Broadband news
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| Posted 15:16:00, 06 May 2008 by Sam |
I've long been frustrated by the confusion surrounding broadband performance, and it seems I'm not alone. Ofcom is currently working with ISPs to formulate a Code of Practice that will provide consumers with more information at the point of sale on their likely broadband speed. But is it really right for us to expect a free broadband connection to perform as well as a £25 per month one?
That's just the problem. We simply do not know how well one ISP performs with respect to another.
At present there is no statistical comparison of how any broadband products perform. All we have is anecdotal evidence from consumers, combined with some speed tester results. These have their place, granted, but it's hardly the basis to make informed statistical comparisons.
In an effort to demystify the murky world of broadband performance we are today announcing the public pilot of our performance monitoring network.
We're deploying small hardware-based monitoring units to volunteers all around the country. Once connected to the volunteer's home network the units will perform a series of tests at regular intervals during the day, every day of the year. The results of these tests are fed up to our reporting engine and combined with the results of others on the same ISP to form a national view of how that ISP is performing. Given enough coverage we could potentially even drill down to regional monitoring.
A hardware solution was chosen over a software one for the increased dataset it provides (who leaves their computer on 24/7!?) and the superior quality of the data. Furthermore, our chosen hardware will only run its tests when your network (both wired and wireless) is not busy - good for you and also good for the accuracy of the results.
I must stress that this system goes far beyond running vanilla speed tests. The units are checking latency, packet loss, DNS query times and failures, as well as the obligatory suite of speed tests. The goal is to provide a statistically sound measurement of overall broadband quality.
More details of the tests we're running, the hardware being used and why we're doing this can all be found in the FAQ.
Now this is where you come in...
We've got a small but successful pilot of 50 units in the wild and we're now keen to expand this further. We're looking for a further 200 willing volunteers. If you're interested in getting involved you can read more and apply at the sign up page. There's no cost whatsoever.
Ultimately we want to present an accurate and representative view of broadband products across the country. We hope that the statistics we produce will provide a benchmark for users, businesses, regulators and providers alike.
» Read the Performance Monitoring FAQ
» Sign up as a volunteer |
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| Posted 13:29:54, 02 May 2008 by Sam |
Firstly I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who answered the survey we put up on the site in February. The response has been far better than expected and I can only apologise that I can't respond to everyone individually.
I thought I'd share some of the most pronounced results below:
1. Predictably, the two biggest broadband questions people had were "What's available to me?" and "When can I get faster broadband!?". Whilst we try to answer those questions as best as possible on the site, there's always room for improvement. We appreciate the site is not as "consumer friendly" as it could be, and this is something we're trying to address. We're also planning to include mobile broadband coverage in the very near future.
2. A significant number of people requested that we provide a mechanism for emailing people updates when a new broadband service is available at their local exchange. I must admit to being a bit perplexed by this - that feature has been available at the bottom of the exchange pages for 18 months now (Perhaps that's just an indicator of my poor design/layout skills!). Anyway, just search for your exchange, scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your email address to receive updates.
3. Requests for a comprehensive broadband product comparison tool also featured heavily in the responses. I must say that this was rather surprising given the vast amount of broadband comparison sites already out there. Nonetheless, it's something I'm looking in to.
However, the number one thing that caught my eye in the responses was the number of people who were seeking true performance data for each of the ISPs. These respondents made it clear that this went way beyond running speed tests alone; reliability, consistency, responsiveness, etc, all play an important part in the broadband experience.
All I'll say is watch this space... |
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| Posted 17:27:38, 30 April 2008 by Sam |
Keen followers of BT's 21CN project will know that today is the day that Wholesale Broadband Connect launches. The new service from BT Wholesale aims to bring their range of ADSL products up to speed with the LLU services of their competitors. It also introduces a range of QoS (Quality of Service) options that could be utilised for new broadband products (such as streaming video). We've covered the technical features of the new service extensively already.
But where are the glitzy product announcements from the ISPs? Where are the users screaming out for the 24Mbps speeds that will no doubt feature in the product headlines? They're nowhere to be found.
When ADSL Max launched two years ago, the ISPs couldn't even wait for the official launch day before announcing their products. The launch of Wholesale Broadband Connect couldn't be more different. Not a single provider has formally announced their WBC-based products yet.
Furthermore, reports on ISPReview last week indicated that there is a 60 working day lead time on ISP orders for WBC links (Note that this is referring to the link between BT and your ISP). Only the two trialist ISPs (BT Retail and Entanet) are known to have WBC links in place at present.
The message from BT is clearly that this is a slow and steady roll out. Whilst we might see some of the Entanet resellers (e.g. ADSL24, Vivacti, UKFSN) announce their offerings soon, it'll likely be a few months before there is sufficient coverage and maturity for the larger providers to step in. One also wonders to what extend the larger providers, who have already invested in their own LLU networks, will get involved in WBC anyway. |
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| Posted 19:39:59, 21 April 2008 by Sam |
Over the weekend we have incorporated coverage data for a further three wireless broadband ISPs.
Kijoma offer wireless broadband services at up to 10Mbps down by 2Mbps up in parts of Wiltshire, Sussex, Devon and Wales. Their focus is on areas where traditional fixed-line broadband services perform poorly (typically due to line length or quality).
Back in the city, Urban Wimax are offering up to 10Mbps synchronous WiMAX broadband. Available across Central London, parts of East London and North London, the service is targeted at businesses looking to increase their resilience and reduce their reliance on BT's infrastructure!
In Nottingham EMNET are offering up to 4Mbps synchronous wireless connections. As with Kijoma, their service operates within the 5.8Ghz band that has proven so popular with community wireless providers.
Approximate coverage areas are shown on the exchange pages and more accurate availability information can be found using the availability checker. As with all wireless services, availability is subject to survey. |
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| Posted 10:21:43, 08 April 2008 by Sam |
Orange have today introduced a new broadband pricing structure that sees them differentiate pricing according to coverage of their LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) network. Like other LLU operators including TalkTalk and Sky, Orange provide broadband services over their own LLU network where they have coverage and fall back to BT's IPStream network where they do not. Until today Orange had maintained the same set of products and prices across both networks.
The new pricing sees the Home Starter package change to £12 per month for customers covered by their LLU network and £20 otherwise. A discount of £5 per month is available with any 18 or 24 month mobile phone contract. The product was previously priced at £15 per month. Prices of their other tariffs have also changed, with customers covered by the LLU network receiving a small discount and others being subjected to a price increase.
All new customers will be charged a new £30 connection fee.
Orange's move to regional pricing is long overdue. All other major LLU operators have employed this practice for quite some time now. AOL caused a stir just under a year ago when they hiked prices by £10 per month for users not covered by their LLU network. |
Where's the rest of the news gone? Try the news archive!
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