BroadBand Technicals

Odd question I appreciate

Does ADSL/Broadband have some technical reason why a telephone line is required to provide it?

IE why do you have to have a landline service and broadband if you ONLY want the broadband?

Is it down to the providers BT/TalkTalk etc, or down to Ofcom, or someone else?

Am just curious to know

ADSL is delivered along twisted pair wires. Given that a phone line is twisted pair and conveniently goes between the home and a central point (an exchange) it seems to be a good candidate.

You need to pay line rental (for repairs/maintenance of the twisted pair wires).

I suspect the reasons are practical rather than purely technical... you need a wire between you and the point where all the kit is installed (let's call it an "exchange") and that wire needs a number associated with it so the user can be identified.

Why re-invent the wheel?

There's no technical problem with "naked" broadband, but the cost of installing and maintaining the wire still needs to come from somewhere, so the same comment applies. You have to have a line and the contract to pay those costs, but it's not compulsory to make any phone calls over it. Or even to connect a phone to it!

In reply to a post by john2007:

You need to pay line rental (for repairs/maintenance of the twisted pair wires).

What repairs or maintenance!

The pole being demolished, cable cut, branch bringing down the line, water ingress, business rates for poles, cabinets and buildings floor space in the exchange for the cable termination racks and more ...

In reply to a post by NilSatisOptimum:

What repairs or maintenance!

You'd prefer to pay the full cost of callout, investigation, tracing and repair next time your line goes crackly?

billford,

so "naked" broadband is possible, but "more" expensive?

I mean if we look at it this way right now my parents pay BT £9.99 per month upfront, to cover the line rental

we then have BT Broadband at about another £10.00 per month.

What would anyone estimate is the "true" cost of this rather then the current "deal" cost of the same services?

I'd say naked DSL would be slightly cheaper maybe £1 if you're lucky

but no ISP that i no off does that service.

Perfectly possible.

In Canada, Bell will give you just an ADSL connection. You can't make calls - in fact there isn't even a plug on the sockets for your phone to connect to.

In reply to a post by CJT:

What would anyone estimate is the "true" cost of this rather then the current "deal" cost of the same services?

That's a question for BT, they work in their own mysterious ways