Choosing Your Next Broadband Provider: Top Tips

Image courtesy of https://www.freeimages.com/photo/working-woman-1440176 working from home, contractless broadband, wireless, full fibreFinding the best broadband deal that suits both your demand for high speed internet and your budget can be quite the juggling act. First you have to find a provider who serves your area, then you have to navigate all the different packages they offer, comparing this price with that, the speed, the duration of the contract, and then there’s the additional extras they don’t tell you about until you put your order in. Line rental? That’s another £25 or more per month. Installation? £40 to £50 should cover it.

And it’s vital that you choose the right deal, and pick carefully since you could be in that contract for between 12 to 24 months. Choose badly and you could be paying through the nose for your data, or paying a lower price for really poor speeds, which amounts to the same thing. You can’t get out of the contract without paying penalties, or if your provider does do a package which is better for you, you may be due admin fees if you decide you need to change.

And your needs can change at any time. Get a Smart HDTV and suddenly your need for fast internet spikes. Your college age kids move out to go to university and suddenly you only need a fraction of the bandwidth you had before. So do you stick with a plan which no longer suits you, or do you pay the admin fees to get a better product? Read more

Not Connected To Full Fibre Yet? Wireless Broadband Could Be For You

wireless, wireless broadband, superfast broadband, broadband, internet, ISPSure you’ve heard of Wi-Fi, but it’s not the same thing as Wireless broadband. Wi-Fi is the process by which you send and receive internet data between your computer, connected devices, Smart TV and phone when you’re not using your data allowance. Wireless broadband on the other hand is the way your internet service provider gets data to your house if Full Fibre or Fibre to the Cabinet aren’t currently available in your area.

How Does Wireless Internet Work?

Wireless is different from Wi-Fi, 4g or GSM (the mobile phone network) as it does a different job using different technology. Wireless is deployed in areas, such as remote rural areas as it is an cost effective alternative to laying fibre optic cables or installing phone transmitters which might provide coverage which will only reach a few customers. Instead of having phone masts put up, these remote areas have internet ‘beamed’ to them via a mast which the Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) installs and trains on the area they wish to cover. So long as you can get ‘line of sight’ between the receiver which the ISP provides and their transmitter, you will be able to get high speed broadband. The speeds you can get may not be as fast as Full Fibre or Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC), but they will certainly be far better than anything which was previously available using old copper phone infrastructure. Read more

Switching Broadband Providers Is Going To Get Much Easier

image courtesy of https://unsplash.com/@magellol - broadband, changing providers, switch, digital switch, isp, wisp, As with many services, such as your bank, energy or water supplier, the rigmarole, hassle and mistakes which can occur when switching are often the most common reasons people give for not wanting to switch. That is true for broadband data too, or at least it will be until April 2023 when Ofcom introduce the “One Touch Switch” (OTS) service for broadband consumers. OTS, which is currently modelled on the template available to landline phone users takes all of the bother out of the process of switching from one ISP to another, so it will certainly be welcomed by digital data users looking for a better deal.

Currently it’s necessary to deal with both your new and old internet service provider, you’ll be setting up one account and making sure there is as little overlap as you leave your old provider, while also making sure there is no service gap between leaving one and starting with the next either.

Instead the OTS system means that all you will have to do is contact the company you want to have a new contract with and they will arrange the rest.

Depending on which service you want to take up, switching can currently be very easy, provided you are moving from a like to like service with the same infrastructure. Problems arise though when you want to switch to a company which is on a different physical network from the one you’re currently on. As a broadband data provider we, and Ofcom, feel that switching should be as easy and transparent for you the consumer as possible. You don’t care about infrastructure interface, Code Powers, or Physical Infrastructure Access, you just want to get better broadband as quickly as possible. It’s our job to care about that, and then to get you the fastest broadband data as quickly and efficiently as possible. Read more