Don't buy BT I-Plate, says stockist

The BT internet booster - the I-Plate - is unnecessary and you shouldn't buy it, a company offering the item for sale has said.

Solwise says that the I-Plate, which BT claims can improve your broadband speed by up to 1.5Mbps when fitted to your home phone socket, isn't worth buying.

The I-Plate is a self-install filter which needs to be fitted in between the front and back plate of the BT NTE 5 master telephone socket.

The I-Plate disables the bell wire that was used to make older telephones ring. Solwise, however, suggests a manual solution to disable the bell wire.

"The Solwise solution to this problem would be to detach the front section of your master socket and disconnect the bell-wire(s) (from pin 3) and re-fit the faceplate," the company said in an email.

"The BT solution is called the iPlate! This device places a filter on the bell-wire (which remember is not required!)," the email continued.

Solwise is selling the I-Plate for 5.90 including VAT. The BT Shop is selling it for 5.86.

A BT spokesman told Web User: "We couldn't comment on whether Solwise's instructions would be a successful alternative. The I-Plate has been fully tested and we know it gets results, and it's more convenient than fiddling about in the socket yourself."

The spokesman also pointed out that the master socket belongs to BT and shouldn't be tampered with.