By: MarkJ - 11 September, 2008 (2:01 PM)
BT's self-installable iPlate (interstitial plate) device, which plugs into your telephone extension box on the wall and adds a choke in series with the ring-wire to filter out RF interference, has won high praise from PC Pro.
The device is already known to improve broadband ADSL connection stability, though its impact upon speed is often debated. Never the less, PC Pro's admittedly anecdotal testing found that two of their own lines saw speed increases of between 1.6 and 1.7Mbps from installing it:
We've covered this before, although BT only recently began distributing the iPlate's for sale. One of best things about them is that they're comparably easy to install and can be purchased for £12.69 inc. VAT from Broadband Buyer:
However those with a greater degree of technical and wiring knowledge may prefer to buy a fully filtered faceplate instead. They're more complicated to install but cost £9.99 inc. VAT from places like Tamar and you won't need an extra microfilter (splitter) to split the line either. Not recommended for those that don't know what they're doing though.
The device is already known to improve broadband ADSL connection stability, though its impact upon speed is often debated. Never the less, PC Pro's admittedly anecdotal testing found that two of their own lines saw speed increases of between 1.6 and 1.7Mbps from installing it:
So why wasn’t I feeling the immediate benefit? Because BT automatically chokes the speed of your line to match your synch speed to improve connection stability – something which is known as your BRAS profile. A quick check on Zen Internet’s brilliant online customer portal confirmed that my BRAS profile was indeed stuck at 2Mb/sec. It can take up to three days for BT’s automated equipment to adjust your BRAS profile once your synch speed improves, but within 36 hours my BRAS had been adjusted to 3.6Mb/sec and I was surfing at vastly improved speeds.
And just to check it wasn’t a complete fluke, my colleague Jonathan Bray has been testing another iPlate on his home connection and has seen his actual throughput improve from 3.2Mb/sec to 4.9Mb/sec – an increase of 53%. In Jon’s words, it’s “gobsmacking”. I wholeheartedly agree.
Neil Scott, from Zen Internet's fault-management team, told PC Pro: “In a small scale trial we performed with early test iPlates, the results where varied from no increase up to 1Mb/sec”.
And just to check it wasn’t a complete fluke, my colleague Jonathan Bray has been testing another iPlate on his home connection and has seen his actual throughput improve from 3.2Mb/sec to 4.9Mb/sec – an increase of 53%. In Jon’s words, it’s “gobsmacking”. I wholeheartedly agree.
Neil Scott, from Zen Internet's fault-management team, told PC Pro: “In a small scale trial we performed with early test iPlates, the results where varied from no increase up to 1Mb/sec”.
We've covered this before, although BT only recently began distributing the iPlate's for sale. One of best things about them is that they're comparably easy to install and can be purchased for £12.69 inc. VAT from Broadband Buyer:
However those with a greater degree of technical and wiring knowledge may prefer to buy a fully filtered faceplate instead. They're more complicated to install but cost £9.99 inc. VAT from places like Tamar and you won't need an extra microfilter (splitter) to split the line either. Not recommended for those that don't know what they're doing though.
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