Mobile Broadband

[Since1982]

Given NSC is the font of all wisdom on everything I wonder if you can help me with this. I'll shortly be spending a couple of weeks in the Nuffield Hospital in Woodingdean. To help pass the time once I have come round from what is going to be a big operation I was thinking of getting one of those broadband dongles to go with my shiny new netbook. According to their websites all the major providers have this area as a bit marginal for decent coverage but wondered if anyone here has any direct experience of 3G coverage around Warren Road. Thank you.

 

[Gazwag]

Not thought about it before but if you are not surposed to have mobile phones turned on in a hospital, isn't the same true for a mobile dongle

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Not thought about it before but if you are not surposed to have mobile phones turned on in a hospital, isn't the same true for a mobile dongle

I think those are the rules, but I don't think it's anything technical - they want you to use their IT stuff instead ... and charge for it. When I was in Worthing Hosp last year, every bed had internet access but you had to pay for it - and mince didn't work.

Your other problem may of course be power - you won't be allowed to plug into a ward outlet I bet, so your battery won't last long.

But, best of luck with the op though.

 

[Templeton Peck]

You don't need it! they have 100mb per second fibre optic broadband there for patients and you can use your mobile too.

 

[Since1982]

You don't need it! they have 100mb per second fibre optic broadband there for patients and you can use your mobile too.

Do you mind me asking how you know because that sounds seriously good!

I spent a month in the Royal Sussex in February (been quite a year!) and they were quite happy with people using mobiles and laptops. I think everything has got a bit more relaxed and sensible now plus it certainly helps general well being to be able to communicate with the outside world.

 

[beorhthelm]

hospitals in general droped the silly no mobiles rule a while ago, except in sensitive areas like around operating theatres - fair enough.

if they dont allow plugging in to mains, i wonder if theres a solar recharger upto the job?

 

[Templeton Peck]

Do you mind me asking how you know because that sounds seriously good!

I spent a month in the Royal Sussex in February (been quite a year!) and they were quite happy with people using mobiles and laptops. I think everything has got a bit more relaxed and sensible now plus it certainly helps general well being to be able to communicate with the outside world.

Had knee and hernia surgery in the summer so was in there for about a week in total. you just need to ask the nurse for the username and password as it's al free. There's no restrictions or site blocks either, so the download speed was pretty useful!

 

[KneeOn]

I would LOVE to know how the hell they got 100mb/s on the BT Copper Wire network?

Baring in mind you need fiber optics from the server to the door not just from the exchange to the kerb like Virgin media have.

 

[happypig]

I would LOVE to know how the hell they got 100mb/s on the BT Copper Wire network?

Baring in mind you need fiber optics from the server to the door not just from the exchange to the kerb like Virgin media have.

It wont be copper, it will be a 100 meg fibre. Pretty standard product these days.

 

[Since1982]

Well that is good news - thanks. The best thing about going to the hospital there is I get to go past Falmer everytime. I reckon the best view of the place is just as you come from Woodingdean and you crest a rise and there she is in all her beauty! looking foreard to that view when I am being driven home after my op!

 

[Springal]

I would LOVE to know how the hell they got 100mb/s on the BT Copper Wire network?

Baring in mind you need fiber optics from the server to the door not just from the exchange to the kerb like Virgin media have.

 

[Springal]

Anyway hilarity aside, it is unlikely you will be able to plug anything in that isn't PAT tested, possibly even by the NHS. Worth getting some PAT stickers off eBay stuck on the charger and laptop

 

[beorhthelm]

I would LOVE to know how the hell they got 100mb/s on the BT Copper Wire network?

Baring in mind you need fiber optics from the server to the door not just from the exchange to the kerb like Virgin media have.

this is a hospital, not your house. they arent running virgin to every bed, i expect they'd have 100mb ethernet thoughout the buliding. who knows what sort of link to the ISP, possibly 100mb, though that would be horrendously expensive unless hospitals get a discount. more likly 5-10mb.

 

[Springal]

this is a hospital, not your house. they arent running virgin to every bed, i expect they'd have 100mb ethernet thoughout the buliding. who knows what sort of link to the ISP, possibly 100mb, though that would be horrendously expensive unless hospitals get a discount. more likly 5-10mb.

5mb for a whole hospital?

PCTs spend a fortune on telecoms, most hospitals will have multiple gig ccts in an IPVPN between each other and a few hundred Mb connection to the Internet at least..! And I moved away from this sector 4 years ago, prices have more than halved since then

 

[Gully]

hospitals in general droped the silly no mobiles rule a while ago, except in sensitive areas like around operating theatres - fair enough.

if they dont allow plugging in to mains, i wonder if theres a solar recharger upto the job?

This sounds like a challenge for NSC, if they won't allow you to plug it into the mains or want to charge a ridiculous rate...how about we all chip in with extension leads and run you a cable for power and an internet connection into the hospital from the nearest place we can connect to for free!

 

[Since1982]

Anyway hilarity aside, it is unlikely you will be able to plug anything in that isn't PAT tested, possibly even by the NHS. Worth getting some PAT stickers off eBay stuck on the charger and laptop

Had no problem with that at the County and my experience so far of private is that they pat test for you on admission.

 

[KneeOn]

Well if the NHS can afford 100meg internet, across the board using a system that runs from the server to the bed, then fantastic.

A few hundred meg? What are you on? Europe, which is considerably faster than us, has 100, 150 meg tops.

My laptop (A samsung NC 10) has got 54Mb/s Wifi, and 100mb/s ethernet.

That doesn't mean i'm getting those speeds! Beacuse i'm on 20 mb/s broadband which gives at peak 7mb/s.

20 meg is a theoretical maximum, same with the 100mb/s ethernet.

A network is only as fast as its slowest part, and if its running of the same infastructure all other internet connections run off, then it'll get slowed down by the Copper wiring that this country has.

Yes there is fiber optics, but its not everywhere. Not by a long shot. I'm happy to be proved wrong but a doesn't prove me wrong at all.

 

[happypig]

OK, a fibre connection from the exchange to the customer will cost around £5k to install and £3k/year rental. Then there's the actual cost of hooking it up to the BT backbone (I've no idea what that costs but would guess at a couple of grand a year).
You then have a 100 meg connection from the exchange router to the customer router. Stick in gigabit ethernet around the place and you get a genuine 100m connection.
Alternatively you have a gigabit fibre (same type of fibre, just different terminating box) from the backbone to a central point, like the RSCH, then 10 or 100mb spurs off to the different establishments.
It's nothing like domestic broadband.

 

[KneeOn]

I think one of us is confused and its probably me.

Are we on about the bigger, megaBYTE
Or the smaller megaBIT?

100 megabit internet isn't as big as 100megabyte?

MB v Mb

Meg is a term used for both

My head hurts.

100 Megabyte internet is not offered by any commercial (afaik) isp. If it is, you'll be lucky to touch 20 megabytes.

100megabit internet though, is more achieveable since 8 mega bits = 1 mega byte... 100mega bit is roughtly 10 mega bytes, probably closer to 12 (maths isn't my strong point, so i'm estimating).

 

[KneeOn]

OK, a fibre connection from the exchange to the customer will cost around £5k to install and £3k/year rental. Then there's the actual cost of hooking it up to the BT backbone (I've no idea what that costs but would guess at a couple of grand a year).
You then have a 100 meg connection from the exchange router to the customer router. Stick in gigabit ethernet around the place and you get a genuine 100m connection.
Alternatively you have a gigabit fibre (same type of fibre, just different terminating box) from the backbone to a central point, like the RSCH, then 10 or 100mb spurs off to the different establishments.
It's nothing like domestic broadband.

Would your numbers total the 10 billion pound estimate BT made a year or two ago for hooking up 80%-100% of the country?

EDIT: internally, inside the hospital of course its not like domestic broad band but there isn't a seperate network of wires for hospital internet under the streets and over teh world, it travels down the same lines as our internet does.