Broadband Speedguide
The internet has moved on considerably from the early days of dial-up internet access, with only a few people still using dial-up. Most people in the UK are able to get a decent broadband speed of over 2mb. However people in rural areas who are more than 3 miles from their local telephone are unlikely to be able to get anything faster than this. In very remote areas, only very slow speeds are available and in some areas, broadbamd is not available at all.
Whilst many companies offer broadband speeds of around 8mb, there are problems. Firstly, the broaband speed offered is rarely met (if you read the small print, it usually says "up to 8mb") and secondly you may just not be able to get broadband speeds close to that in your area. Finally, the speed of broadband can be slowed down by the quality of telephone wiring in your house.
Many broadband providers and independent websites offer speed checkers. The performance of these varies. In some case they just check the theoretical maximum speed for your postcode area. A very good broadband speed checker is this one provided by broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk. Check your broadband speed now:
CABLE
In major cities, companies such as Virgin are able to offer cable broadband, often as part of a package including telephone and tv. Many parts of the UK are not connected to cable and so for many people this is not an option.
FIBRE OPTICS
The latest technology is fibre optics, and the government are pinning all it's hopes on getting the whole of the UK connected up by fibre optics.
WIRELESS BROADBAND
An option for a small number of people who otherwise cannot get broadband is wireless broadband. All the major UK Mobile phone operators offer mobile broadband. Mobile broadband is generally slower and more expensive and usually has stiff penalties if you go ver the monthly allowance.