There are two types of broadband connection available in the Ash Vale area:

• If your house is connected to the local cable TV network, you can rent a cable broadband connection from Virgin Media. This will normally be your best choice if your telephone service is also supplied by Virgin. Three different speeds are available (2Mbs 4Mbps and 10Mbps). See this Virgin Media broadband page (opens in a new window) for more details.
   
• If your telephone line is provided by BT, you can have ADSL broadband (even if your calls are routed by another telecoms provider). The speed is advertised by most ADSL providers is "up to 8Mbps". In practise, because of the distance between Ash Vale and the BT exchange (which is in Aldershot), the maximum speed will normally be between 0.5Mbps and 2MBps. In contrast, a dial-up connection runs at a maximum of 56kbps.

You can choose from a wide range of suppliers, all of whom make the necessary arrangements with BT. Some suppliers offer a low monthly fee but charge for converting your line and do not provide any equipment. Others offer free conversion and a free ADSL modem but charge a higher monthly fee or have a longer initial contract period. Check whether the headline price quoted applied for the whole contract period or just for the first few months. See this ADSL guide for a list of suppliers.

In some areas of Ash Vale (e.g. near the Swan inn), it can be difficult to get broadband working at all because of the distance to the Aldershot telephone exchange. If this appears to be the case for you, please consult us before cancelling your ADSL contract. We can often improve the signal by installing an ADSL filter at your master soecket, or by improving your telephone extension wiring.

If you order cable broadband, NTL will provide the equipment, which is either a set-top box or (more usually) a cable modem. You can connect a single computer directly to the modem using a USB or Ethernet cable. To connect more than one computer, you will also need networking equipment, which we can provide and install.

If you order ADSL broadband, you will need either an ADSL modem or an ADSL router. You will also need either an ADSL faceplate for your BT master socket, or one microfilter for each used telephone socket on the line. Most ADSL providers will give you a free ADSL modem and two microfilters when you sign up.

The differences between a modem and a router are:

• An ADSL modem is cheaper, offers no protection against viruses, and is intended to connect one computer only (although it is possible for other computers to connect to the Internet through the first computer, we don't advise this);
   
• An ADSL router costs more, protects your computers against certain types of incoming virus attack, and allows several computers in your house to share the broadband connection. The computers can also share other resources (such as a printer). The computers are connected to the router either by network cable, or by wireless. A wireless connection is ideal for laptop computers, or where one or more of the computers is a long distance from the router.

As a guide to prices, we can install broadband for you (using equipment supplied by you or your ADSL broadband provider) for £47 upwards, depending on whether you need an extra filter and/or changes to your extension wiring. We can supply and install a wireless router and connect two computers for about £150.