Category Archives: Internet

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Increasing WordPress Upload Size Limit

09/05/2012 – 1:43 pm

This is a problem that’s been bugging me for some time.

My WordPress sites had a maximum upload size of 8MB

Whilst this is quite enough for most purposes, there are always exceptions and I could never find a way to increase the size.
There are all kinds of forums and suggestions and it does look like there’s no definitive answer – I’m guessing because each hosting environment is different.

I must thank the people who’ve taken the time to post on various websites and forums as they did eventually guide me in the right direction – although so far I haven’t seen anyone suggest the final solution that worked for me!

PHP.INI

Many people have mentioned this file as one that’s key to controlling how PHP behaves, and I’ve seen all kinds of different variables and code suggested to make this work.

 

WP-Admin Folder

The key thing for me was that I realised php.ini relates to php executed in a folder – you would expect sub-folders to inherit the details, but at least for me on my 1&1 hosting package that isn’t the case.

So, in WordPress – uploads are done from the admin area ( /wp-admin) so what I did was put a php.ini file in the root of that folder.

Into that empty file, I added just 3 lines of code:

upload_max_filesize = 64M

post_max_size = 64M

max_execution_time = 300

And for me that worked and increased the upload size to 64MB

Notes and Disclaimer

I’ve found you can change the value of 64MB to larger values and that is reflected in the Media Upload section of WordPress admin – you might also want to increase the max_execution_time if you’re uploading big files – as they’ll take longer to upload – but do keep in mind, this might have repercussions on other code execution.

Also don’t forget that not everyone has super-fast broadband, so you may want to think twice before uploading excessively large files, as it could take people ages to download them from you site.

Finally, it goes without saying that anything you do to your own code as a result of reading this site, you do so wholly at your own risk – and I won’t take any responsibility for any repercussions!

 

If you’ve found this useful, please do comment below and share your experiences.

Urban Haze specialises in creating web presences and providing technical support – if you’d like to know more, please contact us

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By urbanhaze | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Response from BT about Infinity Dates Changing

04/05/2012 – 2:48 pm

 

BT Engineer Laying Fibre

BT Engineer Laying Fibre in Uppermill

You may have read in a previous article that I’ve had a problem with the activation date of BT Infinity on my line that keeps changing
- as it turns out, I’m not alone and share this same problem with a large number of other people – if you’re one of them and want something done about it, then please read on!

 

It appears that in some cases, a date is given on the BT web site, and then as that date approaches, it is put forwards three months.
To some this appears to happen again and again, sometimes over several years.

Of course, BT Infinity is a great service that many people want, so these constantly changing dates can at be very, very disappointing – some have said may be misleading or even false advertising.

 

BT Press Office Said…

I contacted the BT Press Office because I wanted to give them a fair and reasonable chance to comment on this before I considered what to do next
Emma from the BT Press Office very kindly got back in touch and wrote this response:

Please remember that BT Retail and Openreach are separate.
BT Retail is a service provider, and takes its information from Openreach like all the hundreds of other service providers.
BT Retail passes onto the public what Openreach passes to them – which is the same information that is passed to other service providers.
BT Retail refreshes the dates in line with the updates it receives from Openreach.
The BT Retail / Infinity map clearly states the dates are subject to change and are only indicative (they are not intended as marketing as such).
As I mentioned before, it is inevitable that with an engineering project of the scale that Openreach is undertaking that dates will sometimes change. Openreach is deploying super-fast fibre-based broadband to 66% of UK homes by end of 2014.

Openreach tries to be as clear as possible about what is possible at any given time.
Every effort is made to ensure that the information given is as up-to-date and accurate as possible at any one time, and that any changes are communicated and updates given.
This tends to be on a quarterly basis. (Therefore, an area due to get it by the end of June, for example, may actually get switched on in May.)
It would be very wrong to suggest that dates regularly go back.
In fact some switch on dates are brought forward.

When an exchange becomes enabled, it does not mean that all lines on that exchange will also be enabled, as called out on the “find out more” link on the BT Retail roll-out map.

As well as unforeseeable engineering issues, ‘switch on’ dates are sometimes put back due to unexpected queries from local planning authorities.
This is why Openreach dates are essentially “as soon as possible” and so appear as the next quarter-end, but might then be pushed back as the planning permissions keep getting refused by local councils.
Hence the point made by ‘Ricky’ on your blog, is a valid one.

“I would suggest that you look into your local council planning applications website and you may find some interesting information… it was refused because the cabinet was considered “VISUALLY INTRUSIVE”,

BT Retail offers to take the customer’s details for if/when Infinity become available to them. We pro-actively write to anyone on this list as soon as they become eligible. So customers can rest assured they will be the first to know when they can get it.

 

First of all, I’m really grateful that BT have taken the time and trouble to look into this and to write back and I think there are some very good points here.
There will undoubtedly be occasions where projects are pushed back by unforseen circumstances like planning permissions, and here I can really sympathise with BT and their struggle to provide accurate information.

However, I’m a little disappointed that this doesn’t really seem to address the actual problem that myself and many people have found in that dates keep getting moved back
- it more seems to deny that there’s a problem and says it’d be “wrong” to suggest there is one.
To me something seems “wrong” if a date is given/promised/advertised and then it consistently gets put back three months, then another three than another three.

Perhaps one or two delays could be explained by problems with planning permissions or engineering trouble, but to consistently push dates back every three months, again and again, sometimes over several years suggests that there is some fundamental problem with the date being advertised
I think I’d summarise that as follows:

If there are problems with an activation date, it’d be much clearer to tell people that they don’t have a date yet, rather than to suggest that it’s coming in three months’ time

- especially if BT (Openreach or Retail) can’t actually say *for sure* that it is in fact coming within that three month period.

I’m afraid I also have to disagree with the point that “It would be very wrong to suggest that dates regularly go back” as it appears, based on the people who have commented, and the hundreds of similar comments on BT forums (such as this link) would suggest this happens to quite a large number of people consistently every three months – this is not “very wrong”, not even “slightly wrong”  in fact, it is the very definition of ”dates regularly going back”!

 

It’s annoying and frustrating when anyone promises something by a date and that date is missed.
If that “anyone” is an organisation like BT then you might want to complain about it, and expect them to do something to improve the situation.

We can accept that BT Openreach passes information to BT Retail, I think anyone can also accept that BT are going to encounter problems when rolling out such a massive engineering project
But it seems “very wrong” to even give a date if that date is completely arbitrary.

Judging by the number of people who’ve been in touch with me about this, and the number of times that dates have been moved back three months, it does appear as though some of the dates being given are arbitrary.
Even though BT has been broken up into separate companies, somebody somewhere in BT (nowhere else!) could and should be take responsibility for this and act on it, and there should be a way to provide feedback to them.

  • I’ve tried contacting BT Retail – who couldn’t help
  • I’ve tried contacting BT Wholesale – who don’t offer any way for me to even complain to them about this
  • I’ve tried contacting the BT Press Office, who have been kind enough to look into this and reply – but I’m afraid this doesn’t really help either!

Next Steps

Like I say, the BT Press Office have been kind enough to respond to this – and it’s a bit unreasonable to expect that office to be able to actually make a change to BT to help us.  So I don’t want to “have a go” at them.
But somewhere in BT there must be somebody who can sort this out – the trouble is that it that there doesn’t seem to be a way to get this message across to that part of BT.

So what to do about this?

Well in the absence of any action from BIT, it’s been suggested to me that I raise a “Supercomplaint” to the ASA, Ofcom, Trading Standards or even BBC Watchdog about this, that seems like the next logical step.
So if enough people comment below, then I’ll look into doing just that.

I don’t know the numbers, and I don’t know how to get the numbers to see how big a problem this is
It may just be a couple of us, but then again it could be thousands of us!
As a public limited company, a don’t think BT is subject to FOI requests – but I can at least ask you – my readers :)

So, over to you!!

If you find that your activation date for BT Infinity has been put back – perhaps more than once, then please do comment below
I don’t need your phone numbers or exchange details, but if you could just share roughly how many times your date has been pushed back, then we can get a scale for how many people this affects, and see how many people would like something done about it.

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By urbanhaze | Tagged , | Comments (5)

Infinity 2

16/04/2012 – 12:35 pm
BT Engineer Laying Fibre

BT Engineer Laying Fibre in Uppermill

BT have just announced their Infinity 2 Service

What is it?  Well it’s an improvement on their Infinity Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) service, doubling the maximum download speed up to 76Mbps

Just to qualify that, an average ADSL broadband connection will get you about 6 to 12 MBps – so it’s pretty impressive if they can deliver it 76 Mbps

Of course, first they’ll have to enable your line – but that’s another story! :)

 

Infinity 2

The reason behind this name is that BT Openreach are able to provide up to a doubling of speed of their original Infinity service to customers

Although I’m not too sure BT have fully thought through the name though, after all infinity means without limit (which may refer to the time you have to wait for your line to be activated!)
But the idea of “without limit 2″ seems a little contradictory.

Anyway, check your line to see if you can get BT Infinity or Infinity 2

Is it Fast?

At up to 76Mbps download speed, BT Infinity 2 is comparable with Virgin’s Cable broadband which offers speeds up to 100Mbps, although like Infinity, Virgin Cable is only available in limited areas.

Click here and put in your postcode to see if Virgin Cable is available in your area

 

If you’d like help finding the right broadband service to suit you, contact us for more information

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By urbanhaze | Comments (14)

BT Infinity dates Changing

01/03/2012 – 12:58 am
BT Engineer Laying Fibre

BT Engineer Laying Fibre in Uppermill last October

Last August and Last September I blogged that super fast fibre optic broadband was being rolled out across the UK and that it, was coming to Saddleworth soon.

So the big question is what’s happened since then?

Well, it’s good news for some, as indeed some areas of Saddleworth now have this super-fast broadband.

Although others are left feeling rather disappointed.

In fact, some of us have been left feeling rather disappointed by BT again and again.  Here’s why…

 

BT have a rather nifty web page that allows you to put in your phone number and see if Infinity, or other services are available
Click on this link to go to that page and see if or when you can get Infinity yourself

Warning – you should take any date mentioned here with a HUGE Pinch of Salt!

When I first clicked on this link in early 2011, it said I could get Infinity by 31st March 2011 and that you could register your interest and BT would get in touch when it was available

But 31st March came and went
Checking again in April, the page had changed to say I could get Infinity by 30th June 2011

Checking again in late June the page had changed again to say I could get Infinity by 30th September 2011

So checking again in early October, the page had now changed to say that I could get Infinity by 31st December 2011

On 12th December I checked again and discovered, this message had changed yet again to say that BT Infinity was not going to be available in my area (at all!)
Which seemed rather strange considering other people a few just a few yards away in my village already had Infinity

 

So, at that point I decided to ring BT Customer Services, who I’m afraid to say were unable to help and could only relay the same information that “it wasn’t available in my area”

Not one to give in easily, I decided to escalate the call, and after discussions with several people I eventually reached a very helpful press officer, who explained that with an engineering programme of this huge scale, all sort of factors can affect dates which is why they update websites as often as possible but that the work for my line was likely to be completed between February and May 2012

Now whilst I appreciate that rolling out BT Infinity to 20 cabinets is indeed a huge engineering programme, I can’t help but wonder after putting the cabinets into the street, and laying the cable into the ground, then what huge factors could possibly cause so much disruption that they say it would be available by March 2011, then push that back to June 2011, then push that back to September 2011, then push that back again to December 2011, then u-turn and say it wasn’t going to be available, then u-turn again and say it will be available in March 2012.

I do feel a bit sorry for those engineers that have done so much of the major work, but then had at least five huge factors that have so regularly disrupted their plans every three months and forced them to change their programme to another three months time, then change it again and again and again!

 

So where do we as consumers stand now?

I tried to point out to BT that they are happily advising customers of availability dates over the phone, by email on the web and in writing, then those dates are being continuously pushed back leaving customers disappointed.  Eventually I spoke to somebody in BT who at least listened to me

They wrote me a nice letter to say “They are sorry I found it necessary to complain” and they also wrote that “they had checked the web site using my phone number and advised me that it states the service will be available from 31-March-2012”

Indeed as of Feb 29th 2012, the web site stated in black and white:

When Can you Get it? – 31-March-2012

Anyway, the letter went on to say that they understood my complaint was actually that the date keeps changing, but unfortunately they were not able to control the release of products and could only sincerely apologise for the delays and that “hopefully the new set date for March will complete”

 

To me, something doesn’t quite seem right here.

I’d love to think these were just a few hiccups with BT and it’s a very limited problem, although I’ve found a forum with about 100 comments that suggests it’s not quite so small scale

But BT published an activation date on their web site in black and white (although they do also say “dates are subject to change“)

  • If they change the date once, that’s unfortunate
  • If they change the date twice, that’s forgivable
  • If they change the date three times, that’s disappointing
  • If they then change that to say it’s no longer available, that’s quite shocking
  • If they then change that again to say it’s now coming in another 3 months, that’s just plain unbelievable

Let’s hope they don’t change that yet again, as I’d struggle to come up with a suitable hyperbole!

 

For me, this raises a couple of interesting questions:

Is the promise of a schedule that is missed and regularly changed to another 3 months’ time misleading?
And could that possibly be interpreted as false advertising?

Now I’m no expert here, so I’d be interested to hear what the professionals think

Anyway, we’ve just arrived March (pinch, punch first of the month!), and as of midnight, the availability checker is strangely unavailable

But the last promised date is just a few weeks away so for now, let’s give BT the benefit of the doubt.
I’m interested to see what happens next and you can expect updates here on the Urban Haze blog, so please check back soon!

 

UPDATE 16/4/12

The end of March date was missed and now shows as another 3 months time – no surprise there, although even more disappointment.

I’d like to thank the hundreds of people a month who’ve been coming to this page, and especially those who’ve taken the time to comment.
Clearly this is not such a small problem if over 700 people a month are finding and reading this article.

Today I got back in touch with the BT Press Office, and they have said they *ARE* looking into this and have promised a response within the next 2 weeks.

Whilst we can’t expect BT’s Press Office to be able to fix this problem directly themselves, we can at least draw attention to it, and hopefully with their help, ensure it falls on something other than deaf ears in BT as it has done so far.

 

If you’ve experienced similar disappointments with BT Infinity dates being pushed back excessively, please do comment below and share your experiences:

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By urbanhaze | Also posted in Saddleworth | Tagged , , , | Comments (23)

Windows Firewall Blocked netsession_win.exe

04/11/2011 – 10:01 am

I suspect thousands of Windows users are just about to start seeing this message appearing on their screen, just like we’ve had on Windows 7 :

This alert happens when Windows detects new software that it doesn’t recognise running on the system that is trying to access the Internet.

Having looking into this, it seems that netsession_win.exe looks like it’s part of a piece of safe software from a well known and trusted company called Akamai.  You might not have heard of Akamai, but the chances are that you’ll be using their services every day as they provide Internet acceleration services to many well known brands.

So the question arises why did Windows try to block netsession_win.exe if it’s safe?

Truth be known, your Windows computer runs lots of stuff in the background that you hardly ever see, and if it’s working properly, then you never really should see it or have to care about it, so at this stage it looks like it’s a mistake – which is why you’re seeing this message.

Whilst we can’t say definitely one way or another because it’s still too early to tell, we’ve decided that Akamai is a reputable brand, so we’re going to allow this, and so far there’s been no problems :)

(Urban Haze accepts no responsibility for changes you make to your computer as a result of reading this article or any other information on this web site!!)

If you see a similar message but it has a different path or name, then be warned – this is something different from Akami’s netsession_win.exe
- so leave it blocked and seek technical help from your nearest friendly computer geek!!
Please follow us on Twitter to get updates on this, as well as Internet, IT and digital photography related information

If you’d like to share any other useful information about this, please feel free to comment below

 

By the way, just a little shameless self promotion before you go:

Most likely you found this page because you searched for something in Google and this page came up top of the list.  The reason you found this article above others is because this page has been search engine optimised by Urban Haze.  Search Engine Optimisation is a technique to help ensure your web site is found above others, and its success is demonstrated by the simple fact that you’ve arrived here and are reading this right now!

If you would like some help to Search Engine Optimise the pages on your own web site, so that you stand out from the crowd and ahead of your competition, then please contact us for further information

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By urbanhaze | Also posted in IT & Computers, Search Engines | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

Online Shopping Carts

26/10/2011 – 11:55 am

E-commerce TemplatesIf you’ve got a business and you’re looking to sell your products online, then we can help.

We use a variety of different software to suit individual business needs.

But one of the most popular e-commerce tools we use is E-commerce Templates.
This software is cost effective and incredibly adaptable to suit the needs of most businesses.

It does require some technical skill to get it set up, but once up and running, provides a solid platform for businesses to sell their products online.

Urban Haze has plenty of experience of setting up E-commerce Templates sites and can help handle all the technicalities to turn your needs into a high quality online shop, leaving you to concentrate on running your business, whilst your online shop generates an additional revenue stream.

If you’d like further information about us help you set up an online store, please contact us

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By urbanhaze | Also posted in E-commerce, Urban Haze | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Renewing Your Mobile Phone Contract

28/09/2011 – 3:03 pm

iPhone 4

Well my Vodafone Mobile Contract is finally up for renewal.
I’ve written a couple of blogs about Tethering which have proven to be quite popular, so hopefully this article will help advise other Vodafone customers (and those of other networks) about renewing their contract.

Contract Renewal Date – Put it in your Diary!

The first thing of note is that Vodafone, like many other Mobile Phone companies don’t really go out of their way to tell you that your contract is about to expire – sure they’ll tell you when you’re signing up and they’ll tell you if you ring and ask – but don’t expect any kind of pro-active notification, they’ll just let it expire, then roll over to the next month (beware your services and pricing may change once your contract is expired)

So my first tip is to make a note in your diary of the contract expiry date, and also put in another reminder 3-4 weeks before it’s up to give you time to sort things out.

Do Your Homework

First Have a look round on the web and see what the competitors are offering – generally I find that Three, Orange, Tesco and GiffGaff tend to offer good deals that will push Vodafone (don’t forget O2, although I find that they do tend to be quite similar to Vodafone in pricing)

Ask local friends on those other networks what the reception/coverage is like and ask them what kind of deals they get!

Next have a good look at your Vodafone account, recent bills and see what you actually use currently.
Don’t forget, if your contract originally included a handset, then you can always keep using that handset – which will now is paid for as soon as your contract is up, so your monthly cost should come down!

See What They’ll Offer You

3-4 weeks before your contract is up, get in touch with Customer Services (191 on your Vodafone handset)

The automated service will ask you to enter your PIN

Then choose option 3 for “Upgrades or Anything Else”

Then choose option 2 “If you’re thinking about leaving us” (not option 1 for “upgrades”)
I think this is kind of critical – the assumption is that you’re going to leave, not that you want to carry on and upgrade.

The Vodafone Call Centre rep will ask you some more security questions (if you ask me, this is overkill, as even my bank only asks for my card and PIN, Vodafone knows its you from your mobile number already, asks for a PIN and then for some reason asks further security questions!!) then you can actually get down to business…

Negotiate

These Call Centre People are nice enough and will do their best for you, but do push them a bit by using the information you’ve gathered on your homework.

They generally don’t offer much different from the prices displayed on the web site, but they will try for you
Please keep in mind that at this level, these people can only do so much, and they do have a job to do, so don’t be rude to them if you don’t get the deal you want!

NEVER ACCEPT THEIR FIRST OFFER

This is the crux, whatever they offer, tell them that it’s not as good as you’ve got elsewhere (ideally your homework in the previous steps will back this up)
And ask them for your PAC code.

Your PAC code is a unique code that allows you to transfer your number to another network, it’ll take a couple of days for them to generate the code and then the PAC code is valid for 3o days.
Note: If you don’t use your PAC code then nothing will change!!

Then Just Wait (don’t forget you’ve got 3-4 weeks before your contract is up!)

This is the stage I’m at, at the moment, so from here on it’s speculation based on previous experience!…

From previous experience, it seems that requesting a PAC code starts some kind of escalation procedure within Vodafone and before long somebody from Vodafone calls your mobile (I’ve know their number show up in caller line ID as 0808 002 4636 It might be worth putting that 0808 number into your contact list, so if they call you, then you’ll be prepared and know what to expect!) to ask why you’re leaving and to see if they can do a better deal.

At this point put on your very best negotiation skills and squeeze them hard – baby!

I’ve also seen that the same procedure of escalation and calls from a retention department after requesting a PAC works with Three, I’d imagine other networks will be similar.

What to do Next?

So far, every time they’ve called me, they’ve been in a position to offer a better deal than than I could get when calling customer services.

In the past I’ve known the “Retentions Department” Rep offer a better deal and say that this is a one-time deal that you have to take here and now – to me this is a bit like high pressure sales.

Up to now I’ve always given in with Vodafone Rep who’s offered me a better deal, but it’s up to you if you want to take the money and run and try your luck for an even better deal still!
This is where your homework will come in handy again, know what deals you can get from competitors, so that you’ve always got a worst case scenario to fall back on even if you leave your current provider.
The only counter arguments they’ll have to that is that their network offers clearer reception or more coverage – which may be true, but you’ll know this if you’ve asked your friends on those other networks – and don’t forget, you can always counter that argument by telling them that you spend a lot of time in an area where you KNOW that a competitor offers better reception than they do – say at work or something!

Having said that I’ve given up at that second step with Vodafone, I’ve had the same thing with Three, but at that stage I declined their “Retentions Department” one-time-offer
And I can tell you that it was followed up a few days later by another call (let’s call them the “Super-Retentions Department”) who offered an even better deal still.
To be fair to Three, that deal was pretty amazing, and the poor chap tried so hard- and I would have taken his offer had Three’s reception not been so poor in the area at the time!

Summary (So Far)

Well, I’m in the middle of this experience, so it’s not over yet, and I’ll be posting updates as things progress.

What I can say is that I’m a little disappointed with both Vodafone and Three – the fact that they have “Retentions Departments” and the fact that you have to go through this process means that most of the time, unless you follow these steps, you’re not getting the best deal from them that you could – which means that you’re being ripped off and they know it!
As a loyal Vodafone Customer for over a decade now I’m a little annoyed by this, but I’ll play the game one more time – maybe this year it’s time for a change!

One more point of note – it’s rumoured that a new iPhonewill be announced next week (whether this is true or not, and whether it’ll be the iPhone 4s or iPhone 5 remains to be seen). If it is announced, then no doubt it’ll be a while before it reaches the UK – but this may will come into my negotiations :)

Keep Tuned for updates which will be posted below

Update 1: the following morning (Thursday)
Shock, horror, just missed a call from that same 0808 number. They didn’t leave a message!

Update 2: Thursday afternoon:
Another call from the 0808 number – asked why I was leaving and sure enough said they would check with their manager then came back with a much better deal than Customer Services could do.  As I explained, unfortunately I wasn’t able to take that offer at the time as I didn’t have my notes with the deal from Three, so wasn’t sure if it was better or not.  Sure enough true to form, the nice lady couldn’t keep the deal and explained that she couldn’t ring me back because apparently their calling system was automated, and if they had to call back every customer they’d only get through half as many – a nice honest touch I think!

So this is a soft kind of  high pressure sales.  Sadly I had to decline the offer, and “hoped” they would find a chance to call me back.  So, I might have blown it here, but let’s just see if Vodafone is as persistent as Three were!

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By urbanhaze | Also posted in iPhone | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

BT Infinity in Saddleworth

14/09/2011 – 1:54 pm

Urban Haze LogoAs mentioned in a previous blogpost, high speed Fibre Broadband is coming to Saddleworth

Update: Some Saddleworth Cabinets are enabled now some are delayed

So this has kicked off my investigations into the best deal for me personally.

I’ve tweeted Zen, ADSL24 and BT about the previous post – no response from any of them yet.

At the moment, BT Infinity Unlimited still seems to suit me best.
I decided to ring BT for more details.

They did confirm that it was an 18 month contract, and there seemed to be no room for negotiation on that.

And clarified that it’s not actually a better deal for new customers than existing ones, it’s the same deal – one is with line rental, so that explains that!

BT also advised that it is possible to have a static IP address for an extra £5 a month, but only if you take business broadband rather than residential.

The business services are the same as the residential services as far as upload and download speeds go, but the business ones are a bit more expensive, so I asked what’s the difference?

The nice salesperson explained that business services are generally on 24 month contracts, and they get priority on fault repairs.

After the call I realised that business isn’t really such a good deal compared to residential.
Basically the only benefit I can see is that it allows me to add additional service of a fixed IP at an extra premium.
Having said that you can always use Dynamic DNS to achieve almost the same thing.

One the downside, business broadband means signing up for an additional 6 months contract, and does cost a bit more each month.
For that, you get priority on fault repairs.  But think about that for a moment – who is responsible for the “faults”?

In essence aren’t you paying more & tied in for a longer period of time just to pay BT to fix stuff that *THEY* break faster?!

 

One useful thing that BT told me is that’s worth keeping in mind, if you are changing Broadband Suppliers, you’re going to need something called a MAC code.  This is a unique code that allows your line and broadband service to be identified and transferred from one supplier to another.

By law your current supplier must supply you with a MAC code within 5 days of you asking for it – requesting the code does NOT terminate your contract, it only provides the facility to change.

More really great information about Broadband MAC codes can be found by clicking this this link

Orange did duly provide a MAC code 2 days after I requested it, although they also got somebody to call me to ask why I was leaving Orange.  I simply told him the service had got slower and slower – he made no attempt to try and improve things, and just politely thanked me!

 

Do also remember that if you’ve signed up for broadband contract with your current provider, you’ll either have to wait for the terms of that contract to be up before changing, or pay to get out of it (hence my slight concern over BT’s lengthier contract terms)

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By urbanhaze | Also posted in Saddleworth | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Saddleworth Village Olympics

09/09/2011 – 7:40 pm

Saddleworth Village Olympics LogoIf you’ve not heard of it, the Saddleworth Village Olympics is an annual event that’s been held in Saddleworth for 26 years.
It’s a three week event that starts tomorrow.

It brings children aged 7 to 17 from all around the area of Saddleworth to compete in various sporting events.

The Saddleworth Villages are grouped into seven teams that compete against each other:

  • Delph & Denshaw
  • Diggle
  • Dobcross
  • Greenfield
  • Lydgate, Grasscroft, Friezland & Grotton
  • Scouthead Austerlands & Springhead
  • Uppermill
Urban Haze provides the web site for the Village Olympics, and we’ll be there to do some photography (probably a few thousand pictures!)
For the next few weeks, you’ll notice Village Olympics News appearing in the Urban Haze Tweets.
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By urbanhaze | Also posted in Digital Photography, Saddleworth, Urban Haze | Tagged | Comments (0)

Saddleworth Broadband & New Fibre

28/08/2011 – 7:19 pm
BT Engineer Laying Fibre

BT Engineer Laying Fibre in Uppermill

High(er) speed Broadband is coming to Saddleworth!

You may think you’ve already got high speed broadband with ADSL, but what we’re talking about here is something called “Fibre”, sometimes known as FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet)

What’s the difference?
Well, there are currently two main Broadband Internet services found in here Saddleworth, either ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) or LLU (Local Loop Unbundled)

Fibre is slightly different.
All of these services use your existing copper telephone wire that runs from your house to a telegraph pole and then to the nearest cabinet in the street.
FTTC then uses Fibre Optic cables to connect that that cabinet to the telephone exchange.
Generally speaking, ADSL use slower copper wire to connect the cabinet to the exchange.

The difference Fibre offers to your broadband speed is significant.
Of course, the actual speed you get will depend on a number of other factors such as the service you purchase and distance from the cabinet and number of other people using the service, but these are the generally quoted maximum speeds:

Service Max Download Speed Max Upload Speed
ADSL/LLU  12 Mb/s  0.75 Mb/s
Fibre  40 Mb/s  10 Mb/s

As the Internet grows and people use more things like video online, there are more and more requirements for higher speeds, both for download and for upload.
I have tried Fibre at other people’s premises already and found it to be noticeably faster than ADSL, ADSL Max, ADSL Plus or LLU.

In time, Fibre will be accepted as the standard “High Speed Internet” and compared to ADSL just as ADSL is compared to Dial up now.

 

Fibre is coming to Saddleworth on September 30th 2011

Recently I saw a BT engineer laying Fibre cable on High Street in Uppermill, he was a pleasant chap so we had a chat about what he was doing.
He mentioned there was a blockage further up the street by the Hardware shop, but once that was fixed, then that’d complete the job.
The next day, the poor chap was outside the Hardware shop in the rain, no doubt unblocking things and finishing the job!

The latest expected activation date for Saddleworth provided by BT is September 30th, although the date has been put back a couple of times already (which has kind of messed up some of the resellers’ marketing campaigns!)  Having said that, now that the cable has been laid, and is only about a month away, I think it’s we can reasonably expect them to keep to this schedule now.
Note – BT call their Fibre package “BT Infinity” and tend not to mention the word “Fibre” for some reason.

You can check if you can get Fibre, and if/when it’s expected by using this online Infinity check with BT

Things to know about Fibre in Saddleworth:

You may have seen some companies advertising the service of Fibre coming to Saddleworth.
But you should be aware that it’s actually BT who provide the exchange, cabinet and cable to your house.
Other companies then resell this service and in some cases are able to offer better deals than BT themselves can.  They may also provide their own engineer to do the setup at your premises.

But do take care when comparing Fibre Broadband Service Providers – cost is not the only consideration.  You may also want to think about things like:

  • Your Existing Setup
  • Installation Service
  • Included Router or Modem
  • Maximum Allowed Download Speed
  • Maximum Allowed Upload Speed
  • Inclusion of other services (such as Telephone Calls, WiFi, Static IP Address, Webspace)
  • Contract Length
  • Monthly Usage Limit (offpeak and on-peak)
  • Any Traffic Shaping or Port Blocking
  • Tech Support Availability
  • Call Centre location
As I work as an Internet business from home, I’m quite a demanding user, so am looking for the fastest: (40Mb/s down and 10p Mb/s up) service
So far I’ve found the following options:
Provider
Package		 Monthly Usage Limit Contract Length  Extras / Notes Setup Cost Monthly Cost
BT
More Broadband and Calls
with superfast BT Infinity broadband		 40GB 18 Months Includes BT Home Hub Router
Free Weekend Calls
Free BT Openzone or BT Fon WiFi Access		 Free £7.50 for 3 Months
Then £18 per month
BT
Unlimited Broadband and Call
with superfast BT Infinity broadband		 Unlimited 18 Months Includes BT Home Hub Router
Free Anytime Calls
Free BT Openzone or BT Fon WiFi Access		 Free £20 for 3 months
Then £28 per month
BT
Superfast BT Infinity broadband		 Unlimited 18 Months This is if you have a BT Phone Line Already
Includes BT Home Hub Router
Free BT Openzone or BT Fon WiFi Access		 Free £25.60 a month
ADSL 24
Fibre 15 Pro 		 15GB Peak (8am – Midnight)
Unlimited Off Peak		 12 Months Includes Fibre Modem
Includes Static IP
200 MB webspace
Unlimited e-mail accounts		 £49 £21.90 a month
ADSL 24
Fibre 30 Pro 		 30GB Peak (8am – Midnight)
Unlimited Off Peak		 12 Months Includes Fibre Modem
Includes Static IP
200 MB webspace
Unlimited e-mail accounts		 £49 £27.90 a month
ADSL 24
Fibre 60 Pro 		 60GB Peak (8am – Midnight)
Unlimited Off Peak		 12 Months Includes Fibre Modem
Includes Static IP
200 MB webspace
Unlimited e-mail accounts		 £49 £39.90 a month
ADSL 24
Fibre 90 Pro 		 90GB Peak (8am – Midnight)
Unlimited Off Peak		 12 Months Includes Fibre Modem
Includes Static IP
200 MB webspace
Unlimited e-mail accounts		 £49 £50.90 a month
Zen
Fibre Office		 200GB 12 Months Requires Additional Router (starting at £50)
Includes 1 or 8 Static IP Addresses
Includes 11 POP3 Mailboxes
2GB webspace		 £75 £55 a month
Zen
Fibre Office Plus		 500GB 12 Months Requires Additional Router (starting at £50)
Includes 1 or 8 Static IP Addresses
Includes 11 POP3 Mailboxes
2GB webspace		 £75 £65 a month

It’s worth noting that this is only how I’ve interpreted each supplier’s offers from reading them on their web sites.
You should check each provider’s details for yourself, and note that this table is subject to errors and omissions, and also that “Unlimited” usually does mean subject to some kind of limit such as a fair usage policy  :-)

Please also keep in mind that all of these services require you to have a BT phone line at your premises, so you will need to consider that as part of your budget as well.

 

At the moment it seems like BT is offering the best deal for me personally, as they’re the only provider to offer unlimited usage (subject to a fair usage policy)
- only because I live on the Internet day and night!
On the downside, I don’t like the fact they’re asking for an 18 month contract, and it also does seem like existing BT customers like me don’t get such a good deal as new customers – so I think it’d be worth a call to BT to clarify that, as I’d quite like Free Anytime Calls and cheaper pricing for the first 3 months!!

I’d also be interested to know if BT can offer a static IP as their competitors do, and if they do any kind of port blocking or traffic shaping – probably these geeky technical considerations will not affect the average user, but I like to know the whole story!

At this time, from just browsing their web sites, it’s not so clear what Zen or ADSL 24 are offering in addition to what BT are offering to justify their higher prices or restrictions on usage, but again, it might be worth a phone call to see what they say about that.

Like anything else, the early adopters of a service or product usually pay more than those that patiently hang around, so do keep in mind that over time it’s likely that these and other service providers will offer even better deals than these.  Having said that, these prices are not unique to Saddleworth and Fibre has been provided to other areas for some time now, so pricing and competition has already had some time to settle down.

 

I’ve also found this rather good explanation of Fibre and comparison of prices from Think Broadband, although their prices don’t seem to always match those of the suppliers, so again, it’s worth just using this information as a guide and doing your own research to confirm the details and get the best deal to suit you.

 

As soon as Fibre becomes available in Saddleworth, I’ll be calling BT, Zen, ADSL24 and perhaps some other service providers to find out more about their services and will write about them here.

If anyone has had any experiences of Fibre already, or can offer any advice about these or any other service providers, please do comment below and share your experiences.

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By urbanhaze | Also posted in Saddleworth, Urban Haze | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (6)