingo etc. so he is not affected but i know people who live 3 or more miles from the exchange an they are lucky to get 2mb an some of them need it for working from home an the common connection is ADSL. Cable is the way forward but BT refuses to use it as Virgin media use it i wish the public was more educated on Internet technology as the average speed is somewhere from 2-4mb the rest of Europe it's much higher 10 - 20mb an the common factor there is CABLE!

 

[gurusan]

Cable has its downsides though. I had 10mbit cable connected to a fiber network back in Oregon and even though it was fast it has trouble downloading/uploading at the same time. Normally this isn't an issue but long nights with Mr. Torrence is another thing

 

[Direland]

Mmm indeed, no Cable coverage anywhere over the UK from BTs side. It's frustrating.

 

[Kharn]

Direland I am English an gurusan is a Yank living in the UK I can get cable but only 64% of the UK has a Virgin presence. I myself am with them that's why I can get the 20mb connection.

BT are a joke before the 1990's my mum worked for BT in a old style switchboard, there was a single ISP in the area at the time an that was fine there was 500 people if that with a modem outside of the larger educational bodies. But some of her friends who stayed in BT who are now engineers or tech assist an some of them have told me how bad it it's some of the exchanges are held together with not much more than spit an luck. Some of the essential equipment that is running the core of the English phone system is old an near collapse. If there was a lightning strike or powersurge **** even a fault on the old phone house exchange in Liverpool the city center well the phone system in the area would be non existent. Thank god Liverpool one is finished they have the back up exchange.

 

[Direland]

Is that cable from the Virgin presence only or does BT use it in some areas?

And it's quite bad the state they let the exchanges fall into. If there is Virgin down here I may consider changing.

 

[Kharn]

Virgin only BT don't offer it. If you look on there home page there is a postcode to areas they cover, give it a try.

 

[Direland]

Just tried it, no cover for my area yet again >_<

 

[Kharn]

**** that sucks, what is the area you are in I am sure they have a list of areas they are growing coverage in.

 

[Direland]

I'm in Kent, South East of the country, about an hour and a half train journey from London. Canterbury to be precise, you know, big Cathedral, etc.

What gets me is that they'll provide coverage to west kent, extreme east kent, yet miss out the middle part =/

Not sure if Virgin have done it that way, but BT certainly have.

*UPDATE*

Just checked, Virgin cover Ashford (Approx 30 minutes away from me), Tunbridge Wells and Bearsted (which are near Maidstone, again approx 30 minutes away from me). Yet they don't cover mid Kent, i.e. Canterbury

 

[zedman3d]

Im in Sydney. I pay $49 and get 6mbps down and 2mbps up. Im with TPG.