These days a lot of people are looking to get fibre optic broadband, but there is another option available to you, that means you will have no need to pay huge bills, no Virgin Media bundles, no satellite dish or anything thats usually associated with broadband.
ADSL2 is something you may or may not have heard about, but its something that can give you a fast and stable internet connection,
What exactly is ADSL2 broadband?
ADSL2 basically stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line 2; ADSL was first produced as an alternative to using dial-up that consisted of using telephone lines and modems. The system works by carrying data through copper telephone lines, but it happens to be quite a bit faster than that of dial-up as your phone line will not be engaged while you use the internet thanks to the fact it is split in two.
Why ADSL2 is faster
Although fibre optic broadband can be pretty fast, most people are unaware that ADSL2 is so much faster than plain old, bog-standard ADSL. This type of broadband turns out to be faster because you can make use of speeds of up to 24Mbps. The fact of the matter is that if you want to enjoy the fastest possible broadband speeds, you need to live in a house that is close to a DSL Access Multiplexer or DSLAM (You know those green 2 door boxes you often see BT engineers working in? thats a DSLAM). The close you are to a DSLAM, the faster your ADSL2 speed will be because the data wont have as far to travel.
If you happen to live more than 2 kilometres from the DSLAM, you may suffer slower speeds, and its then that you may have to consider fibre optic broadband, but if theres one just around the corner, you may be in luck.
Before you decide to sign up for ADSL2, please make sure there is a DSLAM nearby, so you have more of an idea if its going to be worth your while opting for this form of broadband rather than fibre optic.
If you happen to live in a village somewhere, chances are your internet connection isnt going to be great, and its likely youll have to wait a good few years before you can even think about getting fibre optic broadband. Because youre bound to be quite near a telephone exchange, you may want to seriously consider using ADSL2 as it could well give you one of the most stable internet connections youre likely to experience.
The Cost Of ADSL2
We are all aware of the battle between broadband providers, they constantly monitor each others prices and those of their competition in order to give us the cheapest deal possible. Right now, because fibre optic broadband is still pretty much in its infancy, it can be quite expensive, but even if you do manage to get a great deal, remember there are set up costs too.
ADSL2 broadband packages start from £3.25, which is considerably lower than fibre optic broadband, and ‘Traditional broadband too. Remember the charge will not include line rental, so you need to make sure you get a good deal on that.
The cost of the ADSL2 deal is likely to include approximately 20 GB of data per month, and up to 24Mbps as well. This all seems pretty good to me, especially if you already have a phone line installed. There are a few unlimited data packages available on ADSL2, but you will probably have to pay quite a bit more for it, in fact the package could cost as much as ‘Regular broadband. But if you like to stay online and download music, videos and more, then unlimited data may be welcome.
What its good for
ADSL2 is good for those of you who love to play online games, stream music and movies as well as take part in a bit of video conferencing from time to time as well. This is because ADSL2 offers you faster broadband speeds with a more reliable connection, if you live close to one of those green boxes anyway.
If you have ever played online games, you will know how important it is to maintain a constant connection. Any interruption can lose you a place in the game or interrupt what you were doing, which is bad enough as it is. Because ADSL2 involves sending data down copper wires, the connection is a lot more stable, and it wont be affected by the weather.
Even though some internet service providers maintain that weather does not affect an internet connection, it does. If you live in an area thats prone to bad weather, its quite likely you will have difficulty getting and staying online from time to time. This is where ADSL2 can make your life just that little bit easier, by giving you a much more stable connection, no matter what the weathers doing.
Increasing broadband demands
More and more people are now hooked up to the internet, and they are looking for faster more reliable connections that mean they can stay online for hours without their connection failing.
No Virgin Media fibre optic cable laid in your street would not be a major problem if everyone could achieve a stable broadband connection, but while there are still speed issues (Whether or not they are the fault of the ISP), Virgin Media options look very attractive.
Affordability
When it comes to affordability, ADSL2 is likely to be the cheapest option. This is because its reliable, and its available just about all over the UK. If you have a phone line, you can probably get ADSL2. Whats more is if youre not looking for really fast broadband speeds, ADLSL2 may seem even more attractive, as theres simply no need to pay for a very fast service if youre simply not going to be using it.
As you can see, ADSL2 is a great way to get connected to the internet, proving that if youre within 2 kilometres of a DSLAM, its unlikely you will need optical fibre broadband at all.
Phil Turner needed an alternative to fibre optic broadband because there were no Virgin Media or BT cables laid in his village. He realized that ADSL2 would meet his needs after checking through comparison sites like uSwitch.
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