What’s Involved in an Openreach FTTP Full-Fibre Broadband Installation?

Openreach man

Back in December 2013, we created the guide What’s Involved in a Fibre Broadband Customer Installation, which has proved very popular over the years. This was produced when Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) services were first introduced in our local area as part of the Connecting Cambridgeshire roll-out programme. To mark the availability of full-fibre Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) in … Read more

What Realistic Speeds Will I Get With Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6?

In this article, we show the realistic speeds that Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 achieve in the real world, with real-world devices that are available now. We show how speeds for both Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 are substantially affected by signal level, the channel bandwidth adopted and the MIMO capabilities of devices. In the very … Read more

Review of 4G Mobile Broadband and Guide to Increasing 4G Speeds

4G outdoor antenna

Mobile broadband has come a long way. We believe that 4G broadband is now the most attractive option for the vast majority of the 5% of UK premises currently without access to superfast fixed broadband services. While the coverage of individual mobile operators may still leave room for improvement for those seeking ubiquitous coverage on … Read more

Review of Ubiquiti’s UniFi Wi-Fi 6 Long Range Access Point

In this article, we review Ubiquiti’s UniFi Long Range Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) Access Point (U6-LR). At the time of writing, these devices are currently like gold dust. Because Ubiquiti has priced its new Wi-Fi Access Points aggressively compared with its Wi-Fi 5 products, we think it’s a no-brainer for anyone looking to purchase a new … Read more

FTTP Questions and Answers (FAQs) For an Openreach Community Partnership

Openreach vasn

I’ve produced the following FAQ question and answers guide for my local community, which should get FTTP in 2021 as part of an Openreach Community Partnership. Hopefully, many other people across the UK will be find it useful. For more information on FTTP, please read our latest article: What’s Involved in an Openreach FTTP Full-Fibre … Read more

‘A Perfect Planet’ and ‘Dr Who’ Demonstrate 4k HDR at its Best on BBC iPlayer but We Want More

Screen shot of BBC iplayer

The start of 2021 provided a great demonstration of ‘the art of the possible’ with the Ultra HD (4k) High Dynamic Range (HDR) format with some exciting new programmes becoming available as part of the BBC’s iPlayer Ultra HD ‘trial’. These are still available through the iPlayer. Two standouts are the incredible ‘A Perfect Planet’ … Read more

Review of the Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine (UDM) Pro Router – ideal for ultrafast broadband connections

small lcd on UDM pro

In this article, we review the Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine (UDM) Pro, which is now our recommended router for 2021 for ultrafast broadband connections, as shown in our Best Routers for 2021 page. The UDM Pro is a great piece of equipment that seems to provide the ultimate future-proof ‘prosumer’ option for broadband users with … Read more

10 Gigabit Ethernet Guide: is it time to upgrade to 10 GbE?

Ethernet cable

In this guide, we help you identify whether it worth upgrading to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (or 10 GbE for short) and the best way of doing so. Currently, Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) is the most widely deployed Ethernet standard in modern electronic devices currently on sale. However, 10 GbE offers the prospect of increasing transmission speeds by a factor of … Read more

15 Ways to Improve Video Conferencing including Zoom and Skype

This guide provides 15 proven ways to substantially improve video conferencing. Too many people are currently getting a poor experience with video conferencing services like Zoom, Skype, GoToMeeting and Microsoft Teams. Low-quality video feeds, which suffer regular interruptions and blips, are often combined with awful sound, which is infected with irritating delays and echoes. The … Read more