Tag: broadband
A glimpse inside Virgin Media’s secret broadband testing home
Virgin Media has built two large life-size houses inside a warehouse located in High Wycombe where it tests its latest broadband technology. Fitted with a spacious living room, a kitchen and bedrooms, the homes are furnished and feature an entire plumbing system, which can impact WiFi connections, to provide a realistic testing environment. Living room…
Broadband customers must now be told minimum speeds at point of sale
One third of us don't get advertised broadband speeds Broadband customers must be told the minimum and peak time speeds they will receive before they sign a contract under new protections coming into force on Friday. Providers will have to let customers walk away penalty-free if they take longer than…
10Mb broadband? We should have a right to 50Mb speeds, survey finds
Less than one third of people (27%) think the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) of 10Mbps+ is an acceptable target, according to a recent survey by Broadband Genie. The majority (63%) of respondents argued that the broadband USO target is far too slow, stating speeds of 30Mbps and above as a realistic target. One…
Parts of central London in ‘Broadband Blackspot’, according to Which? report
Parts of central London, including Westminster, have some of the lowest Broadband speeds in Britain Parts of central London, Stroud, Tunbridge Wells and Canterbury are among the more surprising areas suffering from the worst broadband in the country, according to new Which? analysis of customer speed tests. The consumer watchdog…
Customers signing up to combined TV/broadband ‘face £700 loyalty penalties’, claims Which?
Householders who sign up to combined TV and broadband packages are being hit with loyalty penalties of up to almost £700 a year, a consumer watchdog has warned. In worst-case scenarios, Which? found that BT customers can face a £240 loyalty penalty over a year, Virgin Media customers face paying an extra £580, and Sky…
Half of homes could switch to faster broadband, Ofcom says
Half of British households could switch to faster broadband today, according to Ofcom, as the regulator announced proposed new rules that will force internet providers tell customers about their best deals. A review of broadband pricing practices will also be launched, alongside a new consumer website – Boost Your Broadband – offering information on broadband…
Which are the fastest and slowest streets for broadband? Survey reveals massive difference in speeds across UK
The UK’s worst street for broadband speed is almost 2,000 times slower than the fastest, an annual survey has found. Greenmeadows Park in Bamfurlong, Gloucestershire has average downloads speeds of 0.14 megabits per second (Mbps), 1,899 times slower than Abdon Avenue in Birmingham which boasts average speeds of 265.89Mbps, uSwitch found. The speeds mean…
TalkTalk launches new company, FibreNation, to deliver full fibre network
Image: PA Broadband provider TalkTalk has formed a new company to build its a full fibre network across the UK. Called FibreNation, TalkTalk hopes it will eventually provide fibre to the home (FTTH) services to 3 million people in the UK. The telcoms company confirmed that the first three towns…
Poor broadband putting people off relocating to countryside
Millions of city dwellers are put off relocating to the countryside because of concerns over bad broadband and mobile phone reception, while large portions of those already living in rural areas experience these issues to such an extent they regret moving there. Despite Ofcom reporting that almost all of the country should be able to…
Which? finds loyal broadband customers pay too much, suffer bad service
Broadband customers who do not switch are enduring “often terrible” customer service and potentially paying hundreds of pounds a year more than they need to with providers taking advantage of their loyalty, according to a consumer watchdog. Which? found that 71% of broadband customers have been with their provider for at least three years and…