Internet Newsletter for Lawyers |
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Broadband access to the internet allows a faster connection to the world wide web. ADSL, or Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines, is one of the newer technologies that promises high speed, high capacity connectivity. It uses a standard BT telephone line, but in such a way that it can carry data up to 10 to 40 times faster than a conventional dial up connection. It is "always on", which means quicker connection times. It also allows the possibility of home users connecting to the servers using virtual private network ("VPN") technology. An ADSL line can carry data at the same time as voice, so no more annoying engaged tones if someone else is using your telephone line for surfing!
Early adopters of this new technology grumbled about difficulties with the system but now that ADSL has been available for 18 months, my firm decided to look at the packages on offer. Recent press indicated that some of the teething problems had been sorted, and new, more competitive pricing structures had been introduced.
The firm has a Novell/Windows 2000 server based network with over 50 users. We use a dedicated ISDN telephone line, with an Equiinet Netpilot router/firewall that links our 50 pcs to the outside world. Occasionally, up to 5 people might be on line at the same time. With our property department using the on line conveyancing services now available, and more work arriving and leaving the building as email, we were looking for an upgrade to provide more bandwidth, at a reasonable cost.
After checking the alternatives (including upgrading the ISDN line, cable services, leased line and the new "wireless" systems), we opted for ADSL, with a programmed router that could pick up the ISDN line if the ADSL service failed.
Some fee earners also have standard dial up accounts at home, and were hoping for a fast link to the office systems to access documents stored on our central servers.
A second visit to the web site to order the new service proved fruitless, with the site failing to handle the order. Several telephone calls later, to a number of BT operators, to cancel the 2nd telephone line, and to activate ADSL on the remaining line left me feeling slightly uneasy. The room for error seemed too large for comfort.
However, a series of automated emails arrived, the right telephone line was deactivated and an Alcatel USB ADSL modem arrived, with a couple of "splitters" that plug into the existing telephone sockets. To my delight, the instructions were comprehensive and clear, and, to my surprise, it all worked first time after minimal installation time. I can now connect at about 300 kbps and (at the time of writing) have no cause to complain at all.
This is somewhat more of a saga. The Business 2000 plus package from BT promises download speeds of up to 2 mbps, and a contention ratio of 20:1. Again, the office is in an ADSL served exchange area, and ordering a new line to carry the ADSL services took place without a hitch.
Unfortunately, BT handed the order over to BT Openworld, which deals exclusively with broadband accounts, and the process slowed to a halt for several weeks. It seems that the "file" was forgotten for a while, and after several chaser telephone calls, BT Openworld started the familiar trickle of automated emails that chart the progress of the order. Although the home user account can be self-installed, this business package requires a visit from an engineer. The "preferred" installation date was not honoured, with no prior warning, apology or alternative date.
Several calls to the order management line seems to indicate that one of the major complaints highlighted by the press - insufficient communication between the different departments at BT - remains an issue. Several operators could not tell me why the ADSL line had not been activated. It now transpires that the exchange is at full capacity, and the order cannot progress until the capacity is increased. That work was timetabled for 2 June.
This date passed without action or comment, but another chaser call to the order management line revealed that no allowance had been made for the bank holiday weekend!
Optimistically, the operator offered a second appointment for an engineer to visit. At the time of writing, that visit is imminent. In the meantime we pay for the privilege of a telephone line we cannot use, and we are yet to benefit from the projected cost savings of winding down the ISDN line. Hints to the order management centre that a "gesture" may be appropriate to compensate for wasted time and expense have not been heeded.
Will we achieve ADSL? Will it live up to expectations? All will be revealed in the next edition of this newsletter!
Keith Arrowsmith is an Associate with Hartley Linfoot & Whitlam, specialising in intellectual property transactions for the entertainment and information technology sectors. Keith's handbook for the performing arts was published by Methuen earlier this year. He is also the firm's IT Manager. Email Keitha@hlw-solicitors.co.uk.
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