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Are you struggling with slow speeds?
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iPlate boosts speeds by 60 per cent
Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk
BT’s £10, home-install device can increase ADSL broadband connections by around 60 per cent according to new tests (11-09-08).
Recent tests by PC Pro showed that the iPlate - or interstitial plate - which costs around £10 from BT (www.BT.com) and other suppliers is a success.
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"One user reported an increase in his download speed from an average of 1.9Mb to 3.1Mb within a couple of days"
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One user reported an increase in his download speed from an average of 1.9Mb to 3.1Mb within a couple of days - an increase of 63 per cent, while another PC Pro tester saw his line speed go up from 3.2Mb to an average of 4.9Mb - an increase of 53 per cent and a huge improvement to an above-average speed for an ADSL connection.
But before you rush out to buy your own iPlate, BroadbandBuyer.co.uk, which sells the device for £12.69, warns that not everyone will see an increase in their speed, estimating that around 70 per cent of homes would benefit from the device.
BT’s own trails showed increased of up to 3Mb, with average speeds going up by 1.5Mb, while Neil Scott, from Zen Broadband (www.Zen.co.uk) told PC Pro: “In a small scale trial we performed with early test iPlates, the results where varied from no increase up to 1Mb.”
Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, explained how the iPlate works: “iPlates basically gets rid of the bell wire that was used to make old telephone ring. Now that it’s not needed it often just acts as a conductor for electrical interference, so anything from a microwave to a dodgy light fitting can mess with your broadband connection.
“The iPlate is simple to install, taking only around 10 minutes to fit, and without that bell wire you could find yourself with a faster, more reliable broadband connection.”
However, Pc Pro warned that the speed increases didn’t happen instantly. “BT automatically chokes the speed of your line to match your synch speed to improve connection stability - something which is known as your BRAS profile,” explained Barry Collins from the magazine. So check with your ISP to see if your synch speed - the maximum theoretical speed your connection can sustain - and your BRAS profile have gone up.
It can take up to three days for BT to automatically adjust your BRAS profile once your synch speed has increased, which is when you should see an improvement.
However, if you have a recently installed line it won’t have a ringer wire so an iPlate would be useless. Similarly a newly installed socket with the BT Openrech logo on it or a Service Specific Front Plate (SSFP) which separates the broadband and phone signals won’t be affected by an iPlate.
If you have been having ongoing speed and reliability problems with your ADSL connection, contact your ISP or BT to see if they will send one out for free.
Related article - Boost your broadband speed.
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