Broadband Installation & Home Networking

Home PC-FIX simplifies the whole process of signing-up, fitting broadband equipment and configuring it correctly. So you don't have to rely on long, difficult technical-support to foreign call centres. I can help set small home networking solutions too that suit your requirements and help implement family safety measures for safe online activity.

The most common question I'm asked is, "Who is the best provider in our area...?" So I have compiled a list of the top five Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) as rated in the Which? consumer guide September 2011.

You may not have heard of many of these. That's because the bigger companies like BT, Orange, Tiscali, Talk-Talk, AOL and Virgin often fall down on their customer support. It’s the case of its fine when it works, but when there are problems during the setup or use large companies like these often don’t deliver satisfactory support when things go wrong

I have listed broadband only deals in this price bracket as in this area there really is no need to pay more than £15 a month for your broadband. Don't be fooled by very low offers that only run for the first 3 months then revert back to £20 a month later – make sure to check the small print.

There are good packages available now for light users for as little as £10 a month such as that offered by Plus-net, making them on par with good old-fashioned dial-up. Based on the recent Which? consumer survey this year, the best ISP in this price bracket is Eclipse.

Eclipse has the benefit of having a UK call-centre and being based in Exeter benefitting from quicker access times to their servers. I have setup many customers on Eclipse or Plus-net broadband my who are satisfied with them and they seem to obtain reasonable download speeds.

Again I must say at the moment unless you live in larger towns (e.g. Tavistock or Callington) and you’re in more rural areas of the Tamar Valley, there is little point in paying more than £15 a month for your broadband as the infra-structure doesn’t currently support the speeds offered of 8Mb/s+, in fact it’s often not above 2Mb/s on current phone lines. For current exciting developments in Cornwall please see the Superfast Cornwall project, where fibre optic cabling is being laid across the county in as national test-bed.

If you’re after a phone package included by your broadband provider. Expect to pay between £20 and £25 for a basic package including line rental and evening and weekend calls. Please check the ISP website for the latest information on deals and prices as these tend to vary and be updated quite frequently.

If not supplied by your provider already, I can supply and set-up a wireless router and receiver to optimize your connection and free you up from cables. If you have special requirements such as file-sharing and network printing, I can sort all this out for you too.

Speed Problems / Connection Issues

The biggest complaint is that the connection speed provided is much lower than advertised. With the trade-description act, providers are being forced to re-word their advertising to reflect the fact that current infra-structure simply cannot support higher connection speeds. For residential broadband in the Tamar Valley you are currently likely to obtain between 1 and 2Mb/s at the telephone point of entry to your house (Master Socket) depending on your distance from the exchange. I live in Calstock and am fortunate to receive about 2Mb/s on a BT Business broadband connection; however I am aware that many users in the village connect at 1Mb/s or less.

There is little benefit to be gained from ordering the more expensive options of 8Mb/s + or 10 or 24Mb/s connection (such as that currently advertised by Talk-Talk, Virgin Media or BT Infinity. Until the government and phone providers improve the local phone-infrastructure - you simply won't be able to receive those speeds in the Tamar Valley. It is best therefore in the Tamar Valley to go for the cheapest and lightest use option, and save yourself some cash at the same time. I consider myself a fairly heavy user with the business do this.

Before complaining to the provider, there are some key tweaks to optimize your connection:

o    Minimise the length of copper from your master BT socket to your modem-router; the best connection is obtained by having your broadband router connected directly to the master socket (usually by means of a wireless router or even better an Ethernet cable) which is at the first point of entry to the house.

o    If however this is not possible. Make sure the extension wiring is good quality (very dependent on the quality of internal wiring) and minimise the connection points or junction boxes. Even better use an Ethernet cable from your broadband router to your PC.

o    Try to use a good quality ADSL filter of the same make on every device plugged into a telephone point - including the Sky box and some models of burglar alarm.

o    BT can also fit a special ADSL enabled socket that integrates the data and voice outputs in a single socket, saving the need for extra filters, it also includes a special backing plate (i-Plate) that filters out interference noise and this can be very useful in low signal areas.

o    If you’re with BT, a quick call to them and a small payment of about £2.50 just to cover postage and they will send you an i-plate which helps to filter electrical noise on the master socket. This is very easy to fit and involves simply unscrewing a couple of screws on the front face.

o    Your provider can sometimes "boost" the ADSL broadband signal strength too in low signal areas, a quick phone call to your provider and they can run a test and sometimes amplify the signal if necessary.

o    If you can't locate the main socket, or connecting the router directly to what seems to be your primary socket seems to make little or no difference to your speed, it could be that the master socket is located in the loft. I visited many bungalow premises in the area where this is the case. I have often located the wireless router in the loft if there is a power point there with very effective results.

o    You may be surprised by the effect of cutting out a short stretch of phone wiring or extension can have on the quality of the broadband signal, since the ADSL signal is very weak already in this area and is minimal when it arrives at your house, shortening its path can make a big difference.

o    If you literally have no connection and are puzzled by this. If you have the correct BT master socket, you can unscrew the front plate to reveal the test socket. If plugging your router directly into this gives a successful connection. You know it’s a problem with the internal house telephone wiring as this is isolated. Either this or you have a telephone device causing interference or a missing ADSL filter. Either way unfortunately you are liable to the cost of repairing this.

o    If you have taken all these steps and still there is no connection your provider in conjunction with BT Open-Reach may have to carry out any physical maintenance and upgrades on the line. Then they are then liable to the cost of repair.

Here is an article written a while ago about broadband in Calstock, however for the latest developments in the national testbed for rolling out fiber optic in Cornwall please see the Superfast Cornwall project.