Q. What does ADSL stand for?
A. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. The term was coined in 1989, and doesn't really refer to a line, but to the modems that convert a standard, twisted-pair copper telephone line into a high-speed digital pipe. The modems are called asymmetric because they transmit data upstream from your home at a lower speed than they receive data.

Q. How does ADSL work?
A. ADSL requires two ADSL modems on either end of a telephone line. One modem is located in your home, while the second modem is in BC TEL's local central office. These two modems are permanently connected and always on. The modems digitally divide your telephone line into 3 separate "channels." Conceptually speaking, one of these channels handles your standard telephone traffic, while the other two carry your upstream and downstream data communications.

Asymmetric modem technology provides high speed performance because people seldom upload the same volumes of data that they download. This means that the downstream channel can be made larger without affecting the speed of upstream data. Making the downstream channel larger allows faster transmission speeds because more bandwidth is available. For example, when you click on a link to see a Web page, your computer sends only that "click" which is a relatively small amount of data. In return, your computer receives a much larger volume of data when the page loads. Expanding the downstream bandwidth available enhances speed and performance.

The exact data rates are distance sensitive. For example, if you live closer to the BC TEL central office providing your MultiMedia Gateway connection, you will experience higher speeds. Downstream data rates will range up to 4 megabits per second (Mbps) and will not be lower than 1 Mbps. Upstream data rates will peak at 640 kilobits per second (Kbps) and will not be lower than 160 Kbps.

Q. If I transmit data while I'm on the telephone, will either transmission be compromised?
A. No. Regular voice conversations use less than one per cent of a telephone line's capacity. ADSL technology can find and use the remaining 99 per cent capacity to transmit information 50 to 150 times faster than a conventional 28.8 Kbps modem. ADSL technology takes advantage of unused capacity by dividing a copper telephone line into hundreds of segments, each of which is large enough to carry one telephone call.

Q. Will my BC TEL MultiMedia Gateway service slow down when there are many simultaneous users?
A. No, your ADSL connection is not shared with other users. There are no line-ups or traffic jams with ADSL technology because each user has their own dedicated high-speed connection to the MultiMedia Gateway. You may experience some variation in speed if you have more than one computer accessing the MultiMedia Gateway simultaneously from your home.

Q. Where is the BC TEL MultiMedia Gateway service available?
A. The BC TEL MultiMedia Gateway service is currently being introduced on a limited basis in the Vancouver area. Throughout 1998, this service will be more widely available in Vancouver and become available in parts of Victoria, Prince George, Kamloops, and Kelowna.

Q. What services do I get from the BC TEL MultiMedia Gateway, other than high speed access?
A. The BC TEL MultiMedia Gateway offers you more than just high speed access to the Internet. Your MultiMedia Gateway membership provides you with access to high speed content and applications that rely on the speed and performance of the MultiMedia Gateway. As this content and applications become available, you will be able to play networked, multi-player games, enjoy high quality video conferencing, and take advantage of an integrated package of fax, voicemail, and e-mail on your computer desktop. In addition, BC TEL is exploring other possibilities to bring you exciting and new high speed, multimedia content.

Q. How does the BC TEL MultiMedia Gateway and ADSL compare to existing cable modem services?
A. Unlike cable modem service, which relies on a network shared by all cable subscribers, the MultiMedia Gateway and ADSL provide a dedicated connection between your home and BC TEL's secure network. Your BC TEL MultiMedia Gateway connection also provides you with your own, dedicated bandwidth. This means that throughput and performance are not degraded during busy periods, when the network is heavily used. In contrast, cable modem networks are configured as a contention networks, which means each users' data must compete for upstream and downstream bandwidth. BC TEL MultiMedia Gateway service also does not require you to subscribe to cable.

Q. Can I get this service on my business line?
A. Not at this time. The business market has several existing alternatives to support high-speed data connectivity and BC TEL has chosen to support the consumer market initially with the BC TEL MultiMedia Gateway service. For information on BC TEL's current high speed business connectivity solutions, telephone BC TEL Advanced Communications at 454-5100 or at 1-800-851-0904.

Q. Will the MultiMedia Gateway service work on all BC TEL residential telephone packages?
A. Yes. Your MultiMedia Gateway service will work with your existing telephone service and Smart Touch features as well as with Enterphone systems (although an Enterphone may cause a slight interrupt in the data stream).

Q. Can I use more than 1 computer at my home?
A. Yes, although you will require unique MultiMedia Gateway User IDs and Passwords for each computer, if you wish to use more than one computer at the same time. If you have more than one computer using the MultiMedia Gateway at the same time, you may notice an increase in download times, as the computers will be sharing the bandwidth on your residential connection. Additional MultiMedia Gateway User IDs and Passwords are available for $4.95 each (plus applicable taxes).

Q. Do I get a static IP address?
A. No. However, the MultiMedia Gateway does provide you with a static host name. You are uniquely identified by your host name rather than your IP address. The MultiMedia Gateway Network uses dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) to dynamically assign IP addresses and efficiently use the number of IP addresses available. After logging into the MultiMedia Gateway, your unique host name is updated in the DNS server.

Q. What is the format of my hostname?
A. Your host name is your login ID followed by your ISP name. For example, your host name might be a1a12345.sympatico.bconnected.net.

Q. How do people get to my website on my home computer?
A. You can use your host name to refer people to your personal Web page or you could alias an alternative host name to your static host name to create a personalized domain name such as frogz.bc.sympatico.ca. Most Internet Service Providers offer domain name aliasing services. Contact your ISP for more information about domain name aliasing

Q. How are IP addresses assigned on the MultiMedia Gateway?
A. The MultiMedia Gateway uses DHCP to dynamically assign IP addresses. When your computer is turned on and you log on to the MultiMedia Gateway, you are assigned an IP address and your host name is updated in the DNS server. You retain your IP address as long as you stay logged on to the MultiMedia Gateway. If you turn your computer off, you may be assigned a different IP address the next time you turn your computer on and log on to the MultiMedia Gateway.

Q. What if my computer is not a PC or Apple Macintosh or I'm not using one of the supported Operating Systems?
A. BC TEL has only verified that PCs running Windows 95 or later, Windows NT 3.5 or later, or Mac OS System 7.5.3 or later with Open Transport 1.1 or later will work on the MultiMedia Gateway. Other computers or operating systems may work if they currently work with standard IP dialup services and support DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol) including the ability to have the following things set by DHCP: IP address and subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS servers. Your computer and operating system must also support HTTP standards. However, customer service and technical support is not available for unsupported platforms or operating systems.

The MultiMedia Gateway software diskette you received is for PC or Macintosh computers. If you are using an unsupported computer platform or operating system, you will have to type the URL ssm.bconnected.net in your Web browser to log on to the MultiMedia Gateway. You will be asked to enter your User ID and Password to authenticate. At this point, you will be redirected to another Web server. If you do not have the required plugins, you can use your browser's stop button to stop loading this page and begin to surf the Web.

Q. Can I use UNIX on this service?
A. Unix is not a supported operating system with the BC TEL MultiMedia Gateway service. Member Services support is available only for Windows 95 or later, Windows NT 3.5 or higher, and Mac OS System 7.5.3 or higher.