BT iPlate – improve your broadband connection!

The iPlate ( ‘i’ for interstitial as in situated between! ) is a simple low cost device that BT created to improve broadband speeds and help stabilise connections.

BT started trials of this new device in January 2008 with the device becoming available to purchase a few months later. Many ISPs, including Freeola now have them available to purchase.

Some quotes from BT:

A self-install solution to improve Broadband line speed and stability.

The third ‘bell wire’ in use with most home extension wiring causes problems for ADSL under certain conditions.

A number of complex effects combine to increase the overall level of noise on the line.

This increase in noise ultimately reduces bit rate and can cause problems with line stability.

The effect can be fairly significant and most homes which have some extension wiring will be suffering to some degree from this issue.

Simple, low cost filtering added at the NTE can significantly reduce this effect.

NTE(Network Terminating Equipment) is what normal people know the Master Socket as!
See my Master Socket post for more info.

You must have a Master Socket as shown in the images on the above post to fit an iPlate. If you have a similar looking NTE but with an Openreach logo rather than just a BT logo then you don’t need one as this has the functionality already built in!

ADSL and modern phones only need two wires (this isn’t strictly true(!) as ADSL can limp along on one wire while voice always needs two.) the third wire which is the Bell or Ring Wire isn’t required with modern phones and having this wire can unfortunately seriously affect your broadband stability and speeds as it introduces interference to the pair of wires used for ADSL/Broadband.

It is possible to rewire your phone sockets to improve things or to install an ADSL filtered faceplate which also overcomes these problems – but these options require people to be a little bit more practical and can prove troublesome to carry out for some.

Other people are also concerned about handling live wires – if the phone should ring 50v comes down the line! It shouldn’t be a problem at this voltage but is still a worry for some.


This is where the iPlate comes in!
No wires need to be moved or changed – the small square plate fits between the Master Socket back box and the removable faceplate.

View pictures of an iPlate being fitted.

Simply remove the two screws holding the lower faceplate in position and gently move the faceplate forward an inch or so.
Careful as your phone extension wires are connected to the back of this plate.

The iPlate then plugs into the Master Socket TEST socket with the original faceplate fitted back on top – longer screws are supplied as the originals will now be too short.

Note: If you haven’t got any extensions fitted (i.e. no wires behind the removable faceplate) then there is nothing to be gained by fitting an iPlate.


BT’s trials of this product showed an increase of up to 1.5Mb in connection speed or up to 10db of ‘reach’ – all nice to have especially as it’s a low cost solution!

As the subject line says - iPlate is now also known as the 'Broadband Accelerator' BT's new name :¬)


^Hmmm...