BT I-Plate

naza911 · 02-10-08, 05:14 PM

BT have started shipping their new 'i-plate' today. The idea is that the broadband providers will give these out to broadband customers.

Any news if sky will be doing these? Its basically a ADSL Nation XTE 2005, just a little more simple.

NewsreadeR · 02-10-08, 05:21 PM

iirc they cost about £10.

You would be better off just going for the new faceplate?

RUNITDIRECT · 02-10-08, 07:46 PM

I Plates have been shipping for a while, the later NTE5's have the bell wire filter fitted anyway(can't vouch for others but ours certainly do) which is why BT say don't fit an I Plate to an Openreach branded NTE5. The Pressac NTE2000/05 filtered faceplates also have the bell wire filter so a filtered faceplate is still the way to go. I Plates are only of any use if you have extension wiring and don't feel confident in removing & reinstalling 3 wires! It's basically a money spinner for ISP's to sell these to users with problamatic installs (problems caused by RFI) to see if that cures the problem. It makes the NTE5 look a little unsightly IMO, better of fitting a filtered faceplate or the front plate off a later NTE5(filter is in the front plate that customers can remove & change LEGALLY).

naza911 · 02-10-08, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RUNITDIRECT

It's basically a money spinner for ISP's to sell these to users with problamatic installs (problems caused by RFI) to see if that cures the problem.

Not really, the original plans which were released a while back now, were that BT aimed that ISP's would provide the I-Plate free for customers who complained about speed problems, or the customers could buy the plate for £10.

A filtered faceplate would probably be the way to got as you have said. Its really is aimed at people who have very little knowledge of phone wiring, and possibly a little mis-leading. EMI is not always in the house, my line was being effected by lampost because I had an old drop wire, when the drop was replaced from 3 -4 dropout's a day, I got nothing.

This is really a way for BT to make money, even if ISP were to give these out for free, I don't think BT would be giving them to ISP's for free.

psu300 · 02-10-08, 09:46 PM

I recently purchased a Genuine BT IPlate from ebay.

I didnt gain anything

Now going to purchase a filtered faceplate

as a least i will be able to get rid of the microfilter

as it will tidy it up.

adslnation · 03-10-08, 10:47 AM

I-Plate

The BT I-Plate is aimed at people who are not willing or able to do any wiring. You simply unscrew the faceplate on your NTE5 master socket, plug the I-plate in and then screw the original faceplate back on.

The I-Plate is not a replacement for ADSL filters or a filtered faceplate. You will still need to use filters when an I-Plate is installed. If you already have a filtered faceplate you should NOT install an I-Plate as the function of the I-Plate is already performed by the filtered faceplate.

What the I-Plate does is isolates one of the wires (the ring signal) on your extension wiring to prevent interference being picked up on this wire. The I-Plate will only therefore provide any improvement to people who have extension wiring that is picking up interference on the ring wire.

Filtered Faceplate

A filtered faceplate requires that you remove any wires from the existing plate and connect them to the new filtered faceplate. It is a very simple job, all you have to do is remove the wires and then the wires that were originally on terminals 2,3 & 5 need to be re-connected to the terminals marked 2,3 & 5 on the new faceplate.

A filtered faceplate is a replacement for ADSL microfilters. Once fitted you will no longer need to install microfilters on the extensions. However you will need to connect your modem/router to the master socket, unless you have wired a separate unfiltered extension. For best results it is always best to try and get you modem as close to the master socket as possible.

What a filtered faceplate does is filter out the ADSL signal from all of the extension wiring, not just the ring signal. As a result this gives you the best possible results as none of the wires in the extension wiring can interfere with the ADSL signal as it has been filtered at the master socket.

Determine if an I-Plate or Filtered Faceplate will help you

Before you rush out and buy either a filtered faceplate or I-Plate there is a simple check that you can do to determine if there is likely to be any improvement by installing one.

Locate your master, and first check that it is a proper NTE-5 with a removable section on it like this ...

Unscrew the front and unplug the bottom section. This will reveal a test socket in the back. Plug a microfilter into the test socket and connect your modem to it. Don't connect a phone at this point and test the connection.

Do you see an improvement ?

YES: Then a filtered faceplate or I-Plate will help.
NO: Then neither the I-Plate or filtered faceplate will help.

What Next ?
Assuming you found an improvement with the test above then your best option is to fit a filtered faceplate. If however you are scared of moving wires as many people will be then an I-Plate is the second best option.

Remember there is NO point in using both a filtered faceplate and I-Plate together.