What’s Your Broadband Speed Like?
Broadband speeds around the UK appear to be relatively inconsistent, unfortunately, with new research revealing that while some places can enjoy speeds of 30.4Mbps, others are struggling to connect with speeds of 6.3Mbs.
The government’s Universal Service Obligation states that the minimum download speed that anyone is entitled to request is 10Mbps – and the Which? study found that overall the average test in 11 local authority areas failed to meet this.
A slow connection can making carrying out even the most basic of tasks online a real chore, such as shopping, banking and streaming TV series. A typical household in Ryedale, for example, that gets 9.0Mbps would take 14.5 minutes to download a new film – twice as long as a household enjoying the average download speed of 17Mbps.
“Far too many households across the UK are suffering from slow broadband speeds, which can stop you being able to carry out essential daily tasks. We are encouraging everyone with broadband to use our speed checker so people can see if they are getting the speeds that they’ve been promised by their provider and find out how to complain if their speed is too slow,” managing director of home services with Which? Alex Neill said.
There are also steps you can take yourself to increase the speed of your broadband. For example, make sure computer settings are correct and optimised for the fastest connections, keep your browser up to date, turn off any software you might have running the background on your PC and invest in a better router or modem if you’re really struggling.
You could also consider changing your broadband package if you’re finding your VoIP phone system for small businesses isn’t working as well as it should be.