http://www.demon.co.uk/dil/connect/popfaq.html (The Risc Disc Volume 2, 10/1995)
Gateway House
322 Regents Park Road
Finchley, London, N3 2QQ
0181-371 1234 (Sales - London)
0131-552 0344 (Sales - Edinburgh
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0181-371 1000
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Support email support@demon.net (Automated response system)
Sales email sales@demon.net
Last updated 22 August 1995 Rev 1.20
The latest version of this document is available from ftp.demon.co.uk:/pub/doc/Pop.faq
1. Where are the current PoPs?
3. What if I get told the number is wrong?
4. How do Demon choose where PoPs go?
5. How do I request a PoP near to me?
6. How do Demon choose the PoP names?
7. Doesn't XYZ cable company offer free or cheap calls?
8. Wouldn't 0345/0800/calling-collect be a good idea?
9. What is the User to modem line ratio?
10. What about a quick connect number?
Location Phone number Notes
-------- ------------ -----
Alford 01507 409666 vPoP
Appleby 01768 339666 vPoP
Bellingham 01434 209666 vPoP
Berwick 01289 509666 vPoP
Birmingham 0121 275 9666 vPoP [1]
Boroughbridge 01423 309666 vPoP
Bourton 01451 659666 vPoP
Brecon 01874 549666 vPoP
Bridgnorth 01746 659666 vPoP
Bridgwater 01278 509666 vPoP
Bristol 0117 981 9666 vPoP [1]
Bromyard 01886 659666 vPoP
Burntwood 01543 659666 vPoP
Cambridge 01223 303666 Re-opens August 31st
Cardiff 01222 279666 vPoP [1]
Carlisle 01228 509666 vPoP
Congleton 01260 509666 vPoP
Coventry 01203 289666 vPoP [1]
Doncaster 01302 609666 vPoP
Durham 0191 350 9666 vPoP
Edinburgh 0131 552 8883 Restricted facilities
Evesham 01386 669666 vPoP
Frodsham 01928 559666 vPoP
Glastonbury 01458 289666 vPoP
Gloucester 01452 359666 vPoP [1]
Great Shefford 01488 559666 vPoP
Halifax 01422 509666 vPoP
Hawkshead 01539 479666 vPoP
Hexham 01434 669666 vPoP
Hitchin 01462 289666 vPoP
Isle of Wight 01983 523306
Killingholme 01469 469666 vPoP
Lancaster 01524 459666 vPoP
Leeds 0113 298 9666 vPoP [1]
Leicester 0116 290 9666 vPoP [1]
Liverpool 0151 210 9666 vPoP [1]
London number 1 0181 338 9666 vPoP [1]
London number 2 0181 343 4848
Luton 01582 649666 vPoP [1]
Maldon 01621 851666 Opens August 31st
Manchester 0161 385 9666 vPoP [1]
Martin 01526 659666 vPoP
Matlock 01629 509666 vPoP
Merstham 01737 509666 vPoP
Monmouth 01600 559666 vPoP
Nettlebed 01491 509666 vPoP
Newark 01636 699666 vPoP
Newcastle 0191 247 9666 vPoP [1]
Nottingham 0115 954 9666 vPoP [1]
Oakham 01572 809666 vPoP
Pontypridd 01443 389666 vPoP
Preston 01772 489666 vPoP [1]
Rangeworthy 01454 659666 vPoP
Reading 01734 289666 vPoP [1]
Ripon 01765 509666 vPoP
Rothbury 01669 889666 vPoP
Scunthorpe 01724 889666 vPoP
Settle 01729 909666 vPoP
Sheffield 0114 238 9666 vPoP [1]
Shepton Mallet 01749 909666 vPoP
Weedon 01327 659666 vPoP
Wellingborough 01933 709666 vPoP
Wetherby 01937 909666 vPoP
Wolverhampton 01902 469666 vPoP [1]
Workington 01900 559666 vPoP
Notes:
[1] These PoPs can also be reached by replacing the last 4 digits with 4848. The 4848 number will be withdrawn sometime next year.
In addition, we will be opening several new vPoPs in Scotland sometime this year. These vPoPs will provide coverage to all points in Scotland south of a line (approximately) from Oban to Stonehaven.
You may use any PoP at any time. However, see the next section for more guidance on which PoP to use.
Obviously you want to use the PoP which is cheapest for you. If you are calling via British Telecom, there are three rates, roughly based on distance: Local, Regional, and National, costing progressively more. Therefore, if there is a PoP at Local rate, you should use it. If there isn't, but there is one at Regional rate, you should use it. Otherwise all our PoPs will be at National rate.
If two or more PoPs are at the same rate from you, you should choose them in the following order (there are several reasons behind this ordering):
For your convenience, and because experience shows that many people have problems getting British Telecom to tell them which rate applies to a call (at least some Phone Books contain errors on this), we have made the call information available in a number of ways:
At present some of our customers are having problems in reaching some of our PoPs. This is due to problems with the BT-Energis interconnects, and with the Energis internal network. All parties are working to fix this.
If you receive unobtainable tone or a message when you dial a vPoP, please check that you have dialled the correct number.
If so, then:
Our vPoPs are provided via the Energis telecommunications network. This means that we can only provide vPoPs where Energis can provide service (this is not the same as using Energis to make outgoing calls, so the fact that Energis service is provided at a place does not mean that we can put a vPoP there). There are a number of technical issues involved in placing a vPoP, which is why apparently small places have sometimes been chosen in preference to much larger ones.
Our tPoPs are provided by physical plant in the appropriate area. In general, we try to choose locations where some or all of the following reasons apply:
Regarding the last point, we do not place a tPoP just because a customer is offering the facility, so please do not write asking us to place one in your premises.
Naturally we would like to bring local call charging to as many customers as possible and so will be actively progressing our expansion.
You can't.
We do monitor, and sometimes contribute to, the newsgroup demon.pops. We will not place a PoP in an area just because someone moans enough at us, whether in news or email.
We are committed to providing local call access to 100% of the UK. It takes time, so please bear with us.
The original tPoP names were based around something to do with demons, devils, and Norse & Greek Mythology. It is common to have a theme for your network nodes and this is ours! For the machines serving the vPoPs our imagination was sadly lacking, so we simply called them a, b, c etc. e.g. a.demon.co.uk.
Where we are able to connect up to a decent cable company offering cheap calls we will do so. If the calls are too cheap or even free this presents us with the problem of people logging on and staying connected for hours and hours (some readers may recall the situation of the Hull tPoP). We do not want to introduce time-based charging, but this could leave us no choice.
Briefly, no:
0345 - we pay a premium even if you are in a local call area.
0800 - we pay for your phone calls
We would have to pass these charges on, which defeats the object.
Our target is 30:1, though of course this goes up when new customers join, and down when new modems are installed.
From time to time you must expect to get a busy tone when you dial one of our numbers. The frequency depends on the demand for the PoP you are dialing and the time of day. During the working day, availability should be in excess of 98%. However, at one minute past 6pm we could never have enough lines.
In the case of the vPoPs, they all reach the same bank of modems. This means that you will only get busy if every vPoP modem is in use.
It has been suggested that we allocate reserved numbers for people who wish to make a short connection (say less than 5 minutes). In practice this means that we would have to provide a quantity of extra lines plus systems which merely police this restriction. We feel it is much better to just provide more lines for general use rather than trying to control the usage in this way.
Many of the services mentioned in this document are provided by third parties. While they were accessible on the Internet at the time of writing, Demon Internet cannot guarantee access to services provided on machines that they do not control, and changes to services on the Internet may occur to rapidly to be reflected here.
Accurate at the time of writing (8/95) E&OE
© Demon Internet Limited 1995
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