Posted: 19th Sep, 2008 By: MarkJ
UPDATE 20th Sep: Some further details indicate that the trial is currently limited to customers on the Paddington exchange. In addition there is a cap on the number that will be accepted of somewhere between 20 and 30. Credits to drsox for the info.Popular UK ISP
Be Broadband (
O2) has invited members to join a 30 day trial of its new line-bonding service, which will combined two telephone lines via one ADSL2+ router. Naturally a single
Be Broadband connection delivers download speeds of 'up to' 24Mbps, while the new bonding method could push this up to a maximum of 40Mbps!
The increased speed will obviously vary, depending on what you currently receive. For example, if you get 10Mbps now then during the trial you could get an average speed of 20Mbps, line quality of the second line allowing:
If the sound of getting up to 40meg excites you then heres what you need to do:
- Contact Be on 0207 479 5029 by Friday 26 September 2008 at the latest to book your place on the trial.
- Once youre confirmed on the trial well even contact BT to order your 2 new telephone lines (incoming calls only) so you dont have to.
- And finally meet us in a pub near our offices to get your new free router.Meeting venue and details will follow once youve contacted us to be part of the trial
For further information on this trial please contact Be by e-mail at:
linebondingtrial@beunlimited.co.uk.
Those choosing to take part in the trial will gain free broadband access for the duration, plus one additional months subscription free; they'll also let you keep the phone lines for a whole year free of charge.
Line bonding is nothing new, although few residential facing products (except pre-broadband ISDN) have attempted to utilise it. Typically customers don't just double the speed they often also double the price by paying for a 2nd line and connection.
It may be worth pointing out that the quality of your first telephone line is usually better than any additional lines added to the same building later on. In our experience the second or third line is usually 20 to 30% slower, although that is a highly anecdotal guesstimate.