Forum Topic

C&W Next Generation Node

There has been some comment in the computer press about the installation of new equipment by Cable and Wireless in the Hammersmith area which is apparently the next generation of high speed internet. Does anybody know anything more about this i.e. is it genuinely new and how much does it cost to get it?

Ellen Kearney ● 7707d7 Comments

Hi BrianThanks for alerting me to that - very interesting.The Computer Weekly website reports that the main beneficiaries will be large corporate users (M&S, VW, Hilton), but that "(individual) customers of C&W-owned Bulldog's broadband service will also be among the first to benefit from the faster speeds in London. Bulldog Broadband currently runs at up to 8mbps." The article is at:http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2005/08/31/211526/CW'sIPringoffersfastaccessforLondon.htmIn answer to your question "how much does it cost to get it?", it looks like you can get 8 meg unlimited broadband from Bulldog for £17.50 a month, which sounds pretty amazing to me. Have a look at:http://www.bulldogbroadband.com/If you want to know more about what is happening in the world of consumer broadband and how the different offerings compare before taking the plunge, there is a useful website at:http://www.adslguide.org.uk/Hope this helps - I would be interested to know how you get on.RgdsEdward

Edward Noel ● 7707d

To get techy details on what is available from your local exchange, see the website http://www.samknows.comThe following companies have installed DSL equipment in Hammersmith exchange:- BT, Bulldog, EasyNet and Homechoice.Homechoice provide video over broadband.  EasyNet focus on business customers.  Bulldog are owned by C&W but have a lousy reputation for customer service and network reliability - see http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/02/bulldog_probe/At the moment, all other ISPs resell BT's service.  A new ISP called Be There (www.bethere.co.uk) have announced a 24M broadband service and according to the number checker on their website they claim that service will be available in the area in September and are accepting advanced orders...The cable companies (NTL, Telewest) have also announced that they will be providing a 10M service by the end of the year.

Michael Robinson ● 7704d

The Register has an item today mentioning that Pipex are about to offer LLU (local loop unbundling) and ADSL2+ services.The headline is 24Mbps for private users but the reality apparently is that you will only really get this if you live very close to an exchange. Nevertheless, most will see much higher speeds than can be expected from existing ADSL services.You were quite right to point out Bulldog's customer service issues, which I had forgotten about, but I think this is of particular interest because Pipex have a pretty good reputation. The new company, Be, also offering 24 megs is, of course, still an unknown quantity.http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/08/pipex_llu/

Edward Noel ● 7699d

Has anyone actually taken out a contract with one of these super-fast 8-24 Mbps broadband providers yet?What has been your experience?

Edward Noel ● 7657d

Some news on Be There service...http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/14/be_update/

Michael Robinson ● 7657d

Hi PatrickYeah, I saw that too. Not very encouraging in general, and no ETA for Shepherd's Bush in specific, so not much good for me.As I said before, I'm more interested in what Pipex have to offer, and they are offering 8Mbps for £14.99 a month plus a £15 upgrade charge to existing customers of Freedom2Surf, so I'll probably go for that, but I was curious to hear anyone else's praise/horror stories first.Edward

Edward Noel ● 7657d

Will Onspeed at 5 x dial-up speeds, and ostensibly for broadband too mean that the £24.99 per annum will multiply up again the 8 - 24 Mbps?  I am on Virgin basic BB at 512 (pathetic, really) which comes up to 2 Mbps with Onspeed coupled.  Or are we talking cable?

William Hosking ● 7654d