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Your broadband internet connection is slower than you would like.
(Some people are never satisfied!)
Assuming that your broadband connection is via a BT telephone line (and in Argyll it almost certainly is) then those ever helpful people at British Telecom (sic) have a new gadget that could considerably improve your connection speed. [Note that this is true regardless of your Internet Service Provider (ISP).] The gadget in question is an "I-Plate", and you can get one for under a tenner.
The I-Plate simply screws into your master telephone socket (a two minute task) and the job's done. I fitted one recently and have consistently seen a speed increase of around 2Mbps ever since (from around 4Mbps to over 6Mbps).
If you are very lucky you might be able to persuade BT to provide you one for free; though they may direct you to your ISP. For those of us who think that life is too short for engaging BT in anything other than a real emergency, you can order one via the web from Broadband Buyer UK.
Essentially there is none. However you should note:
Your home must be equipped with a BT NTE5 type master telephone socket (see image below). This socket has a split face with the BT logo in the top left corner (not the newer Openreach logo!).
Speed improvements are not guaranteed and are much more likely to be seen where your house also has extension wiring. The I-Plate works by filtering interference on the line so improvements depend upon the level of intereference currently present, and this can vary greatly from line to line.
Check out these links:
a) An early report of BT's initial tests in PC-Pro magazine.
b) A more recent article.
Some reports claim that your router needs to be plugged into your BT master socket to benefit. My own experience suggests this is nonsense.
If you have any further questions please do not hestitate to contact me.
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Page last updated 19 December 2008