Q

Am I committed to sign up for ADSL, when the exchange is upgraded, because I registered with the BT pre-registration scheme?

A

NO, absolutely not, the pre-registration is without any commitment, or contracts, it is merely used by BT to judge what exchanges to upgrade in what order.

Q

 How much faster are digital ADSL services compared to my 56k modem?

A

ADSL services come in different bandwidth packages, the lowest/cheapest package is 10 times faster than your 56k modem.

Q

So if it's 10 times faster, is it 10 times more expensive?

A

No its not much more that a unmetered 56k dialup (currently unmetered 56k dialups are around £15 a month and ADSL starts at £22 a month).

Q

What other advantages are there with ADSL?

A

Well, for starters, it's "always on", so there is no connecting or disconnecting, along with the huge speed difference, the other main advantage, is it does not tie up your regular telephone line when you are online.

Q

If my PC is always connected to the internet, isn't it open to hackers.

A

Yes and No, Yes you are connected permanently, so any hacker can get onto your system more easily, NO, because there are plenty of good FREE firewall products that prevent this from happening (Windows XP has a firewall built in, or there are free firewall products (for home use) here:   www.kerio.com   or   here:  www.zonelabs.com