broadband | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Sat, 18 Jan 2020 09:36:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png broadband | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 BT becomes first UK ISP to bundle Google Stadia with broadband https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/bt-becomes-first-uk-isp-to-bundle-google-stadia-with-broadband/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/bt-becomes-first-uk-isp-to-bundle-google-stadia-with-broadband/#respond Fri, 17 Jan 2020 15:30:45 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=447401 The rise of cloud gaming has plenty of question marks around it, with ISPs controlling our connections to streaming services being the biggest. Here in the UK, BT is the first ISP to openly support cloud gaming by partnering up with Google to offer a new Stadia bundle. Starting from this week, those signing up …

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The rise of cloud gaming has plenty of question marks around it, with ISPs controlling our connections to streaming services being the biggest. Here in the UK, BT is the first ISP to openly support cloud gaming by partnering up with Google to offer a new Stadia bundle.

Starting from this week, those signing up to BT Superfast Broadband 2 (67Mbps), Ultrafast Fibre 100 (100Mbps) or Ultrafast Fibre 250 (250Mbps) packages will get the Stadia Premiere Edition bundle, including the Stadia controller, Chromecast Ultra and three months of Stadia Pro. Then next month, BT will be launching some gaming specific broadband plans.

Virgin Media is another ISP that has offered gaming specific internet packages, which mostly include improved upload speeds for streamers on top of already speedy Fibre connections for up to 300Mbps download speeds. BT will be doing something similar with a range of ‘Superfast Stadia gaming plans' including Superfast Fibre 2, Ultrafast Fibre 100 or Ultrafast Fibre 250, which are all launching on February 7th.

Currently, BT's plans start at £40 per month. We'll need to wait a little while longer to learn more about the Stadia specific broadband plans and what their benefits are.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: ISPs have been somewhat slow to appeal to the gaming market in my opinion. A lot of us will pay for faster speeds when they are available, particularly now that game download sizes are so big. Still, with streaming coming into the mix, perhaps this will give ISPs the push they need to roll out infrastructure upgrades. 

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Virgin Media now offers 500Mbps broadband, outpacing BT & others once again https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/virgin-media-now-offers-500mbps-broadband-outpacing-bt-others-once-again/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/virgin-media-now-offers-500mbps-broadband-outpacing-bt-others-once-again/#respond Tue, 30 Apr 2019 14:52:25 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=412056 Virgin Media is well known for its high-speed broadband offerings throughout a good chunk of the UK. Up until now, the top speed available has been 350Mbps down, which already outpaces other ISPs tied to the Open Reach infrastructure. Now, Virgin Media will be raising the bar once again, with a 500Mbps option. Virgin Media's …

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Virgin Media is well known for its high-speed broadband offerings throughout a good chunk of the UK. Up until now, the top speed available has been 350Mbps down, which already outpaces other ISPs tied to the Open Reach infrastructure. Now, Virgin Media will be raising the bar once again, with a 500Mbps option.

Virgin Media's VIVID 500 package will offer download speeds of 500Mbps down and 35Mbps up. As part of Virgin Media's speed guarantee, you may actually see speeds slightly higher, as over provisions are in place that could deliver 575Mbps down or 38.5Mbps up.

There is an unfortunate downside to note. At the moment, Virgin's VIVID 500 broadband package is only available as part of the company's flagship ‘V.VIP' bundle, which adds on two Tivo boxes, access to 300 TV channels and a phone line and a mobile SIM card for £99 per month for the first year (£139 after).

Eventually, the VIVID 500 broadband package will likely be available standalone.

KitGuru Says: I had a really good experience with Virgin Media's 200Mbps package a few years back. Unfortunately, I have since moved to an area where I have to rely on Open Reach lines and as a result, my top speed is now 76Mbps. What broadband speed do you currently get with your ISP? Would you be tempted by Virgin Media's 500Mbps offering? 

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Survey Reveals Misery in UK Broadband Market – But Help is Coming https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/andrej-kovacevic/survey-reveals-misery-in-uk-broadband-market-but-help-is-coming/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/andrej-kovacevic/survey-reveals-misery-in-uk-broadband-market-but-help-is-coming/#respond Fri, 29 Mar 2019 07:31:07 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=408390 When it comes to internet service providers (ISPs), most users aren't exactly in love with their available choices. In the UK, that sentiment is even stronger than it is in most other places. According to a biannual survey by consumer ratings publication Which?, it appears that most of the most well-known British ISPs are failing …

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When it comes to internet service providers (ISPs), most users aren't exactly in love with their available choices. In the UK, that sentiment is even stronger than it is in most other places. According to a biannual survey by consumer ratings publication Which?, it appears that most of the most well-known British ISPs are failing miserably in living up to their customers' expectations. The complaints against the ISPs ranged from poor quality of service all the way to accusations of predatory price gouging – and the only trait that seemed to unite users of all stripes was their general dissatisfaction with whatever ISP they currently rely on.

A Lack of Choice

The reason that the results of this user survey are so important is that it comes at a time when the big four broadband providers – BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media – supply more than nine in ten households with broadband services. That means the uniformly poor quality of service on offer is an issue that's sure to touch almost every home and business in the whole of the UK. It also means even in areas where there is plenty of choice in providers, there's little hope of finding an ISP that will be an improvement over whatever service is currently in use.

The Results, Explained

According to the survey, two of the big providers, TalkTalk and Sky, performed the worst overall. Both providers achieved only a 50% customer satisfaction rate, which was actually an improvement on their previous results on an earlier survey (48% and 47%, respectively). The two other major providers didn't fare much better, either. Here's a deeper look at the results for the big providers:

● TalkTalk – 50% customer satisfaction rate

The most frequent complaints about the provider were about poor customer service and tech support. Also, 27% of respondents reported experiencing poor connection speeds within the prior twelve months.

● Sky – 50% customer satisfaction rate

Much like TalkTalk, 22% of responding Sky users reported experiencing poor connection speeds in the prior twelve months. Making matters worse, an astounding 67% of sky customers indicated they were interested in leaving the provider, pointing to even deeper issues looming for the ISP.

● BT – 51% customer satisfaction rate

Escaping the bottom on the list by one percentage point, BT still received some poor feedback from its customers. Most complained that prices were too high, and thought the service was a poor value. With 20% of users reporting poor connection speeds within the last twelve months, their feelings are no surprise.

● Virgin Media – 58% customer satisfaction rate

Although Virgin Media posted better results than the other major providers, their score was still nothing to celebrate. More than half (54%) of Virgin Media's subscribers were unhappy about recent price increases, and an alarming 17% reported losing their service entirely for hours or days in the previous twelve months.

Regulators are Beginning to Take Notice

The good news for consumers is that the UK's communications regulators, Ofcom, seems to be looking into ways to remedy the current situation in the nation's broadband market. They note that over half of UK homes could have faster broadband service than they now do, without paying any more in service fees. They believe the problem lies in poor communications surrounding expected speeds, prices and service contracts, and have proposed rules meant to help consumers understand their options. At the same time, they're initiating a review of how the major providers price their offerings and how they deliver services to existing customers. In the meantime, regulators are urging everyone to compare the best broadband deals in their area – and to not be afraid to switch providers if they're not satisfied.

Looking Forward

For beleaguered Britons who currently struggle with their local broadband providers, there is a bit of good news to cling to, despite the current sorry state of affairs in the marketplace. It's that the government appears to be fast-tracking fibre optic and 5G network rollouts, which should do much to alleviate the poor performance that seems to be endemic among the big four providers that rely on BT's aging copper networks. Until then, if the results of this latest survey are any indication, the best advice anyone can give to users suffering from unsatisfactory internet service is to hang in there – there's a light at the end of the (fibre) tunnel.

KitGuru Says: With digital streaming services continuing to rise, the demand for better broadband is growing. Right now, it seems that a lot of UK customers are left unsatisfied. What ISP do you use? Have you had issues with the service? 

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UK ISPs forced to cut down advertised speeds following ASA ruling https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/uk-isps-forced-to-cut-down-advertised-speeds-following-asa-ruling/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/uk-isps-forced-to-cut-down-advertised-speeds-following-asa-ruling/#respond Wed, 08 Aug 2018 12:49:35 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=382458 In November 2017, the UK's Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) ruled that broadband providers would have to start advertising average speeds to customers, rather than top speeds. As always, it takes a while for these rules to properly fall into place, but the switch has now happened, and it looks like some ISPs have had to …

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In November 2017, the UK's Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) ruled that broadband providers would have to start advertising average speeds to customers, rather than top speeds. As always, it takes a while for these rules to properly fall into place, but the switch has now happened, and it looks like some ISPs have had to drop their advertised speeds by as much as 41 percent.

The folks at Which? were quick to notice that broadband packages that used to be advertised as ‘up to 17Mbps' are now showing speeds between 10Mbps and 11Mbps, which is a 41 percent drop. According to an analysis of the 12 biggest ISPs, advertised speeds from ‘up to 17Mbps' to ‘up to 100Mbps' have decreased by 15 percent on average.

The ASA's new rules for Broadband require all ISPs to advertise the average speed customers experience at peak hours. Due to this, many ISPs have lowered their advertised speeds. TalkTalk has dropped advertised speed claims from most of its packages, while Vodafone has had to rename its Fibre 38 and Fibre 76 packages to ‘Superfast 1' and ‘Superfast 2'.

Interestingly, Virgin Media was able to actually increase its advertised speeds, and so far, has been the only ISP able to do so.

KitGuru Says: In my own personal experience, not getting advertised broadband speeds is something that I've not had to deal with for years. However, it still seems to be a very prevalent issue for many in the UK. Hopefully these new rule changes will prompt certain ISPs to start doing better, although for many, it all hinges on upgrades to the Openreach infrastructure.

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UK government makes full-fibre pledge for new homes https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/ryan-burgess/uk-government-makes-full-fibre-pledge-for-new-homes/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/ryan-burgess/uk-government-makes-full-fibre-pledge-for-new-homes/#respond Mon, 23 Jul 2018 13:36:26 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=380589 Earlier in the month, it was revealed that the UK had fallen to 35th place from 31st in the global broadband table. Very little movement has happened within the country since the Openreach rollout years ago, and finally, the UK government is planning to do something about it. A new national telecoms strategy could see …

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Earlier in the month, it was revealed that the UK had fallen to 35th place from 31st in the global broadband table. Very little movement has happened within the country since the Openreach rollout years ago, and finally, the UK government is planning to do something about it. A new national telecoms strategy could see new homes getting “full-fibre” in future.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) today laid out a new proposal to make sure all new homes get Fibre To The Premises (FTTP). This is in addition to the National Infrastructure Assessment 2018 report that wants the whole of the UK to have FTTP by 2033.

The BBC reports that The UK is really lagging when it comes to FTTP, with only 4% of buildings in the UK having access to full-fat fibre. This is dire compared to the 79% in Spain, and the 95% in Portugal.

This new proposal will also pave the way for the rapid introduction of 5G into the UK. DCMS Secretary Jeremy Wright said, “This radical new blueprint for the future of telecommunications in this country will increase competition and investment in full-fibre broadband, create more commercial opportunities and make it easier and cheaper to roll out infrastructure for 5G.”

This comes in the wake of CityFibre calling out the Advertising Standards Authority for allowing ISPs to market their broadband as fibre considering part of the line is copper.

KitGuru Says: It’s about time the UK invested heavily in FTTP, though I am sceptical as to how quickly things might change. What do you make of the fibre broadband situation in the UK?

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Cityfibre calls out ASA over misleading Fibre broadband ads confusing brits https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/ryan-burgess/cityfibre-calls-out-asa-over-misleading-fibre-broadband-ads-confusing-brits/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/ryan-burgess/cityfibre-calls-out-asa-over-misleading-fibre-broadband-ads-confusing-brits/#respond Mon, 16 Jul 2018 15:23:49 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=379936 Back in 2008, the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that ISPs could brand their services as ‘fibre' even when copper cables were being used in parts of the infrastructure. Most big UK ISPs utilise these ‘hybrid-Fibre' lines but these services don't match the full speeds of a true fibre connection. This seems to have …

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Back in 2008, the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that ISPs could brand their services as ‘fibre' even when copper cables were being used in parts of the infrastructure. Most big UK ISPs utilise these ‘hybrid-Fibre' lines but these services don't match the full speeds of a true fibre connection. This seems to have led to confusion amongst British consumers, with a survey showing that a chunk of customers thought that they had true fibre to the premises connections.

While BT uses Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) for its Openreach network, and Virgin uses a Hybrid Fibre Coax platform, copper cables are still used to deliver internet to homes through these services, which results in slower speeds compared to a true Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) connection. CityFibre, one of the few FTTP providers in the UK, is now issuing a legal challenge to the ASA, in hopes to get advertising rules changed.

To prove that adverts are misleading people, a survey of 3,422 homeowners was conducted by Censuswide. The survey shows that while 86 percent of people knew that the type of cable connecting them to the internet would make a difference to speed, 65 percent didn't think that their current connection relied on copper cables at all, even though this is the case for the majority of consumers.

As ISPReview points out, close to half (45%) of participants believed that services advertised as ‘fibre' offered FTTP connections as standard, which highlights how current advertising trends have muddied the waters. Once the difference between FTTC and FTTP was explained to those in the survey, two-thirds of participants expressed that advertising rules should be changed.

Currently, there is a judicial review going for the ASA's 2008 fibre advertising ruling. Cityfibre thinks that ISPs should change their marketing before a decision is made, but that seems incredibly unlikely. The ASA is currently of the opinion that as long as the majority of a network is running on fibre, then it is fine to advertise a service as ‘fibre optic', whether or not that will change now remains to be seen.

Last week we learned that the government hopes to have full fibre networks rolled out in the UK by 2033. That is a long wait and companies will need to start explaining the difference between the ‘fibre' they are already paying for, and ‘full fibre' sooner or later.

KitGuru Says: CityFibre is right to challenge both BT Openreach and Virgin Media, but without a widespread real FTTH offering, it's hard to say that homeowners are really being hoodwinked. Do you think that the use of Fibre in advertising should be kept for true Fibre networks?

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UK government assessment calls for full fibre broadband by 2033 https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/uk-government-assessment-calls-for-full-fibre-broadband-by-2033/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/uk-government-assessment-calls-for-full-fibre-broadband-by-2033/#respond Fri, 13 Jul 2018 10:53:26 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=379717 Broadband coverage isn’t the greatest in the United Kingdom, with the country slipping from 31st to 35th place in the global broadband league table earlier this week. The National Infrastructure Assessment 2018 report claims that this is set to change, however, as over 25 million homes are predicted to finally have access to ‘full fibre’ …

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Broadband coverage isn’t the greatest in the United Kingdom, with the country slipping from 31st to 35th place in the global broadband league table earlier this week. The National Infrastructure Assessment 2018 report claims that this is set to change, however, as over 25 million homes are predicted to finally have access to ‘full fibre’ broadband by 2033.

To achieve full fibre broadband connections, fibre cables must run directly to a building from the exchange rather than piggybacking off already-laid copper wiring to cover what’s known as ‘the last mile’. The latter is much more common in 2018, with just a slim margin of UK residents getting access to full fibre.

Removing the use of copper wiring requires telecoms operators to invest exuberant time and money into laying new fibre cable, which can be particularly disruptive for nearby residents, drivers and pedestrians. This in particular makes the report’s expected 15 million homes and businesses covered by 2025 seem like quite the task, let alone 25 million buildings blessed with full fibre access by 2030.

fibre_optic_broadband_634x306x24_expand_hd0829e60.jpg

Even if telecoms operators decided that the demand for fibre was great enough to warrant the effort, which in itself seems unlikely, there are numerous challenges that can potentially arise. Current property legislation and parameters gives landlords and management firms of leasehold buildings permission to deny changes made to their properties, effectively halting progress on full fibre adoption.

Despite the skepticism from us here at KitGuru, the government is formally required to address the recommendations made by the first-ever National Infrastructure Assessment, although it's uncertain when as no deadline date has been set for a response. Considering the government has its hands full with the monumental changes brought about by Brexit, it's still doubtful that broadband will be at the forefront of concerns for UK officials.

5G connectivity is finally rolling out as of next year, offering a feasible if not expensive alternative with faster speeds than the majority of UK households. By the time 2033 does roll around, it’s possible the tentatively titled 7G could be right around the corner, and there’s no telling how fast it might be in comparison to its equivalent broadband.

KitGuru Says: I truly hope the National Infrastructure Assessment 2018 report is correct, because the UK is in dire need of an infrastructure overhaul or it risks falling further and further behind other developed countries. Do you think the UK can achieve widespread full fibre just 15 years from now?

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UK slips to 35th place from 31st in global broadband league table https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/ryan-burgess/uk-slips-to-35th-place-from-31st-in-global-broadband-league-table/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/ryan-burgess/uk-slips-to-35th-place-from-31st-in-global-broadband-league-table/#respond Wed, 11 Jul 2018 12:54:35 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=379442 There has been a big push in the UK to roll out fibre to every home, but unless you have access to the likes of Virgin Media, you are lucky to get the 80Mbps offered via the current OpenReach infrastructure. Despite average speeds increasing in the past year, the UK has slipped from 31st to …

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There has been a big push in the UK to roll out fibre to every home, but unless you have access to the likes of Virgin Media, you are lucky to get the 80Mbps offered via the current OpenReach infrastructure. Despite average speeds increasing in the past year, the UK has slipped from 31st to 35th place in the global broadband league table.

The Global Broadband League table was recently updated with new average speeds over at Cable.co.uk. Unsurprisingly, Singapore is still in the lead with a 60Mbps average speed. The UK used to sit at 31st place, but slow progress on upgrades has caused us to fall down to 35th place, with an average speed of 18.5Mbps. On the bright side, the UK is still ahead of the global average speed, which is now 9.1Mbps.

As pointed out by The BBC, the main reason the UK is falling behind other countries is that it is more difficult to roll out Fibre to the Premises at a large scale. Instead, many UK residents need to rely on Fibre to the Cabinet.

Currently, Open Reach is in the process of hiring engineers to deliver full fibre to three million buildings by 2020. Other companies are also starting to catch up, with HyperOptic planning to roll out Gigabit speeds to two million urban premises by 2022. CityFibre is also aiming to roll out its own super fast infrastructure to one million homes by 2021.

KitGuru Says: It’s clear the UK really needs to push forward and continue investing in the broadband infrastructure. The UK is severely lagging, and that gap looks to only further. Are you happy with your broadband speed?

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New broadband advertisement rules take effect in the UK https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/new-broadband-advertisement-rules-take-effect-in-the-uk/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/new-broadband-advertisement-rules-take-effect-in-the-uk/#respond Thu, 24 May 2018 09:58:34 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=374183 Up until today, internet service providers have advertised their top speeds, so long as at least 10 percent of its user base could achieve the displayed “up to” peak download speed. Enforcing strict new rules that were announced last year, ISPs will now have to shake up their advertisement practices, catering to a much larger …

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Up until today, internet service providers have advertised their top speeds, so long as at least 10 percent of its user base could achieve the displayed “up to” peak download speed. Enforcing strict new rules that were announced last year, ISPs will now have to shake up their advertisement practices, catering to a much larger portion of its customers.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) revealed the changes in November 2017, which ditches “up to” entirely in favour of a collected average achieved by at least 50 percent of customers during peak times, from 8pm to 10pm.

“From today, consumers will see a difference in broadband ads that make claims about speed as this new, tougher, standard is enforced,” assures ASA chief executive Guy Parker. “We’ll be making sure consumers aren’t misled by speed claims in ads, not least because choosing the right broadband deal has become such an important part of running a household or business.”

While it isn’t a requirement of the newly enforced rules, CAP is also pushing ISPs to be as transparent as possible by recommending they urge their customers to use speed-checking facilities such as their own tools or Ookla’s SpeedTest.

“These changes will mean that broadband providers will no longer be able to entice customers with unrealistic adverts promising speeds that most of their customers may never get,” adds Which? managing director of home services Alex Neill, stating that it will “be watching closely to make sure providers are finally living up to their promises.”

Ofcom shares a similar sentiment with consumer group director Lindsey Fussell stating that “these new rules will make a real difference in closing the gap between what broadband shoppers expect and what they actually receive. We’re also making sure broadband providers give people better information upfront, as well as giving customers the right to leave their contract penalty free if their provider fails to deliver the speeds they promised.”

Unfortunately, not everyone shares the same sentiment, with some claiming that the new system will cause confusion among customers and offer new windows for ISPs to abuse the system to appear faster than competitors. This, however, ignores that much of rural UK still suffers from significantly lower speeds than their city counterparts, meaning that the new system will still be beneficial for the majority.

KitGuru Says: I’ve long thought that “up to” speeds were entirely misleading, particularly when the majority of the population isn’t in tune with technology and its accompanying terminology. The new rules should hopefully be better for the everyday person when shopping around to the best internet in their area.

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Three percent of the UK are still suffering from poor broadband speeds https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/three-percent-of-the-uk-are-still-suffering-from-poor-broadband-speeds/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/three-percent-of-the-uk-are-still-suffering-from-poor-broadband-speeds/#respond Wed, 02 May 2018 11:41:19 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=372300 The UK government is working with internet service providers (ISPs) to ensure that all UK residents will get a minimum of 10Mbps by 2020. While it seems to be making progress on this, Ofcom's latest Connected Nations report shows that 3 percent, equivalent to 925,000 homes and businesses, still suffer from subpar speeds. This is …

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The UK government is working with internet service providers (ISPs) to ensure that all UK residents will get a minimum of 10Mbps by 2020. While it seems to be making progress on this, Ofcom's latest Connected Nations report shows that 3 percent, equivalent to 925,000 homes and businesses, still suffer from subpar speeds.

This is a significant drop from the 1.6 million estimated to be suffering from internet below 10Mbps back in May 2017, which subsequently fell to 1.1 million by the end of the year, however it shows that the UK government has quite a way to go in order to hit its new goal with its current pacing.

“There have been further improvements in the availability of broadband services across the UK. However, more needs to be done to provide consumers with access to decent broadband,” Ofcom stated in the report. “There are still too many people in the UK who cannot get a decent broadband connection.”

Now, Ofcom states that 27.2 million homes and businesses, or 95 percent of UK homes and businesses have access to ‘superfast’ broadband at 24Mbps download speed, which is an increase of 4 percent since December 2017.

Ultrafast services, defined as access to at least 300Mbps, have also seen an increase in coverage, primarily thanks to Virgin Media’s latest network overhauls and BT's efforts. 13.2 million UK premises, or 45 percent of homes and businesses can now receive these services, up from 10.6 million, or 36 percent in May 2017.

Even further up the scale, 1 million homes are now able to utilise a connection of 1Gbps thanks to their access to full-fibre connections. “While there has been progress in making superfast services available to over nine out of ten properties, greater investment is needed to build full-fibre networks,” Ofcom explained.

Discuss on our Facebook page, or over on Twitter.

KitGuru Says: While it’s a commendable effort to be giving the public basic internet access at a semi-acceptable speed, 10Mbps is increasingly outdated as the years go by, hence the investment in such high-end full-fibre connections. As 2020 rolls around, it will be interesting to see whether 10Mbps is still acceptable. What internet speed do you have?

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Ofcom’s new rules will force ISPs to guarantee minimum speeds for customers https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/ofcoms-new-rules-will-force-isps-to-guarantee-minimum-speeds-for-customers/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/ofcoms-new-rules-will-force-isps-to-guarantee-minimum-speeds-for-customers/#respond Thu, 01 Mar 2018 12:52:49 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=365525 In recent months, Ofcom has been taking UK internet providers to task in order to force them into providing a better service. That won't be slowing down this year, with Ofcom announcing its new code of practice this week, which will require UK ISPs to give customers a minimum speed guarantee. Late last year, Ofcom …

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In recent months, Ofcom has been taking UK internet providers to task in order to force them into providing a better service. That won't be slowing down this year, with Ofcom announcing its new code of practice this week, which will require UK ISPs to give customers a minimum speed guarantee.

Late last year, Ofcom introduced a new rule to get broadband providers to automatically compensate customers when their connection goes down for an extended period of time. Now, another rule is being put into place, this time focusing on ISP speed advertising practices. Many internet providers already advertise ‘top speeds' but rarely give customers a minimum speed figure. From March next year, UK ISPs will be required to give a minimum speed guarantee for broadband services. If a customer's speed drops below that number, then Ofcom will give the ISP one month to improve performance and if they can't do it, the customer will be able to leave the service free of any penalties.

The right to walk away from a service package will also include landline and TV packages. So if you have the full Sky broadband, TV and landline bundle and your broadband is shoddy, then you'll be able to leave the full service.

Minimum speed guarantees will be based on realistic peak times, like 8AM to 10PM and 12AM to 2PM. Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom's consumer group director said that this move will “close the gap between the broadband speeds people are sold, and what they actually receive”. The hope is that this will give customers more confidence in what they are buying and have the protection in place to walk away if the service doesn't perform as advertised.

KitGuru Says: Rules like this are important to have, as they protect consumers and force companies to stay vigilant and keep on top of their services. Do many of you have issues with your current broadband provider? What kind of speeds do you currently get?

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BT’s Openreach will begin rolling out Fibre broadband to three million premises by 2020 https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/bts-openreach-will-begin-rolling-out-fibre-broadband-to-three-million-premises-by-2020/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/bts-openreach-will-begin-rolling-out-fibre-broadband-to-three-million-premises-by-2020/#comments Thu, 01 Feb 2018 15:43:28 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=362761 Earlier this week we learned that the UK government had officially hit its target of delivering ‘super fast' broadband coverage to 95 percent of the country. Now it looks like the next steps are already being taken to deliver even faster internet to places across the UK, with Openreach announcing plans to deliver ‘ultra fast' …

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Earlier this week we learned that the UK government had officially hit its target of delivering ‘super fast' broadband coverage to 95 percent of the country. Now it looks like the next steps are already being taken to deliver even faster internet to places across the UK, with Openreach announcing plans to deliver ‘ultra fast' internet connections to three million buildings by 2020.

Openreach will be running Fibre connections directly to homes and businesses to achieve this goal. By ‘ultra fast' broadband, the company means download speeds of 100 megabits, a big jump from the ‘super fast' broadband currently in place, which delivers 24 megabit download speeds.

The first upgrade phase will begin this year, with Fibre lines set to be put in place in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Birmingham and Bristol. The short term goal is to bring fibre to the premises (FTTP) to three million buildings in the next three years. The longer term goal is to hit 10 million premises by 2025.

The rollout of faster fibre lines has taken many years for BT's Openreach to get in order. To the point where many have criticized BT for holding things back and letting the UK's broadband infrastructure fall behind other countries. However, with the super fast target now being reached, the upgrade to 100Mb/s fibre will hopefully go a bit quicker.

KitGuru Says: The broadband situation in the UK isn't awful, but it isn't as good as it should be by this point in time. Hopefully the new rollout of ultra fast Fibre connections will pick up the slack a bit. What's your internet currently like? Are you happy with it?

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BT’s Ultrafast package finally rivals Virgin Media speeds at 314Mbps https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/bts-ultrafast-package-finally-rivals-virgin-media-speeds-at-314mbps/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/bts-ultrafast-package-finally-rivals-virgin-media-speeds-at-314mbps/#comments Wed, 17 Jan 2018 18:14:16 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=360821 For quite some time now, Virgin Media has dominated the UK’s broadband speeds, offering a fibre package of up to 300Mbps. Finally, we will be seeing this rivalled by BT who will be offering two new packages, increasing its top speed from 78Mbps to 314Mbps. The first of BT’s new packages is titled Ultrafast Fibre …

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For quite some time now, Virgin Media has dominated the UK’s broadband speeds, offering a fibre package of up to 300Mbps. Finally, we will be seeing this rivalled by BT who will be offering two new packages, increasing its top speed from 78Mbps to 314Mbps.

The first of BT’s new packages is titled Ultrafast Fibre 1, offering 152Mbps, whereas Ultrafast Fibre 2 is where the real speed is at with 314Mbps. For the first 18 months of the standard contract, BT will be offering its packages at an undisclosed deal, with prices rising to £54.99 and £59.99 per month respectively on month 19, a step up from Virgin Media’s current price-to-performance offerings.

It will, however, throw in 1000GB Cloud Storage, BT Virus Protect and its latest Thomson and Sagem-created Smart Hub which is less than two years old.

The Smart Hub is an upgrade over BT’s previous Home Hub 5, in that not only offer dual-band WiFi but more antennas to improve the signal strength and range around the home, a USB 3.0 port and four Ethernet ports.

Considering “up to” speed advertisements are being scrapped, BT has emphasised its guarantee of maintaining a minimum of 100Mbps. If this promise is broken, even during peak times, then it will award its customers compensation.

“Whether it is six in the evening or six in the morning, with Ultrafast Fibre everyone can be online at the same time, streaming, downloading and gaming,” claimed BT Consumer CEO Marc Allera. “Rather than spending hours downloading TV shows or films to their smartphone or tablet, they'll be able to do it in minutes. Customers will have complete peace of mind that they can always rely on Ultrafast Fibre, backed up by the promise that we'll give them £20 if their speed ever falls below 100Mbps.”

Once BT extends its Ultrafast Fibre lines across the country, other vendors are expected to jump on board with higher speeds themselves. Hopefully, this creates a better market for price-to-performance rather than the rising prices we’re seemingly seeing.

KitGuru Says: Considering Virgin Media offers its first year of 300Mbps for £44 and £55 thereafter, I am unsure why BT thinks it can charge the same amount for half the speed. That being said, those that utilise upload might just benefit as Virgin offers notably less than its competitors usually.  

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Digital Economy Bill to guarantee 30Mbps download speeds by 2020 https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/digital-economy-bill-to-guarantee-30mbps-download-speeds-by-2020/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/digital-economy-bill-to-guarantee-30mbps-download-speeds-by-2020/#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2017 11:21:31 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=322819 An amendment to the currently under debate, Digital Economy Bill, has made it so that by 2020 service providers in the UK will need to deliver a minimum of 30Mbps download speeds to customers. This represents a large increase from the original proposition of just 10Mbps downspeeds. The Digital Economy Bill is a contentious piece …

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An amendment to the currently under debate, Digital Economy Bill, has made it so that by 2020 service providers in the UK will need to deliver a minimum of 30Mbps download speeds to customers. This represents a large increase from the original proposition of just 10Mbps downspeeds.

The Digital Economy Bill is a contentious piece of legislation. Originally intended as solely a way to guarantee minimum broadband speeds around the UK, it's been piggybacked by amendments that look to police pornography and taste online. However in its latest debate in the House of Lords, some more amendments were made, voted upon and passed, which are more likely to please the British public.

Broadband access in some rural areas is still poor and the speeds are often terrible. Source: PublicDomain/Pixabay

The increase of 30Mbps saw some opposition, with ISPs claiming that such a standard should be left up to the industry to enforce, while some Lords suggested the measure would be too expensive to implement. Regardless of the defence put up though, the government's proposal was defeated by a vote of 250 peers to 206. By 2020, the agreement is that ISPs will offer 30Mbps as a minimum to everyone, no matter where they live.

The other amendment approved by the House was to introduce an opt-in cap on mobile spending, which would make it possible for consumers to set a hard limit on what their mobile bill might be. That amendment was passed with a vote of 244 to 198, though Ars reports that the government is expected to contest both of these introductions when the bill returns to the House of Commons.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KtiGuru Says: It's a shame that the Lords didn't take a harder stance on the pornography policing, but a minimum of 30Mbps is not to be sniffed at. It will mean a much faster roll out of fibre products to all parts of the country, which is great for those in remote areas. 

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£440 million will get fibre to 600,000 more homes https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/440-million-will-get-fibre-to-600000-more-homes/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/440-million-will-get-fibre-to-600000-more-homes/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2016 09:33:37 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=315421 Over half a million homes in the UK will gain access to fiber internet access for the first time, following an investment of some £440 million by the government. Although not entirely ‘new money' the returned subsidies and £160 million of cost savings will give BT Openreach plenty of extra capital to work with. Despite …

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Over half a million homes in the UK will gain access to fiber internet access for the first time, following an investment of some £440 million by the government. Although not entirely ‘new money' the returned subsidies and £160 million of cost savings will give BT Openreach plenty of extra capital to work with.

Despite its status in the developed world, the UK's average broadband speed is only just within the top 15 countries. Less than half of the country has access to speeds higher than 10Mb per second too, which is part of what the Digital Economy Bill was supposed to change.

fiberinstall

A big chunk of this latest investment money is coming from BT itself, in a confusing return and respend. Surprisingly, BT actually came in under budget when it rolled out faster broadband access to many parts of the UK following a 2010 investment from the government, so now that unused money can be respent on increasing the reach of fiber access (thanks BBC).

This will however only be fiber to the cabinet connections. While the UK looks set to be one of the better countries in terms of that availability, consumer access to fibre-to-the-premises connections, which offer much greater speeds than a few tens of megabits per second, are much rarer. It's those sorts of connections that BT and the government should be targeting critics claim, but countrywide availability of that is likely to take many more years.

KitGuru Says: It's good to see fiber being rolled out to more parts of the UK, but as a small country with a strong tech-sector, we should really be higher on the list of worldwide broadband speeds. 

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Virgin Media wants gamers to buy its broadband https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/virgin-media-wants-gamers-to-buy-its-broadband/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/virgin-media-wants-gamers-to-buy-its-broadband/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2016 17:30:41 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=304706 This week, Virgin Media announced that it would be launching its first broadband tier for online gamers. Essentially, it is the top tier broadband package with 200MB/s download speeds, but with an extra fiver tacked on to the price for 20MB/s upload instead of the usual 12MB/s upload speed. As you might imagine, this could …

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This week, Virgin Media announced that it would be launching its first broadband tier for online gamers. Essentially, it is the top tier broadband package with 200MB/s download speeds, but with an extra fiver tacked on to the price for 20MB/s upload instead of the usual 12MB/s upload speed.

As you might imagine, this could be useful to streamers or YouTubers who need faster upload speeds to either keep their streams running smooth, or get videos on to the web faster.

VIrgin-Media-Speed-Boost-postcode-checker_w720

The package is officially called the ‘VIVID 200 Gamer', and it comes in at £45.25 per month, so it's certainly not cheap. That price excludes a landline, there is also a £10 activation fee for new customers.

In reality, the extra upload speed would be useful to anyone who needed to push large files onto the web, like photographers or video editors with cloud storage.

KitGuru Says: The whole package doesn't really seem like that great of a deal but if you really need that extra bit of upload speed, then it might be worth the extra money per month. Are any of you guys currently on Virgin Media? Would you consider the ‘boss-mode level' package?

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UK’s ad watchdog is making ISPs simplify broadband pricing https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/uks-ad-watchdog-is-making-isps-simplify-broadband-pricing/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/uks-ad-watchdog-is-making-isps-simplify-broadband-pricing/#comments Wed, 04 May 2016 17:05:54 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=291697 The UK's Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has confirmed that it is introducing new guidelines that would put ISPs in a position where they would need to make broadband pricing more transparent and simplify packages. This comes just a day after TalkTalk confirmed that it would be taking the first steps to simplifying its broadband pricing …

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The UK's Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has confirmed that it is introducing new guidelines that would put ISPs in a position where they would need to make broadband pricing more transparent and simplify packages. This comes just a day after TalkTalk confirmed that it would be taking the first steps to simplifying its broadband pricing by including Line Rental in the overall monthly cost, rather than leaving it in the small print.

Now we know why TalkTalk decided to make such a move, as the ASA wants all UK internet providers to do the same as a single figure will make it easier to know exactly what you are paying each month, rather than masking additional line rental fees.

Image Source: Lars P via Flickr/Creative-Commons

These stricter guidelines were proposed at the start of the year and will come into full effect by October. On top of including line rental in the monthly broadband fee from now on, the ASA also wants ISPs to be more transparent and clear about any upfront costs, like activation/installation fees. Extra steps also need to be taken to show costs after any promotional periods and how long your contract lasts.

KitGuru Says: While most people know to expect line rental fees with their broadband, the experience could be confusing for those dealing with this sort of thing for the first time. More transparency on fees like this should be standard, so it is good to see the ASA taking these steps. Have any of you ever been caught out by hidden ISP costs? 

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BT to boost entry-level fibre speeds to 52Mbps https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/bt-to-boost-entry-level-fibre-speeds-to-52mbps/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/bt-to-boost-entry-level-fibre-speeds-to-52mbps/#comments Sat, 16 Apr 2016 11:13:32 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=289681 We all know how frustrating BT can be to deal with at times here in the UK but if you do happen to use their Fibre service, then you may soon be treated to faster speeds. BT has announced that it is bumping up the speeds of its entry-level fibre package from 38Mbps to 52Mbps, …

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We all know how frustrating BT can be to deal with at times here in the UK but if you do happen to use their Fibre service, then you may soon be treated to faster speeds. BT has announced that it is bumping up the speeds of its entry-level fibre package from 38Mbps to 52Mbps, which is a nice 32 percent increase in speed.

The BT Infinity 1 package now offers the fastest speeds for an entry-level fibre connection in the UK, with Virgin sitting behind at 50Mbps on its entry-level fibre connection. However, Virgin-Media does offer faster top-end speeds, with home connections reaching 200Mbps and business customers able to get a 300Mbps connection. BT's Infinity 2 package on the other hand offers top speeds of 78Mbps.

BT-Infinity

Obviously to get the effects of this upgrade, you will need to be capable of capping out the 38Mbps connection already, which means those paying for Infinity 1 but only getting around 20Mbps down speeds may not see any difference from this. Those who want the new speeds can upgrade for free but it will involve being tied to a new contract.

For new customers, the Infinity 1 update will cost £12.50 a month for ‘unlimited' data usage but that comes bundled with £18 per month line rental and a £49 activation fee. You can find all of the details, HERE. 

KitGuru Says: While it is great to see BT offering better speeds with entry-level packages, there are still quite a few areas in the UK that are incapable of benefiting from higher speeds due to line restrictions so hopefully there will be some upgrades made there too. 

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OfCom forces BT to open up its cable network to competitors https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/ofcom-forces-bt-to-open-up-its-cable-network-to-competitors/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/ofcom-forces-bt-to-open-up-its-cable-network-to-competitors/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2016 09:00:18 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=285273 Amid threats that it could still force BT to break up its businesses if it doesn't play ball, industry regulator OfCom is forcing the British Telecom firm to open up its copper wire and fibre network for more companies to take advantage of. The idea is to offer a more comprehensive and competitive line up …

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Amid threats that it could still force BT to break up its businesses if it doesn't play ball, industry regulator OfCom is forcing the British Telecom firm to open up its copper wire and fibre network for more companies to take advantage of. The idea is to offer a more comprehensive and competitive line up of products and services to consumers than is currently available.

OpenReach is a BT subsidiary that operates its entire cable system, controlling roll out, infrastructure and developments somewhat separately from BT and enjoys a near complete monopoly on it throughout the UK. This has prompted regulators and other businesses to call for it to be split-off from BT, but OfCom is now settling for it to be put at arms length from its parent firm.

It is also looking to make it possible for other firms to lay their own cables within OpenReach's underground cable ducts and along OpenReach telegraph poles (as per the BBC). Budget management may be changed too, with a drive to give OpenReach more independence with less oversight from the BT Group.

openreach

Source: Wikimedia

OfCom warned that the current climate of internet access in the UK was creating a digital divide, where certain parts had supremely fast internet access, while even relatively built up areas like some parts of London, still languished on outdated connections. Its most recent report suggested around eight per cent of all British households and businesses could not even access 10Mbps connections.

The regulator even described connections at a minimum of that speed to be a basic human right.

KitGuru Says: While it's probably harder to argue that internet access is a human right – even though some have ruled it that in the past – BT has had a strangle hold on expanding internet access for quite some time. Do you think it should be forced to split off OpenReach?

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Wales and the north west have the worst broadband in UK https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/jon-martindale/wales-and-the-north-west-have-the-worst-broadband-in-uk/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/jon-martindale/wales-and-the-north-west-have-the-worst-broadband-in-uk/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:05:12 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=283322 Although the UK has always lagged behind other nations when it comes to average download speeds, there are areas where it is better than others. London of course enjoys some of the highest speeds in the country, but what about the worst? If you live in Wales, big chunks of the south west or the …

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Although the UK has always lagged behind other nations when it comes to average download speeds, there are areas where it is better than others. London of course enjoys some of the highest speeds in the country, but what about the worst? If you live in Wales, big chunks of the south west or the north west, you're probably languishing compared to the rest.

The average connection speed in areas like the capital, Middlesbrough and Bournemouth is upwards of 45Mbps, with other cities like Birmingham, Nottingham and Liverpool also enjoying high connection speeds. However if you move into more rural areas like Devon, mid and western wales and specifically around the Lake District, the average is a much less impressive 17Mbps.

ukbroadband

Source: James Titcomb

These figures come from Ofcom's Connect Nations 2015 report (via Telegraph), which paints the overall national average speed as just under 30Mbps, even though some areas have access to connection rates as high as 200Mbps.

Because many areas in the UK, even built up ones still have sub-standard connection speeds, the report has prompted a number of MPs to petition for BT to be separated from its OpenReach platform in order to facilitate a faster roll out of high-speed services around the country.

The government has previously pledged to make sure everyone in the UK can connect at upwards of 24Mbps by 2020, with several hundred thousand homes equipped for 300-500Mbps by the end of that year.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: What's the connection speed like in your area? We only received access to fiber in the last few months, but even with a pricey plan it's still sub 50Mbps. 

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Sky to introduce internet watershed for all new customers https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/sky-to-introduce-internet-watershed-for-all-new-customers/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/sky-to-introduce-internet-watershed-for-all-new-customers/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2015 13:18:01 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=278737 Taking the initiative following the British government's interest in bringing forward the Investigatory Powers Bill, Sky has announced that it will be introducing its filtering system automatically for all new customers (it won't even ask first) and will even go so far as to instigate a watershed-like system. Before 9PM, no new Sky customers will …

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Taking the initiative following the British government's interest in bringing forward the Investigatory Powers Bill, Sky has announced that it will be introducing its filtering system automatically for all new customers (it won't even ask first) and will even go so far as to instigate a watershed-like system. Before 9PM, no new Sky customers will be able to access websites that are considered too racy for a PG rating.

Although many of the UK's ISPs have some form of filtering in place – even while others aggressively oppose it – this is the first time an ISP has discussed such limited internet access, especially on a time-of-day basis. Sky's Broadband Shield previously had a very low adoption rate, but since it made it opt-out for customers, it's seen much greater usage.

Although Sky has talked up customer adoption of the filtering system, the fact that people only really began using it once it became a pain to remove, suggests otherwise (thanks Ars).

demandmore

Demand more… like the unrestricted internet access you pay for

Sky's new system will be applied to new customers only – though it has previously rolled back services to older customers –  and will have a multi-tiered system of blocks. The block on content not child friendly will be dropped after 9PM, but pornography will still not be accessible. For that, users will need to log-in to their Sky account and manually disable the “feature”.

Sky hasn't announced an official launch date for this new filtering scheme, but loosely claims it will happen in 2016. It has said it will also be contacting previous customers – those who signed up since November 2013 – asking them if they don't want the filter in place. Users will have to respond if they want to stop it being applied to them too.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This is so ridiculous. It smacks of toadying up to Theresa May and her Snooper's Charter rather than protecting anyone from anything. It's not the job of an ISP to protect people's children anyway. Especially when its methods have been shown to block informative websites they might legitimately need to access

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5Gbps broadband is landing in the UK- for a price https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/5gbps-broadband-is-landing-in-the-uk-for-a-price/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/5gbps-broadband-is-landing-in-the-uk-for-a-price/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2015 21:16:17 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=275644 The UK isn't exactly known for its blazing fast internet speeds, with average household broadband speeds sitting at 10.7Mbps. However, one company is planning on blowing the UK away with its own 5Gbps broadband service, though it will cost you quite a bit to get it. Right now, the 5Gbps internet service from Gigaclear is …

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The UK isn't exactly known for its blazing fast internet speeds, with average household broadband speeds sitting at 10.7Mbps. However, one company is planning on blowing the UK away with its own 5Gbps broadband service, though it will cost you quite a bit to get it.

Right now, the 5Gbps internet service from Gigaclear is going to have a trial phase in Oxfordshire, before branching out to any other areas. These speeds are achieved by running Fibre to the Premises (FTTP).

Screen Shot 2015-11-18 at 21.11.18

You probably haven't heard of Gigaclear before this, the company has only been around since 2010 and only operates in a handful of counties across Britain. Only around 10,000 homes in total have access to Gigaclear's services.

This 5Gbps is going to be well out of reach for most people though, with it costing £399 per month- well above the broadband speeds we are used to seeing from the likes of Sky, BT or Virgin Media. That price raises further for businesses, which will need to shell out £1500 per month for those insane speeds.

Gigaclear's 5Gbps internet trial service will be available to customers within range from early 2016 onwards. You can check if you can get Gigaclear in your area over on its website.

KitGuru Says: We haven't seen much of a push for higher broadband speeds, Sky for instance only recently began offering Fibre at all. So it is nice to see a company stepping up like this and showing other broadband providers up in terms of speed, even if the prices don't really match up. 

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Virgin puts Wi-Fi in Buckinghamshire pavement https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/jon-martindale/virgin-puts-wi-fi-in-buckinghamshire-pavement/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/jon-martindale/virgin-puts-wi-fi-in-buckinghamshire-pavement/#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2015 10:38:05 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=271851 Although rural areas are gradually getting access to 3G and 4G services, coverage outside of cities and large townships still isn't great. One solution that Virgin is trying out in the small market-town of Chesham, Buckinghamshire, is what it's calling “smart pavements.” It involves the creation of public Wi-Fi stations underneath the streets of the …

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Although rural areas are gradually getting access to 3G and 4G services, coverage outside of cities and large townships still isn't great. One solution that Virgin is trying out in the small market-town of Chesham, Buckinghamshire, is what it's calling “smart pavements.” It involves the creation of public Wi-Fi stations underneath the streets of the town, making it possible to be connected to high-speed wireless internet whilst out and about, without the need to pay for data.

There is no special registration that needs to be made. You don't need to be a resident, or a member of the town council, simply connect like you would to any public Wi-Fi source and you'll stay connected as long as you're near one of Chesham's streets. Speeds of up to 166Mbps can be reached – though unlikely at peak times – which should be more than enough for most people's uses.

chesham
Source: Virgin

Residents are already reporting high connection speeds, giving them the ability in some cases to stream on-demand services like Netflix while waiting at the bus stop.

“I am delighted that we’ve been able to bring a UK first to Chesham with Virgin Media’s ultrafast WiFi, helping local people and businesses get online,” said Fred Wilson, Chesham's town councillor. “Efficient connectivity is pivotal to running businesses today and I am proud we are part of a project which is crossing new boundaries.”

The technology making this all possible is wireless transmission points located under rain-proof resin manhole covers. They have a wide range too, with some reports of consumers still connecting to the service when as much as 80 metres away.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This would be really handy in my local town. The 3G reception here is almost non-existent and we only just got basic fibre, so Wi-Fi speeds like this while out and about would be most welcome. 

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Virgin Media boosts top broadband speed to 200Mbps https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/virgin-media-boosts-top-broadband-speed-to-200mbps/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/virgin-media-boosts-top-broadband-speed-to-200mbps/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:31:04 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=269836 Virgin Media has increased its top broadband speeds in the UK to 200Mbps, in addition to these, the ISP's speed tiers will be changing up. Up until now, Virgin Media has offered broadband in 50Mbps, 100Mbps and 152Mbps packages but going forward, the ISP will be offering broadband at 70Mbps, 150Mbps and 200Mbps speeds. This …

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Virgin Media has increased its top broadband speeds in the UK to 200Mbps, in addition to these, the ISP's speed tiers will be changing up. Up until now, Virgin Media has offered broadband in 50Mbps, 100Mbps and 152Mbps packages but going forward, the ISP will be offering broadband at 70Mbps, 150Mbps and 200Mbps speeds.

This does mean that Virgin Media can advertise its lowest fibre optic speeds as being as fast as BT and Sky's top offerings. Right now, BT and Sky both offer top speeds of 76Mbps, while Virgin Media's new top offering more than doubles that.

VIVIDCOLOUR

Virgin Media is pitching its new speeds under the name ‘Vivid', which it is also touting as its next generation fibre optic connection. Those on Virgin Media can opt in to an upgrade from the 1st of October: “Virgin Media is rewarding its existing broadband customers by offering them the chance to upgrade from existing speeds of (up to) 50Mbps, 100Mbps and 152Mbps to more powerful speeds of 70Mbps, Vivid 150Mbps and Vivid 200Mbps”, the press release reads.

Apparently 90 per cent of customers will be able to upgrade to these new speeds by the end of 2015. More details are expected to be announced later on in the week as far as customer upgrades go.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: While these top rated speeds sound impressive, not many people are actually able to cap out their connections. While right now my own personal Virgin Media connection is strong and I usually get top download speeds, I did not get anywhere near top speeds at my old house, so it can be very hit and miss. Are any of you on Virgin Media? How do you find the speed? 

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Your internet is probably slower than it should be https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/jon-martindale/your-internet-is-probably-slower-than-it-should-be/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/jon-martindale/your-internet-is-probably-slower-than-it-should-be/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2015 08:19:21 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=255108 Does your broadband operate at anything close to the speed stated by your ISP? According to a new report, as many as three quarters of households in the UK are faced with internet download rates that are slower than the one advertised by their provider for their particular package. Worse yet, almost none of those affected …

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Does your broadband operate at anything close to the speed stated by your ISP? According to a new report, as many as three quarters of households in the UK are faced with internet download rates that are slower than the one advertised by their provider for their particular package. Worse yet, almost none of those affected are qualified to leave their contracts early as part of new OfCom legislation.

Areas that suffer the most under the current regime are those in rural and less built up areas, where as many as 98 per cent of households did not receive the advertised broadband speed. Often, due to their location, they even paid more for the privilege too. However things aren't much better, with just 31 per cent of homes receiving the promised download rate.

broadband
This is the best I can do around here. There's fibre everywhere but at my local exchange. Go figure. 

Despite that though, only around two million people would be able to switch provider and cancel their contract, according to the Which? data (via the Telegraph). The reason they are able to leave early, is because not only does their broadband speed not reach the heady heights of the “up to X” advertised speed, but because their download rate is lower than the average lowest 10 per cent of households on that package.

That is just one of several rates that broadband providers must quote customers when they sign up to a package. What is the advertised speed, what their likely speed is and what their minimum guaranteed speed is. It's only if it falls below that latter mark, that customers are legally allowed to switch before the end of their contract.

Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: “It's not good enough that millions of homes are so poorly served by their broadband provider with speeds that just don't live up to what was advertised.”

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: If you have a particularly low download rate and want to shop around to see what is more competitive, find out from your ISP what your “guaranteed minimum,” speed is. If your download rate is less than that, you may just be able to change provider. OR at least bully your current one in to making some upgrades.

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BT relaunches consumer mobile packages https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/jon-martindale/bt-relaunches-consumer-mobile-packages/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/jon-martindale/bt-relaunches-consumer-mobile-packages/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2015 09:02:36 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=241706 Even though it still has to wait some time for industry regulators to give approval to its purchase of the UK's largest mobile network EE, BT has relaunched its own mobile packages for consumers. Unlike other operators however, it won't be offering any contract packages right off the bat, instead hoping to encourage those with …

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Even though it still has to wait some time for industry regulators to give approval to its purchase of the UK's largest mobile network EE, BT has relaunched its own mobile packages for consumers. Unlike other operators however, it won't be offering any contract packages right off the bat, instead hoping to encourage those with already up to date phones to switch over to its sim-only offers, which come at a discounted price for those also signed up to BT's broadband.

This may end up being a bit too pre-emptive however, as other mobile operators are not happy with BT's intended buyout of EE, claiming that it would make the already giant corporation far too dominant in the fields of telecommunications. Considering BT is already the biggest provider of broadband and fixed telephone lines, allowing it to buy the biggest mobile network too its tantamount to a monopoly, they claim.

btmobile

Perhaps keeping in mind that the deal may fall through, BT is hoping to draw in its already existing customers with its new sim-only mobile packages. It's also offering 4G access to all customers without extra charge, something that other networks currently charge extra for.

BT's buyout of EE isn't the only deal that regulators may need to examine though, as an agreement was struck earlier this week for Spain's Telefonica to sell its stake in the UK's second largest mobile operator, O2, to Hong Kong investment firm Hutchison Whampoa. The deal is only a smidge smaller than BT and EEs, with the Li Ka-shing's owned company paying £10.25 billion for it according to Reuters.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Would any of you guys consider switching over to BT mobile? I imagine most of you are on contracts that lock you with one provider or another?

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Is your broadband provider failing you? https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/jon-martindale/is-your-broadband-provider-failing-you/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/jon-martindale/is-your-broadband-provider-failing-you/#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2015 09:09:22 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=240129 Chances are, if you are hooked up to the service of one of the UK's largest ISPs, then the answer to the above question is, yes. Data from a new survey conducted by Which? magazine, suggests that some of the most highly appreciated ISPs are often the smallest ones, with only one of the five …

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Chances are, if you are hooked up to the service of one of the UK's largest ISPs, then the answer to the above question is, yes. Data from a new survey conducted by Which? magazine, suggests that some of the most highly appreciated ISPs are often the smallest ones, with only one of the five biggest in the UK recording a customer satisfaction level above 50 per cent.

In contrast, Britain's smaller ISPs like Plusnet (admittedly, a branch of BT), Zen Internet, Utility Warehouse and John Lewis Broadband, all have satisfaction levels over 70 per cent. In contrast, BT received just a 45 per cent approval rating, scoring two out of five stars on value for money and technical support. TalkTalk received similarly bad results, taking home two stars for speed and technical support and a customer satisfaction of just 48 per cent, according to The Telegraph.

survey

However even though the smaller firms did far better in many categories, like reliability, ease of connection and the clarity of their bills, one category that almost every firm failed at across the board, was speed. Only Zen Internet and Virgin media received anything above a three star rating.

The reason for that, Which? believes, is because in order to advertise a package to customers with a specific speed, only 10 per cent of them need to receive that rated performance. Having spoken with regulator OfCom and the Committee of Advertising Practice, Which? hopes that ISPs will in the future have to be far more forthcoming with actual speeds in their adverts, instead of sticking to ambiguous terms that suggest high bandwidth. Similarly so,it hopes that advertising regulations will be changed to make is so that more accurate information will be given about the kinds of speeds that customers can actually expected to see.

To help encourage companies to make these changes without regulatory bodies weighing in though, it's started a campaign for customers to sign up to, to pledge their support for those that act voluntarily.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I'm pretty happy with the PlusNet package I have, but I'm still waiting on BT to upgrade the local infrastructure so fibre is possible. The downside of living in the sticks I suppose. 

Which broadband provider are you guys with and are you happy with their service?

Image source: Mike Cathell

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FCC says 25Mbps is the new minimum broadband speed https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/brendan-morgan/fcc-says-25mbps-is-the-new-minimum-broadband-speed/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/brendan-morgan/fcc-says-25mbps-is-the-new-minimum-broadband-speed/#comments Thu, 29 Jan 2015 23:06:00 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=233188 The United States Federal Communications Commission has today passed a vote to redefine the minimum broadband download speed to 25 Mbps, and the minimum upload speed to 3 Mbps. The previous 4 Mbps/1 Mbps standard set in 2010, was declared outdated and was in the view of the commission “failing to keep pace with today’s advanced, high-quality voice, …

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The United States Federal Communications Commission has today passed a vote to redefine the minimum broadband download speed to 25 Mbps, and the minimum upload speed to 3 Mbps. The previous 4 Mbps/1 Mbps standard set in 2010, was declared outdated and was in the view of the commission “failing to keep pace with today’s advanced, high-quality voice, data, graphics and video offerings“.

17 percent of all Americans (55 million people) lack access to 25 Mbps/3 Mbps service and a whopping 53 percent of rural Americans (22 million people) lack access to 25 Mbps/3 Mbps. Looking at the map the FCC have released to show where the problem areas are, it is pretty clear that, while the east coast of the US is pretty well served, there are a lot of states that seemly lack almost any access to the new definition of broadband.
FCC BB deployment
This decision should mean greater choice and faster speeds, for both rural and urban Americans who want broadband and is a pretty large win for consumers. Before today's vote ISPs could advertise “broadband” as any package that could achieve speeds of at least 4 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted “Let's stop dreaming small & instead dream big. Good that @FCC raising #broadband threshold to 25 Mbps–but we should aim higher: 100 Mbps.” Having broadband reclassified as 100 Mbps would be a huge win for consumers and would help the US move even higher in worldwide broadband rankings, but would also put a lot of pressure on ISPs to perform huge network upgrades right across the country and would make the map above almost totally blue, leaving large portions of the US without any “broadband” as the FCC would have it defined.

The US is actually doing quite well in Akamai Technologies worldwide internet speed ranking this year, having moved up from position 31 in 2013 to position 11 in 2014, just below Ireland, with an average speed of 10.5 Mbps. Still quite far from the leader, South Korea where the average speed is 23.6 Mbps!

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I'm all for faster broadband speeds for everyone and if this is how the FCC can achieve this in the US then it seems like a good thing. Here in the UK we have a lot more competition, but our infrastructure still needs a lot of work to get high speed broadband out to everyone possible.

Source: FCC

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TalkTalk buys out Tesco Blinkbox and broadband services https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/talktalk-buys-out-tesco-blinkbox-and-broadband-services/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/talktalk-buys-out-tesco-blinkbox-and-broadband-services/#comments Thu, 08 Jan 2015 14:28:50 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=229608 TalkTalk has gone ahead and acquired Tesco's Blinkbox video streaming service, alongside the company's broadband and voice services. This means 75,000 broadband customers along with an additional 20,000 voice customers are going to be transferred over to TalkTalk's service soon. TalkTalk also has plans for Blinkbox, which it will be integrating with its own TV …

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TalkTalk has gone ahead and acquired Tesco's Blinkbox video streaming service, alongside the company's broadband and voice services. This means 75,000 broadband customers along with an additional 20,000 voice customers are going to be transferred over to TalkTalk's service soon.

TalkTalk also has plans for Blinkbox, which it will be integrating with its own TV business as soon as the ink has dried on the deal. TalkTalk TV is currently based on the YouView system and has 1.2 million customers, the acquisition of Blinkbox will allow the company to speed up development of new features and create new apps for watching paid for content across multiple devices.

Tesco-BlinkBox-e1413277834533-600x350

According to uSwitch.com's industry analyst, Ewan Taylor-Gibson, who spoke with Cnet, this move shows that TalkTalk is “deadly serious about making its TV proposition a success”.

“How it plans to integrate Blinkbox with YouView remains to be seen, although its highly likely TalkTalk customers will still have to pay as they go for the Blinkbox content on offer.”

It is predicted that those who are unhappy about switching from Tesco to TalkTalk should be able to cancel their contracts should the customer end up having to pay more money as a result of the migration. Tesco will retain its own mobile business, you can check out Tesco Mobile, HERE.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: We don't know exactly how much TalkTalk paid for Tesco's broadband and video streaming services but the company will see a nice boost in customers following this deal. Were any of you guys using Tesco broadband or Blinkbox? What do you think about the switch to TalkTalk?

Source: Cnet

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O2 might be sold to BT https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/jon-martindale/o2-might-be-sold-to-bt/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/jon-martindale/o2-might-be-sold-to-bt/#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:44:20 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=223146 A rumour has emerged that Telefonica, owner of British based mobile provider and broadband ISP, O2, could sell off the company to BT, in exchange for a 20 per cent stake in the firm. It's thought that such a move would be designed to strengthen both entities in the face of increased competition by other …

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A rumour has emerged that Telefonica, owner of British based mobile provider and broadband ISP, O2, could sell off the company to BT, in exchange for a 20 per cent stake in the firm. It's thought that such a move would be designed to strengthen both entities in the face of increased competition by other large telecom partnerships, like Everything Everywhere.

While quite unconfirmed at this time, Reuters has a quote from Spanish website El Confidencial, which claims: “According to various sources, the talks between Telefonica and British Telecom are advanced although no final deal has been reached.”

telefonica

It's said that the reason for these talks is due to the growing influence of companies like EE and American telecom providers AT & T, which threaten even old powerhouses like BT and is certainly putting the pressure on O2 to remain competitive.

Neither BT or Telefonica have commented on the news.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: What do O2 customers think of this rumour? If BT bought out O2, would you still be keen to remain a customer? 

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