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8/8/2019 BT Total Broadband - Making the Most of Your Broadband Experience
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BT Total Broadband
Making the most of yourbroadband experience
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2 BT Total Broadband
About this guide 3
Understanding speed 4
How to check your speed 6
10 steps to improving your 8broadband experience
How BT can help you 14
Contents
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Making the most of your broadband experience
With BT Total Broadband, we’re committed to giving you the most complete
broadband experience. This handy guide has been designed to help you make
the most of your broadband.
This guide will help you to:
• understand more about how broadband works and what factors and features
affect your use and enjoyment of the internet
• measure your broadband speed and interpret the results
• make sure you’ve set up your equipment and computer to get the most out
of your connection
• nd out where to get expert help and advice if you need it
How to use this guide
New to broadband?
If you’re new to the basic principles of broadband speed, we recommend that you reathe sections of this guide in order. This will help you familiarise yourself with the main
ideas and terms before exploring how you could improve your internet set-up.
Know about broadband?
If you’re an experienced broadband user, you may nd it more useful to browse this
guide for the sections of most interest to you.
Throughout the guide, you’ll nd links to our web site, www.bt.com, which contains
more detailed information about broadband speed as well as other helpful advice.The web site is updated regularly, so you’ll always be able to nd the most up-to-date
information there.
About this guide
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4 BT Total Broadband
Whenever you’re using the internet, you’re using lots of different connections
(e.g. between your computer and Hub or router, Hub or router and phone socket,
phone socket and local exchange etc.).
Your computer set-up and the way you connect to the internet is likely to be different
from anyone else’s – and your speed is likely to be different, too.
The speed at which this information travels backwards and forwards over these
connections can have a signicant effect on your overall broadband experience.
The internet
Phoneexchange
Phoneline
Understanding speed
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Making the most of your broadband experience
Faster speeds can help you get a better broadband experience:
• web pages load quicker, even pages with lots of pictures and animations
• videos and animated pictures run smoother and with fewer interruptions. You can
also watch higher quality content, for example High Denition (HD) video
• you can download les to your computer in less time. This is most noticeable withlarger les, such as photographs
A little more about broadband speed
While your home set-up is important, the starting point for your experience is to
understand the quality and speed of the broadband line coming into your home, as th
can have a big effect on your overall broadband experience.
Broadband speed is the rate at which information is sent (up-stream, or upload speedor received (down-stream, or download speed) on your broadband line. As most peop
tend to receive more information than they send, broadband services are usually set u
with much higher download speeds than upload speeds.
Broadband speed is measured in ‘Mbps’ – which stands for ‘megabits per second’.
The more megabits per second, the faster your connection speed. To give you an idea
of how long it takes to do the same job at different speeds, look at the table below.
Note that a slower speed doesn’t stop you from doing things online – but it may make
some things take longer.Examples of approximate download times
Speed
File/activity File size 16Mbps 8Mbps 4Mbps
Email 4KB 0.2 seconds 0.4 seconds 0.8 seconds
Photo 1MB 0.5 seconds 1 second 2 seconds
Music track 4MB 2 seconds 4 seconds 8 seconds
Film 225MB 2 minutes 4 minutes 8 minutes
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6 BT Total Broadband
There are lots of speed tester tools available online to help you check your broadband
speed but we recommend you use www.speedtester.bt.com. Follow the instructions
the web site to run your speed test. Make sure you close all other browser windows an
don’t have multiple devices (e.g. computers, laptops or games consoles) online at the
same time when running the test.
Whichever speed tool you use, it’s advisable to check your speed over a period of
several days to make sure nothing is temporarily affecting the results. It’s normal to se
some variations in results because the network can make adjustments to your speed tohelp keep your broadband reliable.
Understanding the www.speedtester.bt.com results
When you look at the outcome of the speed test, you may see two sets of results –
‘Best Effort Test’ and ‘Assured Rate Test’. The results you need to read and understand
are from the Best Effort Test. Three separate readings are shown:
How to check your speed
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Making the most of your broadband experience
DSL connection rate
This shows the top speed between your Hub or router and your local exchange. This is
usually the maximum speed your line can support for the product you’re on, e.g. the
maximum speed up to 8Mb. The factors that can affect this speed are the length and
quality of your phone line from the exchange to your Hub or router, including the wiriin your home.
IP prole for your line
This is the maximum speed at which ‘internet’ trafc is actually allowed to travel
over your line. It’s automatically set by the broadband network to give you the
most reliable and stable broadband speed for your line conditions. Your IP prole
automatically adjusts, based on the way your line performs, so may be lower than youDSL connection rate to protect your online experience. When you make changes to
improve your speed, e.g. tting a BT Broadband Accelerator to reduce interference,
your connection rate may change straight away, but it can take several days for the
adjustments to show against your IP prole.
Actual IP throughput
This is the actual speed of your line at the time you ran the test. Your ‘Actual IP throughpand your ‘IP prole’ will probably be different. There are lots of reasons for this, such
as the number of people in your home using the broadband line at the same time, how
busy the internet is and whether your computer is doing other things, e.g. if other
software or programs are running. Your Actual IP throughput will vary throughout the
day and tends to be lower at peak times, when lots of people are using the internet.
The speed test results are provided in kbps (kilobits per second). To put the results
into Mbps (megabits per second) as referred to earlier in this guide, simply divide
by 1024. In the example above, the gures show a connection speed of 7.4Mbpswith an actual throughput speed of 3.4Mbps.
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8 BT Total Broadband
When you measure your broadband speed using the speed tester, the check is run onthe line all the way from the BT network to your BT Home Hub or router. Whilst the te
could show that you’re getting a good throughput speed, it’s possible you may not be
getting the best out of your connection because your broadband is not set up in the
best way possible.
This section of the guide takes you through some simple steps that can help you nd
and x things that may be affecting your broadband experience. The steps are intend
for guidance – how much they can improve your experience depends on your home
and set-up.
For more detailed advice, remember that you can check our help pages
on www.bt.com/help
10 steps to improving yourbroadband experience
1235
49
86
7
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Making the most of your broadband experience
1 Reduce interference from extension wiring by tting a
BT Broadband Accelerator
Extension wiring can pick up electrical and radio interference from other devices,
which can affect your broadband speed. Fitting a BT Broadband Accelerator can reduc
this interference, helping improve your speed. To nd out whether a BT Broadband
Accelerator can help you, go to www.bt.com/accelerator
What is interference? Interference on your broadband line is similar to when you
put a mobile phone near a speaker and it makes a static noise – radio and electrical
devices have a similar effect on a broadband line and can stop it working properly.
2 Make sure you’ve tted ADSL lters to all phone sockets in your hom
As your broadband service runs over your phone line, equipment such as phones, faxe
and digital TV boxes (e.g. Sky
®
) can all introduce interference to your broadband servwhen plugged into the line. Fitting ADSL lters to all these sockets in your home will
minimise this. Each lter ts between the equipment and the phone socket. Your BT
Home Hub or router comes with two ADSL lters but if you need more, you can easily
get them via an electrical retailer or from www.bt.com/shop
BT master phone socket Phone socket with Accelerator tted
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10 BT Total Broadband
3 Plug your Hub or router directly into your main phone socket
Your broadband service works best when there is the shortest possible distance betwe
the BT phone exchange and your Hub. Anything that extends this distance can reduce
the quality of the line. We recommend that you use the standard cable provided with
your Hub or router to plug straight into the phone socket and avoid using any long
extension leads (e.g. greater than 10m). If you do need to use a phone extension lead
please make sure it’s a good quality one from a reliable retailer. You could also conside
using the standard cable to connect your Hub to the phone socket and using a longer
Ethernet cable to connect your Hub to your computer.
4 Improve your wireless connection
Connecting your computer to your Hub via a wireless signal is a great way to avoid
trailing cables if your computer is not close to your Hub. However, the quality and ran
of a wireless signal can weaken in some circumstances and may make your broadband
connection seem inconsistent, although the actual speed between your Hub and the
network may be strong. Here are some ways you can avoid loss of signal:
Try to position your Hub away from barriers that may block the wireless signalThick walls or ceilings, or large metallic surfaces such as radiators, mirrors and
refrigerators can reduce the strength of your wireless signal. Wireless is designed to
cope with most obstacles but each home is different and your Hub will work best whe
there’s a clear space to your computer.
Short DSL cable direct totelephone socket
(avoid extension cable)Long Ethernet cable
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Making the most of your broadband experience
Check you’re using the latest wireless technology
The wireless technology that passes information between your computer and your Hu
follows a set of specic standards, which have improved over time. Earlier standards
were labelled using a series of letters, such as ‘b’ and ‘g’. The BT Home Hub 2.0 comes
with the latest ‘n’ wireless technology, which gives up to twice the wireless range of th
older ‘b’ or ‘g’ wireless technologies.
Remember, your wireless connection depends on both your Hub or router and the
receiver that is either attached to or built in to your computer. You can get the best
out of your set-up by upgrading your wireless equipment to the latest standards.
For example, if you’ve a BT Home Hub 2.0 you could also buy an ‘n’ wireless adapter
for your computer to make sure you’re optimising your connection. These are available
at www.bt.com/shop/adapter
Change wireless channels to avoid interference
As your wireless signal works by transmitting over a specic channel, other devicessharing this channel could cause interference. Even with a good wireless signal, device
such as microwave ovens and cordless phones can affect your wireless connection.
Changing wireless channels can help avoid this. See the instructions in your Hub User
Guide for how to do this or go to www.bt.com/gettingsetup/interference
5 Connect your computer to your Hub or router using
an Ethernet cable
Although a wireless connection gives you more exibility to position your devices
around your home, it can occasionally suffer from interference, which can affect your
internet browsing. An Ethernet cable is generally not affected by interference so will
give you a faster, more reliable connection.
And if you use a USB cable to connect your computer to your router or Hub, the speed
of the connection can be affected by other USB devices, such as your keyboard, mous
and webcam all using USB at the same time.
Try using an Ethernet cable if your computer or device is close to your Hub.
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12 BT Total Broadband
6 Check your PC specication supports the latest broadband speeds
If you’ve an old computer with lower specications, this can affect your internet
experience even if you’ve a fast line speed. You can nd out whether your computer h
the right specication at www.bt.com/help/pccheck. It may be that to improve your
experience you need to upgrade your computer.
7 Help your computer run as quickly as possible
If your computer runs slowly, it may make your internet experience feel slower. You ca
help avoid this with regular maintenance of your computer, for example by regularly
running virus scans, deleting cookies and clearing your browser history. Simply turnin
off your computer for ve minutes if it’s usually left on all the time can also help by
closing down lots of background tasks. You can nd out how to remove cookies by usi
Windows Help or, if you’d like help checking the overall health of your computer, you
can contact BT Home IT Support at www.bt.com/homeitsupport
8 Download the latest web browser updates
Check you have the latest version of your internet browser software installed – older
versions might not be able to handle all of the types of content on newer web sites, an
can cause pages to download slowly. Search online to nd your latest browser version
for example on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web site.
Remember that web sites vary and some may simply take longer to download becausethey have more complicated content (e.g. lots of videos or animation), or lots of peop
trying to use them at the same time during busy periods.
9 Keep the number of browser windows or tabs open to a minimum
Opening multiple web pages, running lots of programs or having more than one user
logged in at the same time can tie up your computer and reduce its running speed,
especially if your computer specication is low. To avoid this, close any browserwindows that aren’t being used.
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Making the most of your broadband experience
10 Think about how you use the internet
Your BT Total Broadband service is designed to support several devices. However, if ma
devices in your home are online at the same time (e.g. several computers and games
consoles), they will all be sharing the same internet connection. In a similar way, intern
users visiting a particular web page at the same time all share access to the web site.
Peak time usage
More people use the internet at peak times (e.g. 5pm to midnight), so broadbandspeeds may be slower. Congestion can be on the internet, on the web page you’re
visiting or on your home network.
By identifying the internet activities that don’t have to be carried out at peak times
and doing them at different times of day, you’ll be able to share your connection bett
between your home users and the rest of the online community.
Here’s an example of what you can do: spread out activities that involve downloading
large les so that they don’t tie up your computer and broadband connection when
you want to use the internet. For example, if you or someone in your household uses
peer-to-peer software (which continuously downloads and uploads les to be shared
with other internet users), check the help section of your software to turn it off at tim
when other people at home want to use the internet.
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14 BT Total Broadband
There are lots of ways we can support you in getting the most from your broadband
connection and our expert advisers are happy to help. As broadband technology
evolves, BT is committed to giving you the best speeds possible by upgrading your
broadband as soon as the latest technology becomes available.
Have a look at www.bt.com
If you’ve a specic question, it may have been asked before. Search our frequently
asked questions online at www.bt.com/broadband/help
Or try browsing the BT forums to see if another BT Total Broadband user can help –
go to www.bt.com/forums
For more information about your broadband speed, go to
www.bt.com/help/broadbandspeed
Take advantage of our expert advice service
Book yourself a one-off BT Broadband Accelerator visit with one of our engineers
If you need further help, you can arrange for one of our expert engineers to assess you
phone line and broadband equipment to optimise your speed. If the engineer can’t
increase your broadband speed by at least 0.5Mb, you’ll get your money back.
Or subscribe to our specialist over-the-phone computer support service
For a monthly subscription, you can get straightforward, jargon-free help with a wide
range of computer-related issues over the phone.
Find out more about both of these services at www.bt.com/homeitsupport
How BT can help you
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Making the most of your broadband experience
Watch out for BT’s superfast broadband in your area
Our 20Mb service is now being rolled out across the UK
The current service gives you download speeds of up to 8Mb. BT has now started rolli
out up to 20Mb broadband to some areas of the UK. If it becomes available in your
area, we’ll upgrade you as soon as we can – at no extra cost.
To nd out if it’s coming to your area, go to www.bt.com/superfastbroadband
Superfast, 40Mb bre broadband is on its way
From 2010, BT will also be rolling out superfast broadband, which uses bre optic cabl
This will give speeds of up to 40Mb! Fibre broadband will help us extend the reach of
high-speed broadband, as bre optic cables don’t suffer from as much speed loss ove
distance compared to traditional networks.
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Ofces worldwide
The services described in this publication are subject to availability andmay be modied from time to time. Services and equipment are supplied
subject to British Telecommunications plc’s respective standard conditionsof contract. Nothing in this publication forms any part of a contract.
© British Telecommunications plc 2009Registered Ofce: 81 Newgate Street, London EC1A 7AJRegistered in England No. 1800000
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Please call 0800 800 15