Some of you may already know that I fell out of love with BT Internet Nevertime - (oops a little slip there) Anytime, when after being labelled a heavy user (I thought Anytime meant just that) and I wasn't actually that heavy a user, two hours an evening and a few hours on the weekend, after issuing me with a new dial-up number, they then wouldn't allow me to connect in less than 10 goes, and then maximum connection speed was around 49,333, aka they no longer wanted my custom, I do however have a website with them, and really don't want to move it.

SO WHAT ACTION DID BT ANYTIME TAKE?

Firstly, BT started writing to me suggesting that I use BT Openworld ADSL as it would be more fitting to my needs (Installation one off fee of £150 and subsequently £39.99/month), needless to say at those prices I ignored them.

BT are definitely not fainthearted, they continued to ignore me by persistently failing to allow me to connect to the internet, so then on one of the few occasions I managed to connect, they sent me an e-mail offering me half-price installation - gosh BT Nevertime really were struggling to get rid of me, not that I was that keen on staying by this stage, but had few alternatives open to me, being in a NO-GO Cable area -

THEN......I noticed the article about them on Wathdog - but did this improve/reduce the number of connection attempts? - no such luck -

THEN....they offered me FREE installation of their ADSL service provided I accepted the offer by the end of October and had the service installed by the end of November, I was starting to succumb.

I tried out their internet site from the link provided to me in one of the e-mails and lo and behold each time I got through to the ordering screen, I was presented with a bill for half-price installation - not being a typical risk taker I opted to decline, and try the more traditional method of communication, BT's primary service the telephone. r><br><br>
Contacting BT Openworld customer service was a chore in itself, the lines close at 10pm and each time I tried to get through, I ended up with an engaged signal and had to re-dial. Still having come this far, I was not going to be beaten into submission quite yet. Eventually, after three days of trying, I actually spoke to, yep you've guessed it a real-life person - who took all my details and fixed me up with a date and time for the installation, all Free of Charge, which ironically coincided with my days holiday, yep today.

The time was booked for a specific slot, and all the paperwork and necessary discs were mailed to my home address.

The engineer turned up about an hour into the time-slot and proceeded to undertake the necessary tests to ensure that the line was capable of operating on this service, lo and behold it was (your line apparently has to be less than 45 decibels below a test signal, mine was half that).

The engineer (a very nice man) proceeded to set up the line which took about 30 minutes, and the promptly left me to carry on with the installation myself. I was issued with an Alcatel speed touch modem which acquires its power through the USB port in the computer, the other connection being to the telephone socket alongside the computer.

Set-up was remarkably easy, and took around 20 minutes, the time necessary to re-boot the computer took longer than the actual process, and lo and behold I am connected at 576,000 bps - receiving speed - transmission speed is 288,000 bps - I must confess I have never seen 23 e-mails download so quickly.

Being in contact with a techie, I have also managed to get both computers networked together and thus can access the web from both with just the one line - Real class

THE PACKAGE
* For £39.99/monthly fee charged through a credit card you get permanent open access to the internet

* NO CALL CHARGES EVER

* You can
keep your same BT E-Mail address and any web-site

* No more frustrating attempts to connect to the internet

* You can use the line as a telephone line simultaneously, which includes another internet connection if you so desire (home network - cheaper and faster) - which brings me to the major downside - because of moving to a new house which does not have NTL provision, we had to pay BT for a second telephone line (with a minimum 12 month contract) - so are stuck with two telephone lines, the second of which is never used, now my daughter will have an excuse NEVER to get off the thing - so effectively I am paying double for a redundant service

* Speed and lots of it - 576,000 connection receiving speed and half that for transmission - you are now more likely to be slowed down by your computer

* Tonight I downloaded IE6 - typical indication for download time was around 2 hours - with this it took around 15 minutes from start to finish and longer for the computer to reboot than the original download.

* You still retain any services such as call-minder/1571 on the line


WHAT DO YOU NEED? (from the book)
PC USERS
* Pentium 200Mhz or equivalent
* 32Mb RAM
* 16 bit sound card
* Video Card display capable of 800x600
* SVGA monitor
* 150Mb of hard disk space free
* 4 speed CD ROM drive
* Windows 98, 98SE or 2000 professional
* An available USB socket on your computer (must not be external)

MAC USERS
* PowerPC 601 or equivalent
* 32MB System Memory
* CD ROM
* MAC OS 8.6 or MAC OS 9.0
* 30MB of free hard disk space
* One free USB Port directly connected to the MAC (not shared with another peripheral

The book quotes installation as taking anything from 2-4 hours, well my guy was only here ½ hour, maybe I was lucky

ADVANTAGES
* No more numerous connection attempts
* Speed, speed and more speed (576
,000)
<br>* As a high BT Anytime user - FREE INSTALLATION
* BT are currently offering ½ price installation for home users
* No more losing your opinions on Dooyoo or Ciao when you press the submit button just on the 2 hour mark

SO IS THERE A DOWNSIDE?
Well the cost for one, normal installation £150, I had it for free
with a monthly charge of £39.99/month

IS IT WORTH IT? - if you spend MORE than 70 hours off-peak on your computer a month and are having problems with your ISP then possibly - if you spend a lot of time on-line during peak hours then check your telephone bill.

* Only available if you have a credit card

* Apparently, you are advised to obtain a fire-wall to stop people hacking into your computer, although I have been advised that you can both connect and disconnect and are allocated with a new IP address each time you connect which minimises the risk - BT were NOT too helpful when it came to advising on the purchase of fire-walls

* CUSTOMER SERVICES - I write this in capitals, as when I booked the package, I set it up with my details, and since then have rejigged my credit cards - I have been trying to get through to them for 2 hours on a 'lo-call' telephone number, and each time I select the correct option, I get an engaged signal, no other department can help, and thus if I don't speak to them soon, it could be a very short lived relationship

* Your computer could possibly be at more risk of viruses, so ensure your software is up to date.

TECHNICAL HELP
One day into the service and I arrive home after a long day at work and college to find:-
the computer has crashed,
will not boot with the USB modem connected and really does not like me -

cue a telephone call to the BT Openworld Helpdesk - (Just north of Inverness - and a very nice man with a broad (sexy) Scottish accent) - spent an hour on the phone with me, suggesting a
ll sorts of routes I could down that may resolve the problem, one hour and a burnt chilli later - I am now back on-line.

MARKS OUT OF 10 for techie: Definite 11 (and thats just for the voice) - this time - and a local rate number to boot

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I am not saying this service is for everyone, and as time goes on and prices become more competitive, I may regret my decision, but for me free installation combined with a home network was too good an opportunity to miss.

A THOUGHT - I more than anyone agree it is expensive, but in real terms, if you are already paying for BT Anytime - then it is actually £25/month (£15 of the £40 is already accounted for)

HOW TO GET IT:
www.btopenworld.com - just follow the banners

Will keep this op updated with any more facts as they come to light.

Sue