Until recently consumers in rural areas in the UK (around 5% of the population) received very low quality and slow broadband service, as well as poor 3G reception on their mobile phones. Similarly, the mobile 3G network as a whole has not been as efficient as it should be. In addition, it is expected that the demand for mobile data in Europe will increase by more than 500% in the next five years.
A recent trial scheme has seen such rural consumers, and also consumers in East London, trialling new 4G broadband via specific dongles, in an attempt to prepare for the inevitable availability and roll out of the 4G network from 2013 onwards. Initial trials have shown that the 4G network is actually faster than normal home broadband speeds and Wi-Fi connections.
Are you happy with your current broadband speeds? Do you regularly use mobile internet? Let us know your thoughts on the matter.
Plum can review customers’ current broadband bills, to see where they can reduce costs, and advise on their broadband and mobile data usage. They can provide customers with both home and mobile broadband services and appropriate hardware. If you would like more information or advice on Plum’s hosting services, please contact us via email or phone (01616223500).
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
4G – Will mobile internet overtake home broadband?
Share this post:
0
comments
Friday, 6 January 2012
UK slow to take advantage of faster broadband
A recent report from Ofcom has found that only 4% of the UK’s homes are taking advantage of superfast FTTC (Fibre to the cabinet) broadband services, with the majority over-using lower speed broadband instead due to lower costs and wider availability. As recently reported by the BBC, the current average broadband speed in the UK is 6.8 Mbps, whilst superfast broadband can provide 80-100 Mbps. Consequently, there appears a need for further investment in superfast broadband in order to make it more widely available to businesses.
Speeds can vary but Fibre to the Cabinet shows vast speed improvements for customers who are a long way from an exchange but near to a cabinet as the active parts are contained within the cabinet.
Are you happy with the broadband speed you currently have? Is it time for businesses to switch to the superfast FTTC broadband? Let us know your views on the topic.
Plum were one of the first companies to be offering FTTC in the Oldham area. Plum can manage orders for faster broadband and provide service now with ability to convert to fibre when available in the area. Customers can register or place orders now so they can go live as soon as possible.
Please visit the following news articles for further information:
- BBC - Ofcom: UK lags on fast broadband but loves to shop
- BBC - UK Chancellor announces more funding for broadband
Share this post:
0
comments
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Ofcom reveals that UK broadband rates are 'not up to speed'
Ofcom has today published the results of their research into fixed-line broadband speeds in the
The research found that nearly 20% of
You can view the full report here. In summary the report found that:
- The average broadband speed in the
- The actual speeds received varied widely. Fewer than one in ten (9 per cent) of the sample on 8Mbit/s headline packages received actual average speeds of over 6Mbit/s and around one in five (19 per cent) received, on average, less than 2Mbit/s.
- Those living in urban areas received significantly faster speeds than those living in rural areas. The average speed delivered to urban consumers was 4.6Mbit/s, compared to an average of 3.3Mbit/s delivered to rural consumers.
- Consumers with all ISPs experienced a slowdown in actual speeds during peak evening hours (8-10pm), with speeds in this period around 20 per cent slower than over a 24-hour period.
It's not just which provider you're with - or what deal you've signed up to - which can affect the speed of your connection. If you get your broadband via a phone line, then something as simple as how far you live from your local telephone exchange or a missing filter can affect the speed of your connection.
Ofcom have released the following video guide on how to improve your broadband speed:
Plum Communications provide a range of Broadband Internet Services, most popular are the ADSL services which have a different higher download speed to the upload speed. These start with standard ADSL (up to 2Mb), rate adaptive ADSL (up to 8Mb) and fast rate adaptive ADSL 2+ (up to 24Mb). Distance from the exchange, line quality, interference or a missing filter will reduce the speed available. A line check can be carried out for any proposed connection to determine the potential speed of the line.
The ADSL type of connection meets most needs as in general customers will download more than they upload, however some customers will have special requirements, for instance remote hosting of services and files, back up routines, camera access, gaming, streaming and in these cases a higher upload speed is required. This can be provided economically by bonding multiple ADSL circuits together.
Alternatively SDSL connections are available with higher upload speeds and where guaranteed bandwidth with Service Level Agreement is required we provide direct internet connections and leased lines. For advice on the most appropriate method of connection for your business contact Plum Communications on 0161 622 3500.Share this post:
0
comments
Thursday, 12 March 2009
BBC to help fund super-fast broadband?
Lord Carter, the man behind the ‘Digital Britain’ report, has spent time this week answering questions from the House of Commons Business and Enterprise Committee. He was answering questions regarding his plans for all British households on at least 2Mbs speed broadband by 2012, amongst other issues, such as super-fast broadband and YouTube’s UK music video block.
Speaking about recent developments in super-fast broadband, he expressed his view that with half the population not being able to take advantage of BT’s and Virgin’s fibre optics broadband, other organisations needed to contribute funds in order to establish nationwide super-fast broadband, in particular the BBC. He explained that, “More and more people get their media from the internet and that usage is doubling every two years. Would the nation's state-funded content provider have a role in this? It would seem to me it would,” It appears that his view is based upon the fact that many people use BBC iPlayer and the BBC website as a means of watching television, so the BBC already relies on good broadband connections to offer these services, so it would make business sense for the BBC to help fund such a project, in order to allow more people to benefit from these online services.
Share this post:
0
comments
Thursday, 8 January 2009
UK consumers receive an average broadband internet speed of 3.6Mb/s
Ofcom has today brought out the results of its latest consumer research regarding broadband internet speeds in the UK. The report has shown that despite UK consumers having a possible average maximum possible broadband speed of 4.3Mb/s, in reality UK consumer receive an average broadband speed of 3.6Mb/s. The research was carried out over a 30 day period, with approximately 7,000 tests run through monitoring units connected to around 1,500 homes’ broadband routers, resulting in over 10 million separate tests of a range of suppliers’ services. The full report can be views here.
Such a speed is seen as sufficient for many internet applications, such as audio and video applications. However, such a speed is significantly lower than well advertised headline speeds. For example, 60% of UK broadband consumers are subscribed to ‘up to 8Mb/s packages’, but 20% of these receive a speed of less than 2Mb/s and only 45% receive the advertised headline speed.
Ofcom last month addressed this problem by ensuring all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) signed up to the Broadband Speeds Code of Practice, a new Code of Practice which ensures that consumers are provided with an accurate estimate of the maximum speed that they can expect when signing up to a service.
Share this post:
0
comments
