Getting On Line

What's Needed?

We're going to assume that you have a broadband account either down your telephone line or one of the new fibre services. You will need :

• An Internet Service Provider (ISP) e.g. BT, Plus Net, TalkTalk and many more.
• Hardware - Microfilter - for every plugged in phone you have (not cordless).
• Hardware - VDSL (for fibre) or ADSL (older, copper connection) Router

There must be hundreds of companies competing for your business. We try not to advise on which ISP is best as details change but it's worth having a look to see if their support pages offer support for Macs.

Most will now offer speeds of up to 70Mbps for fibre (about 8Mbps for the older ADSL) which is plenty fast enough but there are factors such as your telephone line and your distance from the exchange which will affect your speed.

Some will impose download limits but most now offer unlimited downloads.

Most routers will now come with one or two microfilters and all the cables to connect them. Some ISPs offer a free router if you sign up with them.