OK, my friend apparently still gets her internet thru a modem (i have no idea why this is). She eventually got thru to the phone company, who told her to reboot the modem and there no longer seems to be a problem. It is amazing how many tech things can still be solved by saying "have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again?"
@elong169 Thanks for keeping the thread updated, I'm glad your friend eventually managed to get that sorted at their end.
Thanks
Neil