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Installing Broadband
Your modem, filters and installation disc arrives - yippee! Don't be tempted to install it yet! You will get an e.mail from your ISP telling you the broadband connection starts on a certain date (7-10 days from application). On this day - and not before - you can install the modem software by simply putting the disc in the CD drive and it will start automatically (in theory anyway).
The disc will display a very nice video on your screen welcoming you to broadband (yeah, yeah, get on with it...), and will then proceed to guide you through the installation process.
The installation process is designed for someone of (how shall I put it...?) limited IT capabilities, is that diplomatic enough? In fact sometime the guide can be a bit patronising at times, but bear with it. It will tell you when to plug this cable in, that piece of hardware, and so on. It's foolproof - honestly!
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It used to that the average ISP's 'free' modem was something like the 'Speedtouch 330' or comparable, but these days a wireless modem/router is more common. It is just a small blue box with a couple of green lights on the front, sometime three. One light is the power indicator, the other is the ADSL indicator. If you have connected your broadband correctly, then both should be a steady green. More about troubleshooting later (the famous flashing ADSL light).
The modem is connected to your computer via a USB cable (USB means Universal Serial Bus, by the way), usually blue in colour and about 1m long. The other cable is a standard RJ11 telephone cable which connects the modem to your BT wall socket via a filter. If you elect to get a bit more for your money, and you are looking for something wireless (like you have 2 or more computers in the house), then you would do well to consider the ISP package deals where they provide a wireless modem/router as part of the deal. ISP's like BT Broadband which gives you a free wireless hub, connection and set-up etc, or the BT Broadband Option 3, which not only includes a hub (router), connection and set-up, but gives you another telephone to make internet-based calls on (VOIP). |
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Important - you MUST have a filter between the modem and the wall socket, or the broadband simply won't work. If you have a second telephone in the house (say, in the bedroom) then this line should be filtered as well - that's why they usually send you two. If you have a large house with phones all over the place, then you will have to buy more filters. You can get a filter from (a) your ISP, (b) your local computer shop, or (c) from us! Click here for details.
By now your computer has a new icon on the desktop, courtesy of your ISP, and your modem has two steady green lights on the front. Hurray, you have broadband internet access! Double click on the new icon and, assuming you have entered your connection details correctly, you connect. Your Internet Explorer will probably open up with your ISP's home page staring at you. Yuk, change it back to Google! You pick up the phone and hey presto, you can make phone calls while you surf the internet. It all seems to be working okay, but what happens if it isn't? We will look at that on the next page. |
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