FTTC

Hi Folks!

I am thinking of getting BT's Infinity as they seem to offer the best value for money when bundled with phone line. Can anyone comment on the suitability of it for Mac users and can I use a Time Capsule as the modem/router or do I have to use the Homehub? Also how bad are P2P downloads in off peak times?

Many thanks,

Adam

In reply to a post by astanden:

Hi Folks!

I am thinking of getting BT's Infinity as they seem to offer the best value for money when bundled with phone line. Can anyone comment on the suitability of it for Mac users and can I use a Time Capsule as the modem/router or do I have to use the Homehub? Also how bad are P2P downloads in off peak times?

Many thanks,

Adam

Hi there,

I'm currently using Infinity on a late 2009 (2.26 C2D) Mini without any issues.
WRT to the Time Capsule, yes you should be able to use it to replace your HomeHub, as long as it is what's classed as a "cable modem"; EG that it supports PPPoE.
Remember, if you choose to use the TC, then you will need to enter the following config details into the TC's pages:
username: [email protected]
password: anything you like as long as you don't leave it blank

Oh, one last thing; don't install "BT desktop help" from the included CD - It won't work on a Mac as it's a Windows CD.

I hope this info helps.

...Oh, one last thing; don't install "BT desktop help" from the included CD - It won't work on a Mac as it's a Windows CD.

The CD (v1.0) says it works with Windows and Apple Mac OS 10.2.4 to 10.6.x.

I'm not a Mac user, so can't verify if it does work.

Should have added-

You don't need to use the CD, even with a Windows PC. It contains utilities most people don't really need.

I've been using infinty for about 6 months now without much problems. There was a period that the internet was unavailable for perhaps 1-2 mins each day usually around 10am for some reason but that appears to have been fixed. I get 4.6mbs dl here. This works out at about 20mins for 4.5gb download. We use a mac pro, macbook, iPod touch, iPhone, ps3 and a (cough) Dell laptop, all without problems. There is also an old squeezebox music player connected by wire. I'm using the 40gb capped option which is a bit restrictive and considering upping to unlimited. I've had no trouble with the router.
I don't use a time capsule so I can't comment.

Edited by stniuk (Sat 27-Aug-11 12:17:21)

How come you can get Infinity with a 4.6Mbps D/L?

My speed from the BT Speed Test was 14.6Mbps and BT wouldn't let me order Infinity. However, opted for the so called 'With Fibre' option.

Getting 26Mbps reliably.

BT needs to get their act together.

In reply to a post by G3UZF:

How come you can get Infinity with a 4.6Mbps D/L?

Given how long he said it takes to download a 4.5GB file, I think the other poster is getting muddled with bits & bytes.
4.6MB/s (i.e. 4.5 Mega-Bytes per second) would be equivalent to 36Mbps and could download a 4.5GB DVD in around 30 minutes (and would be close to the current top speed for a FTTC connection).

In reply to a post by astanden:

Hi Folks!

I am thinking of getting BT's Infinity as they seem to offer the best value for money when bundled with phone line. Can anyone comment on the suitability of it for Mac users and can I use a Time Capsule as the modem/router or do I have to use the Homehub? Also how bad are P2P downloads in off peak times?

Many thanks,

Adam

You do not have to use the Homehub, I use an Apple Airport extreme and it works very well. I have quite a few devices connected both wired and wireless. You will have to use the supplied modem as the Time capsule is a router only. Connect WAN port of TC to the Openreach modem and setup PPPoE in the TC setup, username [email protected], no password required.

The Openreach engineers will install the HH but as soon as they left I swapped it for the AE. My setup has been working fine since it was installed on the 8th April this year.

Yes after a bit of thought it's bytes it is showing, but I am a mac user so.....

Thanks guys,

Will ponder for a few more days. Still not sure if P2P is reasonably usable off peak.

Adam