On this page we've put together a list of all the most common questions we get asked regarding the Connect 247 service. You may also like to download the Connect 247 User Manual. Click Here
Please select from the list below:
What is the Connect 247 Service?
What number will my computer dial to connect to the Connect 247 service?
What happens if I exceed the maximum number of hours per month allowed for my package?
Do I have to tell BT that I'm using your service / Do I need BT SurfTime?
I have an @cymru1.net Email address. Can I still use it?
What Email address will I get if I sign up for a Connect 247 account?
What is the Connect 247 Control Panel?
How do I access the Connect 247 Control Panel?
How do I add a cymru247.net Email address to my Connect 247 account?
Do I need a BT telephone line in order to use the Connect 247 service?
Can I use the Connect 247 service when I'm away from home?
My account has been Suspended. What do I do?
How do I change or update my payment details?
How do I upgrade or downgrade my account?
How do I check how many hours I've been online?
I have an ISDN or Highway line. How do I connect at 128K rather than just 64K?
What does "contention ratio" mean?
What does "idle cutoff time" mean?
What does "session cutoff time" mean?
What does "maximum hours per month" mean?
My question isn't answered here!
What is the Connect 247 Service?
Most of our Connect 247 package options are"unmetered" or "flat rate" Internet access packages. This means that in return for paying us a small monthly fee, you get access to the Internet any time of the day, seven days a week, all year long without having to pay a penny in Internet call charges*.
*There are exceptions to this rule. These include a) The Connect 247 Pay As You Go package is a standard metered service where you have to pay for the cost of an 0844-rate call when connecting to the Internet. You do not pay us a monthly charge for this particular package, however. b) The Connect 247 Evening and Weekends package, although still an "unmetered"/"flat rate" package, can only be used on weekday evenings and at Weekends, and not any time of the day, any day of the week. c) The Connect 247 Pay As You Go - Static IP package, where you pay us both a monthly fee and also pay for the cost of the 0844-rate call when connected to the Internet.
What does "Unmetered" or "flat rate" mean? Why is it so inexpensive?
"Unmetered" or "flat rate" Internet access means that you don't pay for your internet access by the minute or second as you would do with "free" or "Pay As You Go" Internet access packages (where you have to pay for the cost of the 0844-rate phone call whenever your computer is connected to the Internet). Instead you pay a flat monthly fee in return for which you get access to the Internet via a toll-free number (no call charges are incurred).
Here is a practical example of how the two types of service compare: Imagine that you connect to the Internet for 80 hours per month, and that you only connect at weekends. If you were to use a standard Pay as You Go package, your phone bill for your Internet connection would be a whopping £48.00 (assuming you pay 1p per minute for your calls, which most people do). Yet with a Connect 247 Evening and Weekend package you would only pay £7.99 for the same amount of time online at the same times of the day.
Now imagine that instead of connecting at weekends only, you connect only during the weekday, before 6pm. Calls at this time of day cost up to 4p per minute for most people. Your bill for being online for 80 hours during the weekday using a Pay as You Go account would then be up to a staggering £192.00! Yet with a Connect 247 Lite package, which allows you to connect at any time of the day, any day of the week, you would pay just £8.99 for the same amount of time online at the same times of the day.
But we warned: Although they offer outstanding value for money, unmetered services are technically quite different to Pay As You Go services. You should never experience connection failures/engaged tones on a Pay As You Go service, but this is not the case for unmetered services due to the fact that the dial up ports, and the dial-up network itself, is contended. There are also limits to how long you can be online in any given session and quite a few other technical differences too. Indeed, although the end result is the same -- that is to connect you to the Internet -- in many ways comparing Pay As You Go Internet access with Unmetered Internet access is like comparing chalk with cheese. And if you think about it, if this were not the case then Unmetered Internet access packages would have to cost almost as much as the cost of the calls you'd have to pay for with a Pay As You Go package. Please note that limitations like those mentioned here apply to virtually all Unmetered packages - not just ours - but few other companies bother to mention them.
So if you want an almost bullet-proof connection to the Internet but don't mind paying a high price for it then you should choose a Pay as You Go account. But if you want outstanding value for money and no worries about huge phone bills then an unmetered account is the very best option.
You pay for the Connect 247 service on a monthly basis in advance by credit or debit card. When you sign up for the service we will ask you for your card details. You card will then immediately be charged for your first month's fee, then, in intervals of one month, for the subsequent monthly fees. Note that the minimum contract/billing period is one month.
Please note that the Connect 247 Pay As You Go account is not paid for by credit or debit card. It is a metered product where you must pay for call charges but do not pay us a monthly charge.
All payments are processed by WorldPay (www.worldpay.com), one of the world's best known and most respected secure online payment processing companies. However, the WorldPay payments will also contain a reference to either Cymru 1 Limited or to Murphx Innovative Solutions or Bloomley UK Limited (our payment processing partners) depending on the type of account you choose. Your credit or debit card statement will therefore list an item similar to "WP - Cymru 1 Limited", "WP - Bloomley UK Ltd" or "WP - Murphx Innovative Solutions" for payments for your Internet access account.
What number will my computer dial to connect to the Connect 247 unmetered service?
The exact number varies depending on which of the various Connect 247 services you choose. However, the numbers used to connect to our unmetered services all start with 0808. You should therefore double-check that the number your computer is calling when connecting to the Internet via any of our Connect 247 unmetered services starts with 0808 in order to avoid accidentally running up any call charges.
What happens if I exceed the maximum number of hours per month allowed for my package?
Your account will simply stop working until your next billing date.
If you do exceed the maximum number of hours allowed for your package you should consider upgrading to a package offering more hours per month.
Do I have to tell BT that I'm using your service / Do I need BT SurfTime?
No. You do not have to tell BT that you are using our service, and no, you do not need to subscribe to BT SurfTime.
Online Help:
You'll find plenty of help and advice in this document. Extensive
online help is also available in the Help section of our Website
(click here).
Telephone Help:
Please click here for details of how to obtain telephone
technical support
Email help:
Please send email support questions to support@cymru247.net
Please send email sales questions to sales@cymru247.net
I already have a standard Cymru 1 Connect account and @cymru1.net Email address. Can I upgrade to the Connect 247 service?
Yes. Simply sign up for the Connect 247 account of your choice and follow the instructions below.
PLEASE NOTE: Cymru 1 Limited is not responsible for any call charges you might incur if you do not ensure that your computer uses your new Connect 247 unmetered account to connect to the Internet rather than your old standard Cymru 1 Connect account or any other ISP's account. You can double-check this very easily: If the number your computer dials in order to connect to the Internet begins with "0808" then it is a "toll-free" call and you should not incur any Internet telephone call charges for calling this number. If the number starts with 0845 or 0844 or any other number then you will be charged for the call.
How to upgrade:
Having signed up for the Connect 247 package of your choice and correctly configured your computer to use it to connect to the Internet and to send and receive email from your new [yourchoice]@[subdomain].cymru247.net email address:
If you currently use Webmail (http://webmail.cymru1.net) to access your @cymru1.net email then there is nothing else you need to do.
If you use Outlook Express to send and receive your [yourchoice]@cymru1.net Email, you must arrange for the email that is sent to your old [yourchoice]@cymru1.net email address to be forwarded to your new [yourchoice]@[subdomain].cymru247.net email address which you chose when you signed up for the Connect 247 service (if for any reason you have not configured your computer to use the [yourchoice]@[subdomain].cymru247.net email account you will need to do so first before you continue).
To do this:
STEP1
1) Login to the @cymru1.net Webmail system from http://webmail.cymru1.net
2) Click on Options drop down menu at the top of the page
3) Select Forwarding from the list of options
4) Enter your new [yourchoice]@[subdomain].cymru247.net email address in the Forwarding box
5) Click on the Save button
6) Logout
At this point all email received from your old email address will be forwarded to your new address, so you won't lose any email. However it will be necessary to delete your old @cymru1.net email account settings from Outlook Express in order not to see error messages when you send/receive email.
To do this:
STEP2
1) Run Outlook Express
2) Click on the Tools menu option, and choose Accounts
3) Click on the Mail tab in the new window that appears
4) Locate your old @cymru1.net email account (it is normally labeled pop3.cymru1.net) and click on it once to select it.
5) Click on the REMOVE button on the right and confirm when asked.
At this point you should only have your new [yourchoice]@[subdomain].cymru247.net email account left in the list of Email accounts shown (plus any old accounts you might have from other ISPs)
I have an @cymru1.net Email address. Can I still use it?
Yes, but you need to follow STEP 1 and STEP 2 as shown in the answer above.
What Email address will I get if I sign up for a Connect 247 account?
Email addresses for Connect 247 customers all end in cymru247.net and take the following format:
[yourchoice]@[subdomain].cymru247.net
You get to choose the [subdomain], and you can have up to seven different email addresses for [yourchoice].
In other words, if you chose the "jones" for your [subdomain] , you can have up to seven different email addresses like this:
[yourchoice1]@jones.cymru247.net
[yourchoice2]@jones.cymru247.net
and so on, up to a maximum of seven.
For example:
john@jones.cymru247.net
eddie@jones.cymru247.net
wilma@jones.cymru247.net
and so on. Each of these email addresses can have it's own mailbox, allowing you to give up to seven different people their own, individual, private Email address on your account - one for all the family!
You select your subdomain and create your Email addresses using the Connect 247 Control Panel.
What is the Connect 247 Control Panel?
The Connect 247 Control Panel is where you choose which Connect 247 service you wish to use, configure your account and add email addresses to to. You can also use the Control Panel to buy additional services such as more sophisticated connectivity options, inform us of changes in address, alter usernames and passwords and so on. You can access the control panel from the Connect 247 Control Panel link in the navigation bar on the left, or you can just go to http://cp.cymru247.net.
How do I access the Connect 247 Control Panel?
Go to http://cp.cymru247.net or you can visit the Connect 247 section on the Cymru 1 Website where you'll find a link to it.
How do I add a cymru247.net Email address to my Connect 247 account?
This is very simple to do.
1) Log in to the Connect 247 Control Panel. You'll find a link to this on the main Connect 247 information page.
2) Click on the Domains & Email link on the left.
3) If you have already set up a subdomain, please skip to step 4. Otherwise you'll need to add one now. To do so
i) Click on the Add New link under Domains & Email
ii) Select the FREE Subdomain option and click on the Proceed button
iii) Enter the subdomain name of your choice in the box. You can choose almost anything you like as long as it isn't rude and doesn't infringe on someone else's trademarks or intellectual property. Often people use their surname here.
iv) Click on the Create Domain button.
v) The page will now show that your domain is active and will list it.
4) Click on the [e-mail] link to the right of the line listing to domain you want to add an Email address to.
5) A new page will appear. Click on Add New
6) A new page will appear asking you to enter some details.
i) Enter the email address you'd like to add in the Username section.
ii) Enter a password for this Email address in the password sections and click on the Update button
7) A new page will appear listing your new Email address.
8) Wait a short while - in a moment or two you see the words Setup Info, Auto Setup and Delete links appear under the Options heading.
9) If you want to add your new Email account to your Email program manually, click on Setup Info
10) Alternatively, if you use Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express and want everything to be done for you, click on the Auto Setup option and select Open from the list of options that will appear in a new window on your screen. Windows will then automatically add your new Email account to Outlook or Outlook Express.
All Connect 247 accounts come with 10Mb of free Webspace for personal use.
Using it is very simple.
1) Log in to the Connect 247 Control Panel. You'll find a link to this on the main Connect 247 information page.
2) Click on the Domains & Email link on the left.
3) If you have already set up a subdomain, please skip to step 4. Otherwise you'll need to add one now. To do so
i) Click on the Add New link under Domains & Email
ii) Select the FREE Subdomain option and click on the Proceed button
iii) Enter the subdomain name of your choice in the box. You can choose almost anything you like as long as it isn't rude and doesn't infringe on someone else's trademarks or intellectual property. Often people use their surname here, or the name of their house.
iv) Click on the Create Domain button.
v) The page will now show that your domain is active and will list it.
4) Click on the [web hosting] link to the right of the line listing to domain you want to set up a website on.
5) A new page will appear. Click on Add New
6) A new page will appear asking you to enter some details.
i) Enter www in the Prefix section (or you can use something else, but www is what most people will want).
ii) Enter your choice of Username in the Username box. You'll need to enter this in your FTP program when you come to upload your website to your web space.
iii) Enter a password for this username in password sections and click on the Add button
7) A new page will appear listing your new web address.
8) Wait a short while for your request to be processed. In a moment or two you will see the word Active shown under the Status heading.
Your webspace is now ready to be used. Use the Username and Password information you chose earlier in your FTP program and have it connect to ftp.cymru247.net to upload your files. ALL FILES MUST BE UPLOADED TO THE DATA DIRECTORY.
Please note:
1) You must be connected via your Connect 247 account
in order to upload files to your webspace.
2) If you have any difficulties uploading, set
your FTP program to use PASSIVE MODE (also known as PASV Mode).
Passive Mode is REQUIRED if you have a personal firewall or
a router installed.
Optional: If you want visitors to the domain name you've just created (e.g. www.jones.cymru247.net) to be re-directed to another website then simply click on the "prefix" listed. A new page will appear asking you where you want to redirect visitors to (e.g. www.somewherelese.com)
Do I need a BT telephone line in order to use the Connect 247 service?
Yes. A standard BT telephone line, ISDN line or Home or Business Highway line is required to access this service
Can I use the Connect 247 service when I'm away from home?
You can access the webmail (online email) component of the Connect 247 service from anywhere in the world as long as you have unrestricted access to the Internet. However, you cannot connect to the Internet via the Connect 247 service from any line other than the one whose number you register when you sign up for the service. You can easily change this number if you move or have a new line installed - you can do it via the Connect 247 Control Panel. Please also note that the Connect 247 service is only available in the UK, and only via BT telephone lines.
My account has been Suspended? What do I do?
If your account has been Suspended due to non-payment (for example if your credit card has expired and you have not updated your card details despite receiving warnings from WorldPay) you must update your payment details immediately. Details of how to update your card details can be found by clicking here. 48 hours after updating your details you should contact the Cymru 1 Billing department in order to arrange for your account to be un suspended.
For customers who pay monthly by credit or debit card, canceling your account is a two step process and can be done online:
STEP 1) First log into your Control Panel, select the Connectivity option, then click on the List option. You will see a list of the connectivity options you have subscribed to. To the right of each connectivity option (there will only be one listed if, like most customers, you have only subscribed to one option), you will see a link labeled "[cancel]". To cancel your connectivity account, please just click on this, and confirm that you want to cancel when the confirmation message appears. If the cancellation was successful, you will find that the connectivity option that you just cancelled will disappear from the list.
STEP 2) If, as a result of completing Step 1, you receive an email from WorldPay stating that your FuturePay agreement has been cancelled then this step is not necessary. However, if you do not receive an email from WorldPay you must manually check that your WorldPay FuturePay agreement, which is the mechanism through which we regularly bill you every month, has been cancelled for you.
To do this please visit http://www.worldpay.com/shopper and login using the special WorldPay username and password you were sent by WorldPay when you first signed up with us (please read the details you'll find a little further down the page if you have lost these details).
Once logged in, go down to the Customer FuturePay Agreements section of the page and click on the 'View Details' link. Look for the Cancel link in the bottom right hand corner, click on it, and then confirm when asked. (Note: Normally you will find it is already cancelled as a result of Step 1 in which case you need do nothing more).
If your Regular FuturePay agreement is correctly cancelled you will receive an email from WorldPay confirming this, but please note that this email will be sent to the email address that WorldPay has on file for you (this is normally the address that you entered as your "existing email address" when you first signed up with us, unless you have subsequently changed it through your WorldPay control panel). If you no longer use or have access to the email account that WorldPay has on file for you, you will not receive the confirmation message.
If you have lost your WorldPay username and password: Click on the Forgotten Password link on the WorldPay login page. This brings up a new window where you are asked to enter your WorldPay FuturePay Agreement id number and your email address.
For the email address, you MUST enter the email address you entered as your "Existing email address" when you first signed up with us, as this is the address WorldPay will have on record for you. This address will also be the address that WorldPay sends you monthly notices telling you that you've paid.
Your FuturePay Agreement id number is included in the emails that WorldPay send you every month telling you that you have paid. Alternatively it is also shown in the Ebilling section in the Connect 247 Control Panel.
If you don't use the same email address anymore, or if you have any difficulty updating your details, you can contact WorldPay's customer service department on 0870 366 1233. They will be able to advise you of other ways of getting your WorldPay login details. Be sure to have your FuturePay Agreement ID number and your credit card details handy before you call, as these details will be required in order for WorldPay to be able to help you.
WARNING: When you cancel an account it is cancelled instantly and can no longer be used. We cannot re-activate a cancelled account. No refunds can be given if you cancel an account even if you are part-way through a billing period - even if you cancel it on the first day of a billing period. To ensure that you do not accidentally end up paying for something you no longer require, you should therefore be sure to cancel an account well before your next billing date. We recommend you do so at least 24 hours before the date that your next bill is due).
Cymru 1 Limited will not be held responsible for any costs you incur (including for connectivity even if you no longer use your account) and no refunds will be given if you fail to follow the cancellation procedure outlined in Step 1 and Step 2 above.
NOTE: If you have arranged to pay for your account quarterly or annually by invoice you must contact us, giving us at least 30 days notice, to arrange for the cancellation of an account. You cannot use the cancellation process outlined above.
How do I change or update my payment details?
If you pay by debit card or credit card and you need to change the card number, expiry date and so on, please visit:
http://www.worldpay.com/shopper
Login using the special WorldPay username and password you were sent by WorldPay when you first signed up with us (read the details shown a little further down the page if you have lost these details). Once logged in you will see an arrow button underneath the word "Change Details" in the bottom part of the page. Click on it.
The page will then show a summary of your current details at the top, and then at the bottom of the page you will see a list of options. Click on the arrow button next to the option you require (e.g. "Change Card", "Change Contact Details" etc.
DO NOT CLICK ON THE ARROW NEXT TO THE "CANCEL" OPTION. If you want to return to the WorldPay home page click on the arrow next to the "Home" option instead.
If you have lost your WorldPay username and password: Click on the Forgotten Password link on the WorldPay login page. This brings up a new window where you are asked to enter your WorldPay FuturePay Agreement id number and your email address.
For the email address, you MUST enter the email address you entered as your "Existing email address" when you first signed up with us, as this is the address WorldPay will have on record for you. This address will also be the address that WorldPay sends you monthly notices telling you that you've paid.
Your FuturePay Agreement id number is included in the emails that WorldPay send you every month telling you that you have paid. Alternatively it is also shown in the Ebilling section in the Connect 247 Control Panel.
If you don't use the same email address anymore, or if you have any difficulty updating your details, you can contact WorldPay's customer service department on 0870 366 1233. They will be able to advise you of other ways of getting your WorldPay login details. Be sure to have your FuturePay Agreement ID number and your credit card details handy before you call, as these details will be required in order for WorldPay to be able to help you.
NOTE: If you allow your credit or debit card to expire before you update your details and, as a result, you fail to pay for your Connect 247 account on time as required, your access to the Internet may be suspended without any additional notice.
Once you rectify the situation by updating your payment details as outlined above, WorldPay will then take the first missing payments the next day, then the first of any other missed payments the day after, and then one missed payment each day thereafter until all missed payments have been paid in full. Once all missed payments have been paid, please contact our billing department by phone or email to arrange for your account to be re-activated.
How do I upgrade or downgrade my account?
Upgrading or Downgrading:
This is a two step process: First you must add the new type of account you want to your Connect 247 Control Panel. At this point you will have two active accounts. Then, after configuring your computer to use the new account and checking that all is well, the second step is to cancel your old account. Full details appear below:
WARNING: Upgrading or downgrading an account involves the cancellation of your existing account then adding a new one. Please see How Do I Cancel? for more information on canceling accounts and the consequences of doing so.
WARNING: Because all accounts are paid for in advance, and because the minimum billing period for any individual connection is one month, in order to ensure that you do not waste money you should only upgrade or downgrade your account on the day before the normal Billing Date for your existing account. To check your Billing Date: a) Login to your Connect 247 Control Panel from http://cp.cymru247.net b) Click on Ebilling and check to see which day of the month you are normally billed on. This is your "Billing Date".
STEP 1: Adding the new account
a) Login to your Connect 247 Control Panel from http://cp.cymru247.net
b) Click on Connectivity, then on Add New, and follow the prompts to add the new type of account to your Connect 247 Control Panel and pay for it. You will need to choose a new dial-up username when adding the new account. Note: This new dial-up username is only used when connecting to the Internet. It does not replace your Connect 247 Control Panel username nor your Email address or email username: These stay exactly as they were.
c) At this point you will have two active Connectivity accounts: The old one that you want to upgrade or downgrade from, and the new one that you just added. Now you need to configure your computer to use your new account just as you did when you first signed up with us. You can do so manually by clicking on the [Setup Info] link, or automatically by downloading and running the file that is automatically generated when you click on the [Auto Setup] link. Note that as well as using a different username, your new account will connect to the Internet using a different dial-up number to your old account (each type of account makes use of a different dial-up number).
STEP 2: Canceling the old account
a) Once you are sure that your computer is correctly set up to use the new type of account and is connecting successfully using it, again login to your Connect 247 Control Panel from http://cp.cymru247.net.
b) Click on Connectivity then on List.
c) Locate the line containing the account you are no longer using (i.e. the one you want to upgrade or downgrade from), click on the [Cancel] button on this line, then confirm the cancellation when asked. FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS THE ACCOUNT YOU HAVE CANCELLED WILL NO LONGER ALLOW YOU TO LOGIN TO THE INTERNET. Please therefore be sure to cancel the correct account, and to understand the consequences of canceling an account before doing so (please see How do I cancel? for more information).
d) At this point you will only have one active account listed, as the old one will have been cancelled leaving only the new one in place. Please double-check that this is the case.
WARNING: When you cancel an account it is cancelled instantly and can no longer be used. We cannot re-activate a cancelled account. No refunds can be given if you cancel an account even if you are part-way through a billing period - even if you cancel it on the first day of a billing period and even if you cancel it accidentally. So as stated above, be sure to cancel the correct account when upgrading or downgrading, and to only upgrade or downgrade on the day before the normal Billing Date for your existing account. We will not be held responsible for any costs you incur and no refunds will be given if you fail to correctly follow the cancellation procedure outlined above.
How do I check how many hours I've been online?
1) Login to your Connect 247 Control Panel from http://cp.cymru247.net
2) Click on Connectivity, then on List
3) Click on the [Usage] link you'll see on the right hand side of the page on the same line as your account.
The page will change to show you how many times you have connected, how long each connection lasted on average (in minutes) and how manu hours you have been connected in the current billing period.
128k ISDN USERS PLEASE NOTE: The usage figures shown are in 64k-hours. Thus if the total hours figure indicates that you have spent 100 hours online, it means that if you connect at 64k all the time you will have connected for a total of 100 hours. If you connect at 128k all the time it means you will have spent 50 hours online. If you connect at a combination of 64k and 128k then the actual number of hours spent online will be between 50 and 100 hours.
Customers with Connect 247 Unlimited accounts: The usage figures shown in the Connect 247 Control Panel for your account will not accurately reflect your usage and should be disregarded.
I have an ISDN or Highway line. How do I connect at 128K rather than just 64K?
First of all you need to subscribe to one of the Connect 247 services that supports 128K connections. These include Connect 247 ISDN Standard, Connect 247 ISDN Premium, Connect 247 Unlimited and Connect 247 Pay As You Go..
If you have subscribed to an appropriate Connect 247 service, the next step is to configure your computer or ISDN adapter to connect at 128K rather than just 64K. Exactly how to do this depends on your ISDN adapter and the version of Windows that you have.
If it is an EXTERNAL ISDN adapter that DOES NOT connect to your computer via a USB port, then you'll need to refer to the manufacturer's instructions.
For most other types of ISDN adapter, you can do everything within Windows.
In Window XP:
1) Click Start, select Connect To, and then Show All Connections.
2) Right click on the icon for your Connect 247 service and select Properties
3) Put a tick on BOTH of the two ISDN adapter entries you'll see listed in the Connect Using box (they often listed simply as "ISDN Channel").
4) Click on OK
In Windows Me and 98
1) Click Start, then select Settings, and choose Dial Up Networking
2) Right click on the icon for your Connect 247 service and select Properties
3) Click on the Multi-Link tab at the top, select "Use Additional Device" and click on the last (or only) ISDN Adapter or channel shown in the list.
4) Click on OK.
PLEASE NOTE: When you connect at 128K, BOTH of the two channels provided by an ISDN or Highway line are used. This means that you cannot make or receive any additional calls when you are connected to the Internet at this speed. Conversely, when you connect at 64K you are only using one channel. This means that you can make or receive calls on the unused second channel when you are connected to the Internet at this speed.
What does "contention ratio" mean?
[Please note that this definition does NOT apply to ADSL, where contention ratio has a totally different meaning]
In very simple terms, a Contention Ratio is an indication of how often you are likely to have to re-dial before you are able to establish a connection to the Internet. The higher the contention ratio (100:1 is higher than 10:1), the more likely you are to have to re-dial.
A very rough rule of thumb you might like to use is as follows:
15:1 - You are likely to have to re-dial several times before you can connect to the Internet, especially during peak periods.
10:1 - You may sometimes have to re-dial a few times before you can connect to the Internet
7:1 - You should not have to re-dial very often before you can connect to the Internet
In technical terms, the contention ratio specifies the ratio of customers against dial-up ports. Few ISPs offering flat-rate Internet access have one port for each customer (which would result in a contention ratio of 1:1. This is because at any given time, not all of an ISP's customers are connected to the Internet, and therefore the expense (both to the ISP and to their customers) of reserving a dial-up port for everyone is unnecessary. Most ISP's therefore have fewer dial-up ports than they do customers for their mainstream dial-up products (our Unlimited packages are an exception to this rule).
Exactly what the ratio of customers to ports is depends on the service being offered by the ISP. One ISP may offers several services, each with different contention ratios, in order to match the needs and budget of different types of customer.
Our Connect 247 Lite service, which is designed for infrequent Internet users on a budget, for example, has a contention ratio of 15:1, while our Connect 247 Premium service, which is aimed at heavy Internet users or Business users, has a contention ratio of 7:1.
Note that a service offering a contention ratio of, for example, 10:1 DOES NOT MEAN that a particular customer will share a specific dial-up port with 9 other specific individual customers - such a situation would lead to connection problems being guaranteed almost all the time! So again we'll repeat this - THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Rather, there will simply be 10 times as many customers as there are dial-up ports available to use with this service, and so according to our rule of thumb above, you may sometimes have to re-dial a few times before you can connect to the Internet.
What does "idle cutoff time" mean?
When you leave a room and there's nobody in it, you normally switch the light off in order not to be wasteful. Sometimes you forget. Wouldn't it be good if lights switched themselves off if there was nobody in the room? Well, idle cutoff time is, in a way, the Internet equivalent of a light automatically switching itself off. It is the period of Internet inactivity after which your computer will automatically be disconnected from the Internet in order not to waste facilities that you are not actually using.
So, if Connect 247 service lists an idle cutoff time of ten minutes, it means your computer will be automatically disconnected if our networks detect that no Internet activity has taken place on your connection for a period of ten minutes.
Idle cutoff times are necessary in order to ensure that the facilities provided by Connect 247 services are shared fairly amongst all our customers, and that resources are not wasted.
Please also note that all ISPs offering similar services have similar policies.
What does "session cutoff time" mean?
Session cutoff time is the maximum time your computer can be connected to the Internet before being automatically disconnected, even if your connection is not idle. Note, however, that you can re-connect immediately after being automatically disconnected in this way.
Like the idle cutoff time and maximum hours per month, a session cutoff time is necessary in order to ensure that the facilities provided by Connect 247 services are shared fairly amongst all our customers.
Please note that all ISPs offering similar services to ours have similar policies.
What does "maximum hours per month" mean?
Cymru 1 operates a "Fair Use" policy for its Connect 247 service. This is intended to ensure that all our customers benefit from our services equally. In order to do so, it is necessary for us to limit the total number of hours any individual Connect 247 subscriber can be online using the service in any given monthly billing period. This prevents those who try to use (or rather abuse) "Unmetered" or "Flat Rate" services such as this to effectively stay connected to the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. "Unmetered" or "Flat Rate" services are NOT designed or intended for this type of use.
Many other ISPs, including BT Openworld, also operate Fair Use policies such as this and also limit how many hours an individual user can use in any given month.
My question isn't answered here!
Although we've tried to include just about every question customers ask us about the service, inevitably the one question (which nobody has thought to ask before) you need to know the answer to isn't included in a list like this! In a situation like this there is only one solution - please call us. You'll find full details on the correct number to call in our How do I get help? section at the top of this page.