All you need to know is the postcode & house # of the property you're planning to move to, enter that into the BT ADSL checker to get a good idea of speeds available.

Frogmella,

I'm not sure what you mean by exchange-only line. Can an EO line use only voice? If, when viewing the new premises, the existing occupier doesn't happen to know if the line is EO or at what speed the Internet connection currently runs (believe me, there are a great many people who don't know), what can you, as potential purchaser of the property, do? Just walk away?

Exchange only line is a phone line that goes direct to the exchange and not via a street cabinet. Some areas its a whole village like this, in others is just a handful and some areas its 1 in 5 so random sampling is not a good idea.

If they do not know then ask for their number. Use the BT checker, input the number and it will return either a Cabin et Number with the various option or no cabinet number and no FTTC. It is as simple as that.

Yes, I've already done that and, as I say, all results indicate good FTTC speeds. Whilst the tests were on dummy addresses, it seems to me that most other addresses in what's actually quite a small village would also enjoy FTTC speeds. That's not the issue here, though. What I'm needing to know is why an ISP such as IDnet cannot point to the exchange and say whether a property - any property - within, say, a km of the exchange and normally served for voice by that exchange can be provided with FTTC by them or not. Sure, it's going to depend on cabinet status, but surely IDnet would, in any event, have to eventually answer the question I'm asking, when I'd order the new connection?

Ah, I understand that now. You raise a good point.

If the BT checker (post 2) shows FTTC being available for a particular property then Idnet should be able to supply a FTTC service at that address...simples.

I wish it were as simple as that. My brother's Internet connection is so bad it's virtually unusable, and I myself don't happen to possess any portable Internet devices, so performing a check 'on the spot' wouldn't be feasible. No other relatives of mine there have a computer, let alone an Internet connection. (I sometimes wonder why on earth I'm actually still planning such a move, but it's a long story!). Perhaps I'd have to persuade the seller's estate agent to allow me access to one of their desktop machines or to one of their handheld devices? Or perhaps I could visit the local library, to see if it provides Internet services, and for non-members as well as members?

But what if the existing resident doesn't know at what speed his/her connection runs, or even has a broadband connection?

The user will have an ADDRESS and this is what needs to be used rather than the phone number.

In reply to a post by meditator:

Ah, I understand that now. You raise a good point.

FTTC cannot be supplied by any ISP on EO lines, for technical reasons at the exchange.

The cabinet number appears on the line above the BT Wholesale checker estimates table. If not there, then it is EO.

The full address is usually reliable in that checker, but the existing phone number of any prospective purchase is better. The pure postcode checker is very unreliable as different parts of a postcode can be served by different cabinets, and even some EO. The pure postcode option only reports on the first cabinet for that postcode in its database.

Is there any harm in telling us the exchange? There are some people on this forum who have access to detailed information.