BT promises 0.5Mb/sec broadband boost for £90

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 10 Jun 2008 at 16:53

BT is launching a new service which its claims will boost your connection speed by at least 0.5Mb/sec or your money back.

The service, dubbed BT Accelerator, will cost a princely £90 and involve an engineer visiting your home to inspect the line for interference, ensure your computer is correctly set up, and check the router configuration and location to make sure it isn't being affected by any other devices.

According to BT, these simple fixes could improve broadband speeds by at least 0.5Mb/sec for 60% of the country, and it is offering a full refund if that boost is not achieved. BT couldn't tell us how it would measure the speed boost at the time of publication.

BT was keen to stress that the service is not intended as a miracle cure for poor connections, but rather a series of tweaks aimed at helping customers eke the best out of their current setup.

"Engineers will be going back to basics, looking at the wiring for example and the location of the router," says a BT spokesperson. "Not particularly complex things, but things that the customer may not know about or be able to do themselves. They'll also receive a courtesy call a week after, just to make sure everything's working as it should."

The simplicity of the tweaks are evidenced by the one hour of engineer time that your £90 buys, with additional time charged in 30 minute blocks, though our spokesperson was unable to confirm the exact cost of this extra time.

The service is currently being trialled in the South East of England, and requires the customer to have a BT line.

You can find 10 ways to boost your broadband speed for about £85 less than what BT is charging, by reading this month's copy of PC Pro