At 16:07 14/07/2004, Jules Richardson wrote: Yes, because DSL comes down the copper phone line, and the only people putting in copper are BT.. Most of the ISPs just rent a combination of standard services off BT, and re-sell it on to you at various prices. BT won't provide DSL on a line that doesn't have active phone service. Even though it's technically possible, I guess this is to simplify their procedures. Bulldog does work differently in that they are a LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) operator, which means they put their own equipment into the BT telephone exchanges, so can offer a different range of services (and this explains their much lower coverage too). They are still tied to BT, though, as far as that last piece of wire between the exchange and YOU is concerned. Have a look at www.adslguide.org.uk for informative comparisons and ratings. Don't forget the forums ("message board") as they have a lot of discussion about the various ISPs and thus you can see what the actual users feel about certain services. (few messages generally == no problems!) Rob