Help looking for a solution to a internet access problem

Im looking to buy a flat in a Grade 2 listed building. I love it but it seems that its stuck in the stoneage with regards to Internet access (or cabel/satelite TV for that matter). I cannot do anything to the exteral walls of the building so no satelites or new cables. I've spoken to Virgin Media and they have confirmed the flat can only get "National" dialup broadband via landline and the speed off peak would be 2Mb, peak time I'd be lucky to get any connection!!!

I use the connection mostly for gaming and I'm likely to have a lodger who will also want to play online games at the same time.

I fear there are no solutions to this problem but I really have no experience in this area. I've obviously carried out a few web searches but no joy. Have I missed something?

Thanks for reading.

Avoid Virgin media national at all costs, it is generally heavily contended, i.e. slow at peak.

What does the BT Wholesale Checker on http://www.thinkbroadband.com/btavailability.html say for your telephone number?

Thanks for the reply, I dont have a phone number yet as I am looking to buy the flat but based on the postcode the BT site says the following, which appears to be the same as what Virgin media told me ...

Your exchange is ADSL enabled, and our initial check on your postcode indicates that your line should be able to have an ADSL broadband service that provides a fixed line speed up to 1Mbps. However due to the length of your line the 1Mbps service may require an engineer visit who will, where possible, supply the broadband service.


Our check also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL Max broadband line speed of 2Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 1Mbps and 3.5Mbps.

The actual stable line speed supportable will be determined during the first 10 days of use. This speed may change over time, to ensure line stability is maintained.

If you decide to place an order, a further test will be performed to confirm if your line is suitable for the service you wish to purchase.

In which case pretty much 2 Meg is all you can expect at best from any provider, might be less

Its what I feared ... but thank you for the confirmation.

Oh I have a glimper of hope.

BT have confirmed that the exchange that services the flat I'm interested in is getting an upgrade in June so that BT infinity will be available. They seem to think that although only 2Mb is possible with the current cables with the new cables, and subscription to Infinity, it could be around 30Mb.

Does that sound feasible? or have those pescy sales people got my hopes up?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

If it is confirmed that address is getting Infinity then that is certainly excellent news.

Average speed on BT FTTC's service is over 35Mbps - and that was while there was a 38mb limiter in place, without it averages will be even higher. It's not just sales hype, the new fibre-to-the-cabinet network really does make that big a difference. In addition to pure download and upload speeds, the service also has incredibly consistent pings and low jitter, I personally consider Infinity to be the best consumer broadband available in the country right now, if you can get it.

I would recommend using the BT Retail checker : http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProduc... to confirm the estimated speed and date for Infinity.

Edited by deleted (Tue 01-May-12 22:00:38)

If you are unable to put a satellite or antenna on your building if you have any surrounding land you could use a king post mount and have the satellite installed on that. Not nice to look at, but I'm pretty sure having a satellite dish on the side of your listed property would not look nice at all. I've seen places have satellite dishes installed in this way and it works great, it can of course be blended in with some plants around it so it does not just stick out.

But it's a solution which can be installed right away. If BT are going to install infinity in your area your best bet would be to wait until they install. But having looked into this a bit BT sometimes can be a bit behind on there installs.

Hope this helps.