Updated May 2020: 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 of the many factors involved, they may indicate that your broadband connection is performing much worse than it really is. It’s not […] . Click here to read the full article.
Tips and techniques
How To Speed Up DNS Look-ups for Faster Performance
Updated May 2020: DNS or Domain Name System look-ups play a huge role in defining how fast your broadband connection really is with ‘real world’ applications such as browsing. In this article, we’ll be show you how to speed up DNS look-ups easily and for free by choosing the best and fastest DNS server(s) for your particular broadband connection. For more tips and guides in improving your broadband, visit our Increase Broadband Speed Guide. What is the Domain Name System […] . Click here to read the full article.
Chart of Fibre Broadband (FTTC) Speed Versus Distance From the Cabinet
Updated May 2020: ‘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 you are located from the street cabinet and the the technology is sensitive to a certain type of interference called ‘crosstalk’. This […] . Click here to read the full article.
Bufferbloat: Why it is Harming Your Broadband and How to Easily Fix It
In this article, we tackle one of the biggest issues facing broadband users today, known as ‘bufferbloat’. The good news is that you can fix it, and we’ll show you how. While this term will be rather meaningless to most people, its devastating effects are very widely noticeable. With bufferfloat, other devices or applications running on your network can disproportionately wreak havoc with delay-sensitive applications you may be using, such as online gaming, web browsing and voice telephony (e.g. Skype and […] . Click here to read the full article.
Setting Up the Billion 8800NL and 8800AXL For BT TV (Multicast)
Our favourite modem routers – the Billion 8800NL and the enhanced Billion 8800AXL – provide superb performance and represent great upgrades for broadband users using either conventional ADSL broadband or fibre broadband. For fibre broadband users, they are also fully compatible with G.INP, which is an enhancement implemented on BT’s fibre network to improve error performance and broadband speeds further. The good news is also that these are fully compatible with BT’s TV service and its multicast delivery of TV […] . Click here to read the full article.
WiFi Set Up Guide – how to set up and optimise your WiFi to boost performance and speeds
Within the last four months, most households in my local community have migrated from conventional broadband services (delivering download speeds of between 0.5 and 4 Mbps) to fibre broadband. While feedback about fibre broadband has generally been very positive, I’ve been really surprised by the number of people reporting problems after migration, including measured speeds that are erratic and/or much lower than expected. On further investigation, I have found that the vast majority of problems have been due to WiFi […] . Click here to read the full article.
Fibre Broadband (FTTC) Self Install and the Risks to Broadband Speeds Without a VDSL Faceplate Filter
The accountants seem to have been actively working in BT recently, with a number interesting, financially-motivated decisions taken. These revolve around optimising BT’s services to better reflect the practical costs of installation of fibre-optic cables for FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) on Demand and FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) equipment in residential and business premises. We have recently reported that BT is significantly increasing the installation costs and monthly rental costs for FTTP on Demand. Another significant area of costs […] . Click here to read the full article.
Chart of ADSL and ADSL2+ Speed Versus Distance
New! Check to see if you can now get superfast or ultrafast broadband using our postcode checker on our Broadband Deals page. 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 exchange to the street cabinet (the […] . Click here to read the full article.
Chart of ADSL and ADSL2+ Speed Versus Line Loss
While ISPs often advertise ADSL2+ and ADSL services as having maximum downlink connection speeds of 24 Mbps and 8 Mbps, respectively, few broadband users will achieve such speeds. Broadband signals from the exchange suffer attenuation as they travels along the cable from the exchange to your broadband modem, reducing the speeds that can be delivered. New! Check to see if you can upgrade to superfast or ultrafast broadband in your area, and see the best deals, by using our postcode […] . Click here to read the full article.
Quick and Free Way to Test if a Filtered Faceplate Will Improve Your Broadband
Before spending any money, here is a quick, painless and completely free method to determine if a filtered faceplate will improve your broadband connection. First, you should baseline your broadband connection, and determine the connection speed of your link. This is not the same as the speed shown by online speed tests. Read your modem manual on how to get this information. The reason why an online speed test is of no value is that it can take the exchange […] . Click here to read the full article.