Broadband FTTC, FTTP, Gfast etc.

[obscure]

If I was getting 55 Mbps I would be happy as it would be fast enough for what we use it for at the moment but I think as 4K becomes more widespread and console gaming will be replaced by online gaming more speed will be needed in the not too distant future.

I can remember getting broad band back in 2005, the joy of going from 48kbps to 1Mbps, of course also the joy of ‘fair usage policies’ i.e. you have a connection but don’t you dare use it for anything other than browsing the Internet.

Of course the problem then was they could get away with it as for most of us how do I put this most users of large amounts of data was of a somewhat questionable nature (i,e, file sharing, torrents etc) so it was a bit difficult to push back, as with a few exceptions most people could be said to have no legitimate need for downloading more than 20-30GB a month.

At the moment fifty mb/s is fast enough but I would have said the same about 1mb/s in 2005. What is fast enough now probably won’t be in a few years.

 

[Cwrw666]

My local area has been chosen by the council as a test area and we're to have fibre installed so looking forward to a slight improvement on our current 2Mbps. Whoopee!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I can remember getting broad band back in 2005, the joy of going from 48kbps to 1Mbps, of course also the joy of ‘fair usage policies’ i.e. you have a connection but don’t you dare use it for anything other than browsing the Internet.

I remember the day we went from 48k to 250k like it was yesterday the first time i loaded ebay and the page loaded almost instantly instead of sitting watching all the separate blocks of the page load separately, its a shame we will never get that feeling again.

Of course the problem then was they could get away with it as for most of us how do I put this most users of large amounts of data was of a somewhat questionable nature (i,e, file sharing, torrents etc)

Those were the days every car boot selling rip off CD's of questionable quality torrents were huge back then and i guess there are ways of doing the same today but thats probably best not discussed in the open forums.

At the moment fifty mb/s is fast enough but I would have said the same about 1mb/s in 2005. What is fast enough now probably won’t be in a few years.

I only moved to fibre fairly recently and the jump in speed was noticeable especially the upload speeds i don't think it'll be a few years it'll be a lot sooner.

 

[West wind]

I've just ran a test and got a whopping 7.33Mb/s download and 1.10Mb/s upload speeds.

We were promised fibre broadband in 2012 and we're still on old copper despite a fiber cable running along the top of the road half a mile away. 8 years of promises from the SNP and Superfast Scotland and we're still waiting!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I've just ran a test and got a whopping 7.33Mb/s download and 1.10Mb/s upload speeds.

We were promised fibre broadband in 2012 and we're still on old copper despite a fiber cable running along the top of the road half a mile away. 8 years of promises from the SNP and Superfast Scotland and we're still waiting!

Thats not good, use this and see if there are any other providers or plans for your exchange - SamKnows - Telephone Exchange Search

 

[Chippy_Tea]

This may also be the reason your connection is slow.

ADSL2+ provides most benefit for premises close to the exchange. For distances between 3 km and 3.5 km, where ADSL speeds have fallen well below 10Mbps, ADSL2+ and ADSL2 still provide worthwhile increases in connection speeds. There is very little difference in performance at distances above 4 km.

https://www.increasebroadbandspeed.co.uk/2012/graph-ADSL-speed-versus-distance

 

[West wind]

Thanks. The only other provider listed is Virgin and it comes up not available.

Edit: I'm approx. 2.5Km from the exchange so about right for ADSL.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Use the link below then look under the heading - BT Wholesale information, does ADSL Max status have a cross or tick after it?


https://availability.samknows.com/broadband/exchange_search

 

[Furry Shark Brewery]

I have just migrated to Virgin, I was on FTTC, but on a longish copper line so was getting 55/14.

In all honesty the speed I have now, is more than I needed, however the deal was too good to refuse.
Full TV package, with the top BB package in the area, full phone and unlimited data mobile sim.

I am with Virgin too. They will walk the price up in time and you’ll likely persuade yourself that you need those blistering speeds so unlikely to switch.

 

[chrisbardell]

I live in a village about 3mi/5km from the nearest exchange, so our ADSL peaked a paltry 1.8Mb/s. We literally had to schedule who was doing what at what time. Fibre was being installed the week we moved here (FTTC, cab about 200m from house) but got caught up in delays and probs. Finally happened after about 10mths.

Now get around 35Mb/s which I'm happy with. Work from home last couple of hours of each day - and all the time since March - and it's more than enough for decent VPN access to work. Only lags briefly when kids downloading massive game updates. I'm actually in a shack in the garden running ethernet over a couple of very old powerline adaptors. When you think about it, it's amazing it works at all.

Weirdly since we're in the middle of nowhere, my Vodafone mobile has always got decent speed full 4G the whole time. Used that as a hotspot for a while when the home internet speed was so crap.

 

[Bold_Ron]

For anyone struggling with broadband over land lines there is always the option of 4G (5G in the hopefully near future).

I'm out in the sticks about 2 miles from the nearest cabinet and got about 0.4 Mbps at best when the contention ratio was low. Often in the evenings and weekends I couldn't even connect. I picked up a few 99p sim cards for the main operators and carried out a few speed tests around the house and found I could get 20-30 Mbps. Three were the only company to offer unlimited data at the time (and are still the cheapest) so I ditched the land line and switched over to 4G and can now stream HD on Netflix etc.

A friend of ours lives out on the moors and has had a (very expensive) satellite system over the years with a 50 Gb per month data cap and no option to purchase more. They were told by various engineers that they would never get a 4G system to work but when I took mine along just to check* they got about 20 Mbps which was double what they got over the satellite and for less than half the price and unlimited data.

If I had access to a reliable land line I would always opt for that as atmospherics can affect the signal occasionally.

If anyone would like to look into it a bit more I found this website useful. If you are in a particularly remote location some of the routers can be fitted with external antennae which can boost the received signal and also allow you to elevate your receiver point and even position it outside (as even glass and slate can attenuate the signal).

*Another benefit for those with a holiday home or caravan/motorhome is that you can take your router with you (provided you are in an area with a signal).

 

[jceg316]

In my flat we have Hyperoptic, promises speeds of 1 GBPS, with average speeds of 900MBPS, they are telling the truth! It's amazing to have that sort of bandwidth, but it's rarely used. I probably only notice it when downloading games from Steam. I think my phone wifi maxes out at 400mbps, and even watching Netflix etc is silky smooth.

I'm living at the farm right now which is rural and we're using a 4g router, signal is atrocious and out speeds are really variable. Often watching TV shows is a nightmare as it keeps buffering. We're renting our flat so some lucky people are getting super fast internet

 

[Chippy_Tea]

If anyone would like to look into it a bit more I found this website useful. If you are in a particularly remote location some of the routers can be fitted with external antennae which can boost the received signal and also allow you to elevate your receiver point and even position it outside (as even glass and slate can attenuate the signal).
https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/4g-home-broadband-deals

Great link Ron i for one wasn't aware you could get unlimited usage from these providers and i can vouch for the info below my router has 2.5GHz and 5GHz (5GHz was switched off by default) one of my phones has the ability to connect to 5GHz and speeds are much higher, the small down side is the signal strength is lower so if you have a big house it may be an issue if you are far away from the router.


Wi-FI
On all of the 4G home broadband services discussed in this article, you’ll get dual-band wi-fi connectivity, supporting up to 802.11ac wi-fi (also known as ‘Wi-Fi 5’). What this means is your home wi-fi network will operate in two different frequency bands: the traditional 2.4GHz band along with the newer 5GHz band. Providing your other devices are compatible with this technology, it should give you better performance and faster download speeds on your home wi-fi network.

If you’re choosing one of the 5G home broadband services, your router will additionally support 802.11ax wi-fi (also known as ‘Wi-Fi 6’). This should give even faster speeds and improved battery life on devices that support the technology.