Having been an avid reader of postings since I placed my order for BT
Openword Broadband three months ago, I thought I should share the process,
especially for those interested in the activation process/timings.
As soon as my exchange was nominated for activation in December, I placed my
order, on line, all very efficient. A free modem was included in the offer.
I then bought a LinkSys 11g Wireless Router as I thought I should get the
LAN side all sorted before the WAN side was available. No problems with the
wireless side, getting anything from 54Mb to 10Mb, depending where I am in
the house. In late November I bought a Zoom X4 Ethernet/USB modem, but did
not connect other than LAN side.
By mid last week, I had received all the information need from BT, via
e-mail, to set up my account. My broadband service is due on start on Mon 5
Jan, but on Tue the phone line went dead. On reporting the fault, I
mentioned that exchange upgrade activity and this fault might be related and
perhaps the records could be checked as a starting point. Apparently there
is "absolutely no way" the two events could have been connected, but an
engineer arrived 12 hours later and sorted the problem [line record fault!].
While the fault was being fixed, my free modem, filters and installation CD
arrived. I didn't intend to use any of thise, especially given the tales of
woe re Yahoo! software highlighted in this group.
Despite BT's requests not to connect anything before the due start date, I
couldn't resist the temptation of connecting the WAN side of the modem -
user name and password entered into the modem configuration. Ten second
later, steady green light and wireless side also dropped straight in - so
three wired and one wireless PC with broadband. All very impressive.
Lessons:
1. You shouldn't need the installation CD for anything other than the
drivers if you are using the USB modem. My BT modem and software remain
untouched in the box.
2. You could find that your service is available 4-5 days early - its
worth trying if you are really eager, but no guarantees.
3. I can recommend the LinkSys Wireless Router and Zoom Modem
configuration. Excellent bits of kit although there are many features I may
never use.
Gareth Smith
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