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Better Broadband with Filters and a BT i-Plate

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Following our own experience of living and working in areas where the high speed cable networks do not exist, we have, in common with many others, struggled to get fast consistent broadband over the standard BT telephone line.

There are various reasons for the lack of high speed broadband over telephone lines, some of which you can do something about and others which you have to accept, including:

The distance you are from your local telephone exchange - the further you are away, the lower the speed which you can obtain.
The number of people using the same broadband provider in your area. This is called the contention ratio, and ADSL broadband provides a 1:50 contention ratio, which means that no matter what speed your broadband provider advertises for your area, you may be sharing that same connection (and therefore the speed) with up to 49 other users. This is why broadband speed dips during peak times, such as in the evenings and also why ADSL broadband is always advertised as up to xMbps.
One solution to this may be to sign up with a lesser known ADSL Broadband provider, although they may not advertise as high a speed as other providers, you can actually gain in the evening when everyone else in the area is fighting over bandwidth from one of the better known providers.
The way in which you connect to your broadband modem is also important. If possible, you should connect using an ethernet connection, which uses less processing power on your computer than a USB connection. If you are connecting wirelessly, it is important that you ask yourself whether this is necessary - could you have an ethernet lead which you plug into your laptop? If you need to use wireless connections, the strength of the signal is important - look for a wireless router which supports the newer 802.11n protocol (although you may need a different network card for your laptop). At the very least, use 802.11g. You can find good value 802.11n wireless routers and adaptors at Dabs.com by searching for Wireless-N Router.
Interference from other equipment within your home which is connected to your telephone line. This is normally solved by ADSL broadband filters, although the poor quality ADSL filters which are supplied by some major internet service providers (ISPs), which do not effectively separate your computer signal from your voice line and result in various problems such as those listed below.
The amount of electrical equipment within the home, which can cause electrical interference on the line.

We can help you with the last 2 issues.

Solution 1: Low Cost High Quality ADSL Broadband Filters

Why do you need an ADSL Line Filter?

An ADSL Line Filter is required whenever you connect a computer to the internet using Broadband over a standard telephone line (non-cable). The filters divide the signals on the telephone line between the high pitched computer modem sounds and the lower pitched human voices.

ADSL / DSL broadband enables your computer modem to share a voice telephone line, by transmitting data at high frequencies outside of the range of human hearing, thus enabling both computer and voice services to be used at the same time. Without any equipment installed between your broadband modem and telephone, the interference from the modem makes the telephone unusable as you can hear the high pitched squeal in the background. You also have to bear in mind, that unlike a standard 56K dial-up modem, a broadband modem connects to the internet as soon as you switch on your computer - as a result, the interference is noticeable as soon as you switch on the PC, even if you have not connected to your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Most broadband internet service providers send you a pack with modem and two DSL line filters to plug into the telephone sockets. However, this is often insufficient and the quality of the filters supplied often leaves something to be desired. You need to plug an ADSL/DSL line filter into every phone socket into which you need to plug equipment other than a broadband modem (for example, a telephone, fax machine, satellite set top box, TiVO and 56K modem) - you then plug that equipment into the filter. Your broadband modem can be connected into any of these filters at the same time.

Sample of the ADSL/DSL Filter / Microfilter Supplied - You need one for each piece of telephone equipment

Problems with Broadband Filters provided by Broadband Providers

Phone refuses to ring on an incoming call
Slight noise on the line (high pitched squeal or clicks)
Phone calls breaking up
Frequent loss of internet connection, particularly if the phone is being used
Caller display no longer works
No ring tone

Why use our filters?

Although our filters are lower cost than those available directly from Internet Service Providers (ISPs), normally Z-Blocker filters, we are pleased to say that the filters we supply have been tested under stringent conditions, and resolve all of these problems. They allow you to use your normal telephone line without any interference, they resolve the problem of the telephone not ringing and also ensure that you do not lose the broadband connection when someone makes a phone call !

We offer two different ADSL broadband filters - a simple one which plugs directly into your telephone socket (as shown above) and a slightly more expensive filter which has a fly-lead to plug into your telephone socket. The latter filters are original BT branded broadband filters of the highest quality.

We provide a 12 month warranty on all ADSL Broadband filters and if they do not resolve your problems, offer a full money back guarantee.

Our ADSL / DSL Broadband Filter Range

Standard low cost plug in ADSL filters (no fly lead): Cost Only £4.95 each.
ADSL Filters complete with Flylead (BT branded filters): Cost Only £6.50 each

Solution 2: Interstitial Plate (the BT i-Plate)

Why do you need an i-Plate?

BT i-Plate - reduce electical interference for faster Broadband

The i-Plate (sold by BT as the BT Broadband Accelerator) was designed in direct response to BT wishing to reduce the amount of electrical interference on its telephone lines. The problem is linked to the wiring on any telephone extension leads in your home which can act as an aerial, picking up electrical interference from any nearby equipment and having an adverse impact on your broadband speed. The i-Plate works by effectively removing one of the redundant lines on the extension cable (the bell signal) so that this electical interference is not picked up.

The bell signal can safely be removed by the i-Plate, as each ADSL filter you then add to the line (as required) for each piece of equipment connected, re-creates the bell signal through its own ring capacitor.

What Effect does the i-Plate have?
This works in conjunction with ADSL filters and can actually boost the speed of your ADSL Broadband connection by up to 4Mb - although tests have shown the average speed increase to be around 1.5Mb on a 2Mb broadband line. With such a wide range of equipment in homes, a speed increase cannot be guaranteed, but we ourselves saw a 50% increase in our normal 2Mb speed! ADSL filters are still required as the i-Plate only eliminates electrical interference, not voice interference.

The iPlate also helps to improve stability of your Broadband connection - a BT survey showed that with the i-Plate fitted, there were 20% fewer lost connections and a 45% lower error rate on data transmitted.

Some people suggest that another solution to the problem of the electrical interference picked up by extension wires, is simply to remove the bell signal wire from pin 3 in the back of your BT master socket. However, we do not recommend this, as the BT master socket and wiring belongs to BT itself, so if you cause any damage then you will be liable to BT and have to organise an expensive repair call-out to rewire the master socket. With the low cost iPlate, then there is simply no need to take the risk of damaging BT's equipment.

Is the i-Plate Suitable for my Home?
Suitability depends on two factors (three if you admit the fact that it is not needed if you have cable broadband!).
a) If you do not have a telephone extension cable (ie. more than one phone socket in your home connected to the same telephone line), then the i-Plate will not make any difference.
b) Your master Type of Telephone Socket suitable for i-Plate

Type of Telephone Socket suitable for i-Plate

socket (where your telephone line comes in from outside), needs to be a BT NTE5 socket, with a line across the middle - similar to the picture below. If you do not have a horizontal line across the socket, or it is branded Openreach or has two telephone sockets (or a telephone and a modem socket), then it is not suitable.

If your faceplate has a built in filter (for example the one with a telephone and a modem socket), then the i-Plate is not required, as the built in filter will have removed the bell signal.

How Easy is the i-Plate to fit?
It basically just needs a small screwdriver - you need to remove the outer cover of the master socket in your home and clip the iPlate over the internal wires (hence the gap in the bottom you can see in the photo) and clip it into place, pushing the phone connectors into the sockets. Screw everything back together and you are done. You do not have to touch the wires or do any cutting.
How to fit the BT i-Plate

A video has been produced showing you how easy it is to fit - see the video on Youtube

Our i-Plate Range

ADSL Broadband i-Plate:
Cost Only £8.00 each.

BT i-Plate - reduce electical interference for faster Broadband

Top Tips if you are experiencing slow broadband

Are you sure it is your broadband which is slow (and not your PC)? Test your actual broadband speed online and then enter your postcode to check the speed in your area - how does your speed compare with your neighbours?
Just in case, use a good quality defrag tool on your PC to ensure that you files are not split up into many sections on your hard disk - we recommend the free SmartDefrag, which will run in the background at scheduled times and seems much better than other defrag tools.
Have you fitted good quality ADSL filters (such as those we supply) to EVERY telephone socket in your house (whether used or not) ? Also use the BT i-Plate (speedbooster) if it is suitable for your telephone master socket.
Check your PC for spyware or security issues - we recommend Norton 360 for all-round protection. Also, is your PC doing something else in the background (such as backing up files to the internet, or downloading updates?)
Check that you are connecting to your own router, and not someone else's (if you connect wirelessly, your PC will connect to the strongest signal in the area if it is not secured!).
Check the settings on your router - is it properly secured, with passwords, or have you left it un-secured, so others in the street might be using it to connect to the broadband?
If you connect wirelessly to your router, you may want to change the channel used on the router - as most people seem to use channel 6, this can interfere if your neighbours also have wireless routers nearby.
Consider using a tool such as Onspeed which compresses the data on the internet pages you are viewing before it is sent to your PC, reducing the amount of bandwidth you are using, and also vastly increasing speed - www.onspeed.com
Finally, if you still get a slower speed than your neighbours, unscrew up your telephone master socket and plug the router directly into the test socket which is inside the unit. If the broadband speed increases, then it is something to do with your internal wiring. If not, then call out BT to look at the lines coming into your house as they may be corroded.