There is huge uncertainty over the extent to which full-fibre broadband – also known as Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) or ‘gigabit-capable broadband’ – will be rolled out in the coming years, particularly in rural areas. However, with the recent improvements in the Government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and the introduction of ‘top ups’ by local authorities, there’s never … Read more
“What is a good signal level or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for Wi-Fi” is one of the most common questions in online forums. Typical answers are along the lines of “SNRs of 24-40 dB are considered good” but they do not explain the compromise in speeds you are potentially making due to the adaptive modulation and … Read more
Figure 1: Forecast for Average Monthly Home Internet Use (2013-2025) Over the next five years, average home monthly Internet usage in the UK will triple from its 2019 level, surpassing 1 TB per month by 2025, as shown in our forecast shown above. This growth, which is in line with usage growth predicted for the … Read more
The exciting launch of Disney Plus in the UK in March 2020 was sadly hampered by the widespread reduction in bit rates among streamed TV providers requested by the European Commissioner Thierry Breton due to the coronavirus pandemic. This resulted in 4k content not being delivered in true 3840 x 2160 resolution and the removal … Read more
New! A 4k HDR Christmas Present from Sky: movies go HDR with Dolby Atmos It’s finally here – High Dynamic Range (HDR) on Sky – but not for everyone with a Sky Q box! Finally, Sky offers a ‘full-fat’ 4k service. While Sky has offered Ultra HD 4k programming for several years via its Sky … Read more
We’ve lost count of the number of people that have told us that their broadband connection is not working properly because an online speed test has reported low or highly variable speeds. We identify the best and worst online speed tests. You need to be very cautious with online speed tests. In most cases, because … Read more
‘Fibre broadband’, or Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) as it is more formally known, is the technology that delivers the vast majority of superfast broadband connections in the UK currently. Often, the term ‘VDSL2’ is also used. The technology has two major weaknesses – by using the copper wires between you and the street cabinet, speeds diminish the further … Read more
Updated: As of 29th June 2020, Disney bit rates have improved and Dolby Atmos is now available. Here is our latest review: Finally Disney Plus in the UK Matches Bit Rates Used in the USA. After launching in the USA in November 2019, Disney Plus has finally arrived in the UK at one of the … Read more
Amazon’s launch of its new Music HD service comes at an opportune moment, at a time when superfast broadband (with download speeds in excess of 30 Mbps) is available to 95% of UK homes. Say goodbye to compressed music streaming. At a relatively affordable price of £12.99 for Amazon Prime customers, it offers true-CD-quality streaming … Read more
Apple launched its new TV streaming service in the UK on 1st November 2019, to compete with rivals Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Pricing is certainly aggressive. Apple TV+ currently costs £4.99 per month although there is a cheaper way to subscribe for buyers of Apple products. Apple offers a year-long trial for buying a … Read more
You may also be interested in: ‘A Perfect Planet’ and ‘Dr Who’ Demonstrate 4k HDR at Its Best in BBC iPlayer (Jan 2021). What a pleasure it was this Christmas and New Year period being able to watch the complete series of ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’ and ‘Dracula’ on BBC iPlayer in Ultra HD … Read more
We enjoyed a fantastic Christmas period making the most of the large amount of Ultra HD 4k content that is now available across the streaming platforms in the UK, including ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’ from the BBC (shown above). High-speed broadband has been making a dramatic impact on television production and consumption. It is allowing a … Read more
Apologies if this article sounds a bit like a Martin Lewis TV rant, but if you are outside your broadband contract – and some 41% of broadband users are, according to Ofcom – then you could improve broadband speeds and/or save money by re-contracting with your existing supplier or switching broadband providers. However, if you’re … Read more
In its 2018 Connected Nations report, Ofcom found that “people do not always sign up to faster broadband packages when they are available”. Although at the time 94% of premises had access to superfast broadband packages (30 Mbps+), only 45% had signed up to them. Ofcom stated, “People should be given the choice to sign … Read more
Updated February 2021. While ISPs often advertise ADSL2+ and ADSL services as having maximum downlink connection speeds of 24 Mbps and 8 Mbps, respectively, very few broadband users can expect to achieve such speeds. As shown in the figure below, a broadband signal generally has to travel considerable distances along the copper cable from the … Read more
2021 Update: Price changes haven’t really changed FTTP on Demand, which still represents an expensive option. There have been developments aimed at stimulating the adoption of Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). Openreach has recently announced significant price decreases in its FTTP on Demand product from February 2018, which (with the help of a forthcoming nationwide … Read more
Vectoring has just been switched on on my street cabinet and, in this blog, I discuss the substantial speed increase that has been achieved. I also show you how you can determine whether vectoring has been enabled on your own fibre broadband connection. Back in July 2014, I wrote an article entitled Early Deployment of … Read more
Our new recommended wireless router for conventional ADSL and fibre broadband Update: Read our Best Router Guide for our very latest product recommendations. Our new recommended wireless router is the Synology RT2600ac, which is a state-of-the-art wireless router that provides the capabilities we believe are necessary to get the very most from a broadband connection. … Read more