The following is an overview of what this site will contain:

• Suppliers
• Mobiles
  • Contract Mobiles
  • Mobile Broadband and Internet
  • Selling Mobiles
  • Mobile Coverage
  • Mobile Tracking
• Business Telecoms
  • Phone Systems
  • Landlines
  • T1 and Leased Lines
  • ISDN
  • ADSL
  • Business broadband
  • VPN
• Broadband
  • Broadband speed and testing
  • Wireless broadband
  • Broadband Dongles
  • Broadband Routers
  • Broadband Coverage
  • Unlimited Broadband
• Internet
  • Protection and Security
• Home Phones and Accessories
• VoIP Voice Over IP
• Making Cheap Calls from Landlines and Mobiles
• and more …

If you are a BT customer, be on your guard!

BT is warning customers about a series of phone scams involving people claiming to be calling from the company.

If you are targeted, the scammers will call you and warn that your account is in arrears.

They then ask for bank or credit card details to settle the account.

If you ask for proof or refuse to pay, the fraudsters then offer to prove who they are by disconnecting the phone line then and there.

When you put the phone down, the scammer stays connected to their line, creating the impression that your line no longer works.

These places have all been affected:

• Suffolk
• Sussex
• Kent
• Nottinghamshire
• Shropshire
• Warwickshire
• North Yorkshire
• Devon
• West Midlands
• Pembrokeshire

If you get one of these calls, you may notice poor line quality, and a lack of background chatter and no call centre noise in the background, which there usually is when someone from a big company calls you.

This type of phone scam has been happening all over the country.

The Trading Standards Authority admits this type of phone fraud is around.

So if somebody calls you, keep your wits about you, be cynical and mistrust them if you have to, or don’t trust them, particularly if they are asking for money.

If they want your bank or credit credit card details don’t be afraid to say no!

BT says it does sometimes make calls to customers about debt – but they stress that they never carry out disconnections during a call.

They advise customers never to give out any banking details over the phone unless they are absolutely certain who they are dealing with.

Back to Free Telecom Support home

Broadband Speeds in the UK

Ofcom recently released a report which represents the most thorough examination of broadband speeds ever performed within the UK.

The data they collected was taken from over 60 million speed test results accumulated by 1600 broadband customers and it paints a relatively bleak picture of the UK broadband market as it stands today.

The findings basically revealed what many people already knew to be true, that broadband speeds vary wildly depending on a number of factors and in the most part the actual speed attainable by any one customer will be significantly lower than the speed that the broadband providers claim they will be able to attain.

As a result of these tests ofcom has demanded and indeed received a pledge from 37 of the main broadband providers to offer more clarity to customers when it comes to advertising their speeds and while in the most part this new found honesty will be a good thing, avoiding deception of the customer, it still doesn`t solve the problem of why our broadband speeds are so low.

The average speed for a UK customer is just a hair over 4Mbps, which is at odds with the common claim that ADSL broadband will run at `up to` 8Mbps. But what`s the cause of the huge discrepancy between the promised speeds and the ones we receive from day to day?

Well, the main cause of slower average speeds is because of the limitations of ADSL broadband, which is the most common type in the UK as it uses existing BT copper landlines.

Because of the nature of copper wire, over long distances the broadband signal deteriorates and so the speed slows. This means people who live in rural areas who are far away from their local telephone exchange experience comparatively slow speeds compared to urban dwellers.

However, in urban areas there`s another problem which affects broadband speeds: congestion. Because during the peak evening periods of the day so many people are trying to use their broadband connection, customers can expect to see their speeds reduced by around 25% compared to their average speed during other times of the day.

This is all down to the number of other people who are using broadband via your local telephone exchange and it seems like this is always going to be a problem, like rush hour.

So what`s going to be the solution to our slow broadband blues here in the UK?

Well, the Ofcom report ultimately revealed that though ADSL customers are receiving the short straw in terms of speed, Cable broadband customers have much higher speeds which more closely reflect the speed that their service is advertised at.

If you already live in a cabled area you`ll be able to access the more consistent broadband on offer today.

If you`re still stuck with ADSL, don`t worry as BT are upgrading their exchanges nationwide in order to offer 20Mbps services.

For now using a broadband speed test will help you choose a new provider.

Back to Broadband Telecom home

Rolling contracts allow BT to automatically renew your contract with them for a further 12 months *without* your explicit consent.

Their normal contract, however, allows you to leave when the 12 months is up.

Which one did you sign up to?

Because If you miss the annual reminder and try to leave BT for a cheaper alternative phone call supplier, you are stuck unless you pay for the privilege to leave!

This is damaging to competition in the deregulated telecoms industry, and so far, OFCOM as the regulator has failed to take firm action.

BT is clever to encourage you into these deals with incentives like free evening calls – but don’t be fooled into thinking this is good value.

Recent research shows that the average cost of Broadband has fallen by almost 40% over the past three years, and by switching suppliers regularly (which rolling contracts are designed to prevent) can result in large savings.

Switching Broadband supplier can also get you a faster service, since the average Broadband speed has increased by 700 percent in the past three years.

Deregulation of the telecoms industry has worked well until now, by delivering greater choice and falling prices.

But rolling contracts threaten this and should be urgently addressed by OFCOM.

The Local Loop connects your telephone socket or switchboard to the telephone exchange.

In the past, this has always been owned by BT.

Since telecom deregulation was introduced to break the BT monopoly and create free market competiton and a "level playing field", call traffic between telephone exchanges was allowed to pass over alternative networks.

This is known as LCR or LEAST COST ROUTING.

But historically BT always owned the last part of the connection and charge line rental for the privilege, having lost the call revenue.

Now, thanks to LLU, you can transfer both your calls, and your line rental, to a new provider, for both lower call charges and reduced line rental.

It used to be that BT owned a monopoly on landlines, since they built up the infrastructure to supply them. A landline is the final connection from the BT Exchange to your premises, also known as the Local Loop.

On 1st August 2006 Ofcom allowed other telecom companies to supply landline services. This is also called Local Loop Unbundling, or LLU.

Other providers can now rent the LLU from BT and supply it to the customer themselves, usually at cheaper rates and sometimes as part of an overall package which can provide calls (minutes) and Broadband.

To leave BT as your land line supplier, all you need do is contact an alternative provider and they will manage the transfer for you.

Usually this results in lower costs and payment monthly in arrears, rather than payment quarterly in advance with BT, which is better for your cashflow.

Unlike some call plans with alternative telecom suppliers, a land line rental usually comes with a minimum contract.

If you do transfer your land line rental away from BT, they still own the responsibility for repairs, so all you do is alert your new provider to any problems, and again they will handle the management of BT to resolve the problem.

On 1st August 2006, Ofcom, the UK Telecoms Regulator, ended the formal controls on the cost of phone line rentals and calls from BT.

This leaves all phone companies (including BT themselves) free to set their own retail prices for consumers.

So now you, not the regulator, are free to decide whether you think a phone company is good value or not, and can choose the right deal for you. Then keep checking it's delivering what you want, at the right price!