� LATEST NEWS

The extended reach pilot that BT Wholesale are currently running, has been given a firm end date now, September 24th 2003. The new extended reach limits will go live at midday on the 24th, as BT Wholesale has confirmed to service providers that the trial has been a success.

In terms of ordering ADSL, there are no changes at all, the difference is that from the 24th September the availability checkers should update to reflect the change in limits. Any orders before midday on the 24th will be taken according to the current pilot conditions. The people who should gain the most are those people with ISDN2e or Home Highway who are ineligible for the current pilot scheme, and thus have not been able to make use of the existing ISDN to ADSL planned conversion scheme.

The new limits should hopefully make ADSL available to a further 600,000 homes, raising the coverage averaged across all the enabled ADSL exchanges from 94% to 97%. In terms of a crude distance definition, the change from a 55dB line loss figure to a 60dB line loss figure extends the distance that the 500kbps downstream services are available from 5.5km to 6km

� ADSL

IT Department's preferred ADSL supplier is Mistral Internet 

ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. The main characteristic is that it is �Asymmetric� which means that the data / files move faster from exchange to customer so you will be able to receive files quickly. At Mistral we set the standard for high quality ADSL service, offering you access to our award-winning network with speeds up to 2Mbps. 

Mistral has the one of the fastest connection rates in the UK and, as a member of LINX, has peering agreements with major international networks. Mistral has also been rated the No.1 ISP in terms of performance and availability in numerous trade publications, nominated for Best Business ISP in ISPA Internet Industry Awards 2001 and have recently received the ISO 9001 accreditation and Investors In People. All of these achievements show strong evidence of the company�s state-of-the-art product and service culture. Mistral are also currently in the running for best business ISP in the Future UK Internet Awards 2002.

• Fixed Cost
• High Speed � Up to 30 times fast than ISDN
• Dedicated Access
• Always On Service
• Secure Connectivity
• New Technology
• Installation in as little as 5 days
• 100% uptime guarantee

The new limits should hopefully make ADSL available to a further 600,000 homes, raising the coverage averaged across all the enabled ADSL exchanges from 94% to 97%. In terms of a crude distance definition, the change from a 55dB line loss figure to a 60dB line loss figure extends the distance that the 500kbps downstream services are available from 5.5km to 6km.

� HIGH SPEED

Download A 5 Megabyte Graphic File In Less Than 26 Seconds? With Mistral ADSL service you can access the Internet at speeds up to 30 times faster than ISDN and download Internet files in seconds instead of minutes or hours.

� DEDICATED ACCESS

Unlike dial-up services, Mistral ADSL provides a full-time connection that is "always on" 24 hours a day - no more dialing, busy signals, or call charges. Full-time connectivity, together with a block of dedicated IP addresses, means that you can host an e-mail, web or FTP server.

� SECURE CONNECTIVITY

Mistral ADSL operates over a secure connection through a permanent line - a separate connection from your business's office - not over a shared network, like cable modems, or over the air, like wireless solutions. This ensures a higher level of security compared with other services including dial-up.

� COMPLETE PACKAGE

The Mistral ADSL service is fully featured and includes SMTP mail delivery or unlimited pop3 mailboxes along with DNS service for email. 100MB of shared web hosting with full weekly usage reports is also included, as is unlimited usage of our dial-up services for your remote users when away from the office.

Installation is always performed by a qualified engineer, who will configure your router for maximum security according to your own requirements.

� FIREWALL

We believe that protecting your information and security is of the highest priorities that is why we would not recommend connecting any company�s computer to the Internet without a firewall. That's why all of our ADSL installations are available with a high quality firewall. Please checkout Firewall-X for more information.

� TESTIMONIES

�I would like to let you know that the ADSL line is now installed and up and running. I am pleased to say that the installation went smoothly and all of our 14 users are very happy with the great improvement of speed from the original ISDN�

Phillip Feld, Eplon Engineering

�We look forward o maintaining our excellent relationship with Mistral and will definitely recommend your services to our clients, which include venture capital firms, where appropriate.�

Tanya Spiers, Almeida Capital

�As a new subscriber to your ADSL Service I wish to thank your Support Team for their assistance in transferring us from our former ISP.�

Chris Darby, Hantarex Electronic Displays