Telefonica Network
 

There seems to be a problem with speeds over the Telefonica service at the moment so if you decide to sign up with an ADSL isp that uses the Telefonica network ask them (before you decide to sign up) when is the problem going to be sorted out.

Exchange Information
 

You can get limited exchange information but not all information from one single link

This link will search for your exchange and when found, it will display some information like how many phonelines are connected to it & what the trigger level is set at.

here is an example of what detail the above link will give you


Full details for (your exchange name)


General Information
Name: (your local BT exchange name)
OLO Code: xxx
Approx phone lines: 25,833
Postcode:xxxx xxx
County: (your town/city)
Region: North, South, East, west etc.
Our map: View our interactive map
Other maps: Multimap or Streetmap
Data last checked: 19 February 2004, 21:37:56


ADSL Specific
ADSL Status: Enabled
Pre-Registrations: 0
Trigger Level: 0
Duplicates: 0
Trigger Set: -
Triggered On: -
RFS Announced: -
Enable Date (RFS): 31 March 2001
Pre-Reg History: Download CSV
Campaign Resources: View campaign resources (Counters, Barometers, Reg forms, Graphs)


Other Broadband Connectivity
BT SDSL: Not available
Telewest: Not available
NTL: Available
Bulldog LLU: Not available
Easynet LLU: Available


Page generated in 0.363 seconds at 22:31:15



This next link is a Broadband Availability Checker (yes i have posted one before) but this one requires that you enter your postcode & BT phone number and the read out you will get is something like this...


Broadband Availability Checker

Running live checks... please be patient...

Checking BT ADSL availability on your exchange... AVAILABLE
Your telephone line is capable of the following service: 2Mbps

Checking BT SDSL availability... UNAVAILABLE

Checking Bulldog LLU DSL availability... PARTIAL (ADSL is available only)

Checking Telewest cable availability... UNAVAILABLE

Checking NTL cable availability... AVAILABLE

Checking Easynet LLU DSL availability... AVAILABLE


I hope the above links will give some of you who want to gather as much info as possible on the BT exchange your conected to, personally i would only look for the trigger level totals & percentages of capacity etc as they are an important factor as ADSL is a conteded service (your local BT exchange & your isp)

Major Service Outage: Manchester
 

Major Service Outage: Manchester

A fire in cable chambers running beneath the streets of central Manchester has caused extensive damage to (underground) cables and widespread disruption to phone services in Manchester and the surrounding area.

"The fire is affecting some 130,000 homes and businesses in the centre of the city. BT is currently assessing the extent of the damage (remotely from its network management centre) and working to reroute and restore as many services as possible.

However, the true extent of the repair will not become clear until the fire authority have declared the site safe and BT engineers can gain access to the underground chambers. It is not possible at this stage to say how long it will be before all services are fully restored."
BT Statement (29/03/04 09:42)

At present, telephone numbers beginning with the following sequences are believed to be affected (based on Nildram's announcement to customers):

01252.... 01260..... 01273.... 01293.... 01298
013166.... 01457.... 016120.... 016121.... 016122
016123.... 016124.... 016125.... 016127.... 016128
016129.... 016130.... 016132.... 016133.... 016134
016135.... 016136.... 016137.... 016140.... 016141
016142.... 016143.... 016144.... 016145.... 016147
016148.... 016149.... 016161.... 016162.... 016166
016168.... 016171.... 016183.... 016188.... 016192
016194.... 016195.... 016196.... 016197.... 01625
01663.... 01895.... 019123.... 0208519

Source ADSL Guide

Fire affects phone lines (Manchester)
 

Fire affects phone lines

Fire crews had to descend 30m to reach the tunnel and travel along it for 150m before getting to the fire.
Assistant divisional officer Ian Bailey, of Greater Manchester Fire Service, said: †œThe fire itself is not too serious and is now basically under control but reaching it was a problem.

†œThe firefighters needed breathing apparatus and were using a lot of air up by the time they reached the fire, so we had a high turnover of firefighters.

†œWe will have to ventilate the tunnel before BT engineers can go down there, so the disruption is likely to continue for some time.ââ‚ƚ¬Ã‚ÂÂÂ�

Here is another link i forgot to add to the above post (more info on the fire).

And some interesting info here

Manchester Guardian is an underground telephone exchange in the centre of Manchester built in 1954. It is 112 feet (34m) below ground and cost £4 million to construct. The main tunnel, one thousand feet long and twenty-five feet wide (300m by 7m), lies below buildings in Back George Street, linking up to an anonymous and unmarked surface building containing the entrance lifts and ventilator shafts. There are also access shafts in the Rutherford telephone exchange in George Street.

Its purpose was to resist a Hiroshima sized twenty-kiloton atom bomb, and preserve essential communications links even if the centre of Manchester had been flattened.

A deep level tunnel system runs east and west from Guardian. A mile-long (1.3km) tunnel runs west to Salford, and a thousand-yard (700m) tunnel runs to Lockton Close in Ardwick, where a modernised ventilator building marks the south-eastern extension of the Manchester deep level tunnels.

In the event of an attack warning, Guardian's main entry shaft was to have been sealed by a thirty-five-ton concrete slab that could be positioned over the entrance. Staff could escape either by using built-in hydraulic jacks to lift the slab (if covered with debris) some weeks after attack, or via the deep level tunnels to Ardwick and Salford. Emergency stores contained six weeks' supply of food rations, and Guardian had its own artesian well, generators, fuel tanks, and artificial windows and scenery painted onto rest-room walls.

The exchange was to survive even if the city it served was destroyed.

The Manchester Guardian telephone exchange and deep level tunnels were one of several such systems built in the 50s. Similar installations can be found under London (Kingsway) & Birmingham (Anchor).

Manchester fire knocks out ADSL, Mobile phones & land lines
 

British Telecom says it could take several days before phone services are fully restored following the fire in a BT tunnel in Manchester

Engineers worked through Monday night to try to restore some of the 130,000 telephone lines which were blocked after Monday's fire.

Engineers entered the pitch black tunnels filled with smoke late on Monday afternoon to assess the damage, and worked through the night assessing the damage.

The are working in teams of 36 to restore hundreds of damaged fibre optic cables.

The fire has caused massive disruption - with telephone lines, internet services and Manchester's ambulance service affected.

The disruption is not confined to Manchester, as large parts of the North West have been affected.

In Macclesfield, Cheshire, the fire affected social services emergency alert lines used by pensioners in their own homes.

Two hundred mobile phones are to be issued to priority cases in Manchester and Cheshire.

Several call centres were closed by the fire as they were unable to receive or make calls.

BT said it expects some phone lines to be restored on Tuesday, but added it could not put a figure on how many premises are still without a phone line.

Source BBC News

Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer
 

This outage also affected cash machines, petrol stations and shops etc as they use an ADSL line to connect for payments. When I was driving home last night some petrol stations were shut or taking cash payments only :eek:

Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer
 

Its all quite shocking really, just shows you how reliant we are on modern technology, hope your all sorted soon Debs.

Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer
 

(Third time lucky)

Am I glad that I have NTL!

Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer
 

:eek: I forgot you are a Mancunium



:rofl:

Dont worry we all at sometime get pointed in the right direction.

Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer
 

Im glad im with ntl too.......just in general :D

Cant believe BT planners were so stupid to use a Cold War Tunnel lined with Asbestos to route their cables.....which in turn caused dangerous and problematic access issues to the fire services.

Also why was there no fire extinguishing CO2 or powder devices?

Our company with £5000 of calls a month is witching to Ntl:business tommorrow to get us back online.

Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer
 

I wouldn't bank on it, http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...d.php?p=181037

Manchester Guardian (cont)
 

Manchester Guardian (Cont)

1. The exchange is still used as a secure cable route - avoids digging up the city.

2. It is over 200' deep & is unaffected by foundations etc.

3. All equipment is largely intact except for the telephone exchange elements which were removed to comply with EEC legislation regarding some of their components (about 3 years ago)

4. "was particularly surprised to see the piano and pool table in the recreation room. They were planning to have quite a relaxing time sitting out Armageddon down there!"

Don't forget we had Power Engineers working down there until 1997 -this was their rest room! BT Power Engineers playing the piano & shooting pool :rofl:

5. "The people of Manchester paid a great deal of money for the construction of this bunker, they were given no choice in the matter, it was built without their knowledge & it was obsolete before it was completed, for these reasons I believe we should be given access to it!"

In actual fact I believe that it wasn't paid for by the British Government let alone Manchester - it was largely paid for by NATO which in those days meant America. Since then it has been maintained at the Post Office/BT's expense

BT are unable to open the site to the public for a variety of reasons mainly concerning safety and security.

Trouble is there are more of these so called deep "bunkers" around the UK, my guess after this BT will be double checking every one they currently use.

It would have probably saved NTL lots of cash if they were invited to lay cables down there.

Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer
 

Switched across and working a treat :D all back on line using ntls fibre back bone minus the fire! :D

Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer
 

Glad your back on-line, shame they can't treat their residential customer as well :)

Re: Prt #1 The NTL phone Number 2 BT line Transfer
 

Seems like NTL have really pulled their fingers out to be able to get the cables in and working in such a short time since the fire. How do you get along with having different phone numbers though?