Switching broadband providers

August 6th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Comparison, Broadband Providers, Mobile Broadband, Mobile Broadband Comparison

There are a couple of factors that need consideration when switching broadband providers but, in most cases, switching is not a big problem.

Probably the biggest deciding factor when switching is whether you are changing to a provider which uses a different technology to deliver broadband to your home than your current provider does. Changing, say, from an ADSL broadband provider to a cable provider can be quite an involved process whereas switching from one ADSL provider to another ADSL provider is relatively easy.

If you currently use ADSL and wish to switch to a different ADSL provider, say from Talk Talk broadband to Tiscali broadband, you can do so over the phone and you won’t need to have a technician visit your home. Usually it just involves a call to your desired provider and a call to your current provider and a bit of patience, though sometimes you may receive a new modem.

A cable to ADSL switch, or vice versa, will not only require phone calls but also an engineer to visit your home to wire up the cable technology or to install ADSL to your phone socket (or indeed a brand new phone line). This particular switch is probably only worthwhile if you are going to save a lot of money or if you think that the substitute technology will give you much faster broadband speeds.

Switching away from ADSL or cable to mobile broadband is probably only advisable if you either can no longer accommodate a physically installed line or if you mostly use your broadband link outside the home. It is however relatively easy to do so, you need to call your current provider to cancel and then visit a shop to buy a mobile dongle or indeed order a dongle online or over the phone.

With some of the latest offers it does get very tempting to switch providers but do think quite carefully whether you will benefit. Of course if your current service is inadequate – slow speeds, poor reliability and service – you have much to gain from choosing a new provider.

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AOL Broadband Review

August 5th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers, Broadband Reviews

During the internet’s infancy, AOL was a leading internet service provider and led the way in 56k technology. Despite being overtaken in terms of popularity as broadband internet developed, AOL still offers competitive broadband deals.

AOL offers their customers speeds of either up to 8Mb/s or 24Mb/s depending on the broadband package and provides free connection to their network. All AOL broadband deals come with 18 month contracts and also include free wireless routers, email accounts, technical support seven days a week from 8am until midnight and the first month’s coverage free.

For customers looking to save money by receiving multiple services from their broadband provider, AOL also offer phone call bundles as a part of their packages.

One of the biggest drawbacks to AOL broadband is the strict usage caps which the company puts in place. Unlike most fixed line broadband providers, who offer customers unlimited downloads on a vast majority of deals, AOL imposes a 10 GB usage policy on their connections. This would severely limit customers who spend a lot of time online, as common activities such as chatting using VoIP, playing games, streaming movies or downloading songs could easily eat up this 10 GB limit.

Potential AOL Broadband customers should also be aware that the company has a limited network area. Although new users from outside AOL’s catchment zone are usually able to receive their broadband from the company, the service will cost an extra £5 per month.

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Be Broadband Overview

August 3rd, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers

Be Broadband is a telecommunications company that focuses primarily on delivering affordable broadband services to UK homeowners.  Be Broadband maintains a strong focus on offering excellent download and upload speeds all at a few different price points.  With all plans now offering unlimited access, even the most inexpensive broadband plan from Be Broadband will not be throttled at any point. 

Since its inception, Be Broadband has maintained a strong focus on providing low cost plans, typically at low data rates.  While this may have been the case some time ago, the Be Broadband services have changed quite a bit in recent months and in all this change looks to be in favour of the consumer.

While they no longer a low cost leader with broadband plans at £7.50, they still even now offer one of the least expensive unlimited plans on the market. With speeds as high as 24 megabits per second, and upload speeds as high as 2.5 megabits per second, Be Broadband has become a leader in performance, all while still maintaining a relatively low price.

All in all, Be Broadband has shifted its strategy significantly, and now offers a superior service at a much lower price.  It’s important to note that Be Broadband also offers a wide variety of amenities and additional services at no additional charge.  Free installation, short contract terms, and short queue times for service calls come as standard, at whichever level of service you may choose.

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Mobile broadband comparison – searching for the best deal

July 28th, 2010 | Broadband Comparison, Broadband Providers, Mobile Broadband, Mobile Broadband Comparison

When researching in order to make a mobile broadband comparison, there are a few questions that should be asked and considerations that need to be made.  First and foremost, the level of service and local signal coverage will vary significantly between companies as well as between levels of service in each company.  Additionally, compatibility with an existing mobile device, the usage cap per period and price will all vary between firms as well as within levels of service.

Any good mobile broadband comparison will pit the separate outcomes and qualities of service against a personal taste or preference to determine the best course of action.  Most services offer wide device compatibility, however this is not always the case. While broadband providers and broadband reviewers may champion one service over another, a common concern should be how easily the new subscriber can keep using their original mobile device. 

While some users feel unattached to their current mobile devices and user interfaces, others feel tightly bound and accustomed to it.  While most mobile broadband providers are able to support most devices, this compatibility is the first consideration that should be made.  For most users, the next most important quality is the price of the service.  Value should be the target, and in any mobile broadband consideration the user’s personal usage should be determined and used to make a selection.  Personal taste is the key to a successful mobile broadband comparison rather than reviews and the opinions of others.

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TalkTalk Broadband Review

July 26th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers, Broadband Reviews

TalkTalk Broadband is a provider of broadband services in the UK, offering comprehensive and highly customisable broadband services for home and personal use.  While they only offer two general plans for broadband services (TalkTalk Essentials and TalkTalk Pro), each one of these plans offers a wide variety of additional services called “boosts.  This allows the most basic package to be moulded and fitted to each individual customer’s needs.

TalkTalk’s least expensive and most baseline plan is priced at £6.99 per month, and offers download speeds as high as 24 Megabits per second, with a download usage cap of 40 Gigabytes per month.  In addition, TalkTalk Essentials subscribers are given unlimited evening and weekend calling to UK landlines at no additional charge.  While this plan seems baseline and run of the mill, this plan can be expanded in a variety of ways.  For example, the download cap can be expanded to 80 Gigabytes per month for an additional £4.  This among other things has security improvements and with international calling makes these services very unique and tailored for each customer.

TalkTalk Pro is the name of TalkTalk Broadband’s unlimited plan, which offers the same 24 Megabit download rate with no download cap whatsoever.  At £14.99 this service remains relatively inexpensive, all while maintaining an excellent download speed.  Any additional services can be purchased through upgrades such as the TalkTalk essentials plan, making TalkTalk Pro just as customisable and accessible.

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What is traffic shaping?

July 23rd, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers

Traffic shaping is a common practice among broadband providers, or at least it has been up until the last few years, since the level of data transfer rates have gone up considerably around the world, with streaming media becoming the normal standard. It is also known as packet sharing, and is really nothing more than the control of computer network traffic in order to optimise or guarantee the performance for consumers through improved latency and increased amount of bandwidth through the manipulation of data packet transfers, provided that they meet certain criteria. In layman’s terms this is simply an action on a stream or flow of information where additional delays are imposed upon those packets so that they conform to a predetermined constraint. This basically means that the ISP can control the volume of traffic being sent to their network during a specific period of time or by controlling the maximum rate at which the traffic is sent.

Traffic shaping can be encompassed in a variety of ways depending upon the broadband company. It is generally seen in use at the edge of the network to control the traffic that enters, but it can also be applied directly at the traffic source, such as at the computer network card. It is a common enough practice because broadband providers in the past have signed on more customers than their network can handle, with the assumption that not everyone will be accessing their full potential at any given time, but streaming media is beginning to make traffic shaping a thing of the past.

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An overview of BT Broadband

July 20th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers, Broadband Reviews

You’re familiar with BT, of course; odds are that they provide your home telephone service.  But did you know that they also provide broadband internet service?  BT Total Broadband offers several different options, and one of them is likely to make the switch from dial-up internet access to broadband very appealing.

Consider not only the speed that you want, but how much and for what purpose you’ll be using the internet.  If you will be using it mostly for e-mail and some limited surfing, an entry-level provision is probably right for you.  E-mails and text files are very small and transfer quickly, so you won’t place much of a demand on your system.  You want speed, but you won’t be pushing the limits much beyond that.

Going to be doing more surfing, maybe transferring some audio files as well as text?  Perhaps you want to connect with others via Facebook, or talk with your faraway friends via Skype or other similar programs.  You might have children who need to do homework, which can involve accessing encyclopaedia and other image-intensive pages.  In these situations, you might want to bump up the speed a bit over the entry-level plan.  BT Broadband frequently offers a Home Hub as a bonus for signing up, and especially with several children in a household, this might be a good option.

The fastest tier of broadband service with BT will allow you to download video and audio files quickly, listen to music, and chat with friends across the world.  While being the most expensive it is the one that will satisfy heavy internet users with a true “need for speed.”

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What is Broadband Service?

July 16th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers, Mobile Broadband

Over the years, some people have wondered about the nature of broadband service.  What makes it different, and how many kinds of broadband are there?  The fact is the answer is very simple.

Broadband is a high speed Internet service that makes it possible to utilise current wired and wireless technology to browse the Internet at speeds that were impossible even ten years ago.  Many traditional telephone service providers offer this option, as well as many cable television companies.  While this type of service was once somewhat expensive, the wider range of broadband providers and the increased competition have significantly lowered the price, making it affordable to many people.

Broadband applications can be used with a number of different devices.  Using an Ethernet connection, it is possible to utilise the service with a desktop computer, at home or at work.  Wireless broadband makes it possible to share a single connection with laptops and other devices within a given range, without the need to physically connect those devices to a broadband modem. In recent years, mobile broadband has made it possible to read and send email, browse the Internet, and play online games using a handheld device. 

Broadband is also one of the most reliable ways to connect to the Internet.  In addition to the speed, the signalling with this service is generally much more stable, thus avoiding the interruptions that are found with some other solutions.  This makes the task of researching topics, shopping, and downloading files much easier and a lot more fun. Without a doubt, broadband has changed many lives, and made communications much easier for everyone.  

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To cap or not to cap?

July 15th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers

One of the important things when choosing between broadband providers is the type of service they offer. Sky Broadband, Be Broadband, Broadband Finder, Tesco Broadband all offer something different for customers based upon whether or not the individual wants to cap their Internet connection or whether they want unlimited download potential. The easiest way to answer the question is to look at what you use the Internet for. If you have the need of business broadband and to transfer data on a daily basis, then you most likely want to go for an unlimited package that does not have a cap. These packages cost significantly more money than the capped broadband deals, but they also generally have fewer months on the contract when compared against connections that have a cap.

If you plan on only browsing the Internet and checking your e-mail once in a while then you can get Internet for as low as £5 or £6 per month, but there will be a significant cap on how much data you are allowed to download during any given month. If you ever decide to download a streaming video or watch a live news clip you could find yourself extending your broadband connection to the cap without even realising it. Still, not everyone needs an unlimited connection these days, and when you are looking at the difference between £30 or £40 when comparing monthly bills it can often be a far more affordable option for a person to choose a limited connection versus an unlimited one.

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What To Do If Your Broadband Does Not Work

July 12th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Equipment, Broadband Providers

Even the most reliable broadband service can have a connection issue now and again.  When you find that your connection has been lost, it’s important to take a moment and make sure the issue is not on your end.  Here are some things to look for before alerting your provider that there is some sort of problem.

First, check the connections between your power source, your computer, and your modem or gateway.  A cable that has been accidentally disconnected may be the root of the problem.  If that is the case, all you need to do is plug the connector back into the right place, and all will be well.

Should you find that all the cables are securely in place, try resetting your modem or gateway.  There is the possibility that your connectivity was negatively impacted by some momentary interruption in the data stream.  If so, the reset will correct the problem and allow your connection to be fully operational once more.

If your provider included some sort of diagnostic software with your account, run the software to see if there is something interfering with the connectivity, such as some sort of virus or equipment that is failing.  If the software does find something and cannot automatically repair the issue, carefully write down the description of the issue.  You’ll need this information when you call your provider for assistance.

Keep in mind that even if you have to call for help, many issues can be diagnosed and corrected remotely.  Your broadband provider will know what to try, before sending a technician to your home or business.  In many cases, the problem can be isolated and your connection restored in a matter of minutes.

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