July 1st, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Deals, Broadband Providers
Orange Home Broadband is a specific sector of Orange Broadband, focused on home broadband service and solutions. While having a presence in the mobile broadband market, Orange Home Broadband keeps its focus on providing excellent service to home markets, and other non business broadband applications. With this heavy focus on home broadband, Orange Home Broadband is able to provide excellent data rates, no limits on usage or download caps, all while keeping services affordable.
Orange’s most well known and well liked plan is their “Orange Broadband Home Starter” package, which is priced at £7.00 per month for Orange Mobile users, and £10.00 per month for non-Orange Mobile users. With a download rate of 20 megabits per second, and no download cap, this is arguably one of the greatest values in unlimited service, even for users that do not choose to have a mobile phone under an Orange contract. Like many providers, this also includes free evening and weekend calling to UK landline telephones.
Unfortunately, this offer is only available in specific areas, and is simply unavailable in some places in the UK. Similar plans from Orange outside these limits can cost as much as £19.50, for eight megabit per second service, far inferior both in price and performance relative to other firms. All in all, Orange is arguably a market leader in unlimited broadband plans, however this is all relative to specific areas, and in many UK locales this offer is simply an impossibility.
June 28th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Equipment
Broadband Internet access is referred to these days simply as Broadband, and is a huge development compared to the old-fashioned methods of accessing the web. For example, a 56k dial-up modem, which was limited to a bit-rate of less than 56 kbit/s, required the use of an actual land-based telephone line.
Broadband connections offer more than double the speed of a dial-up connection, and do not require the use of the telephone. Whilst it is true that minimum bandwidths can be used to define what broadband actually is, standard connections these days between companies are usually around 6 mbit/s, which is far faster than a dial-up. One thing to remember is that the actual data rates are defined in terms of maximum download potential, because some broadband technologies like ADSL have a much slower maximum upload speed in comparison to the download speed.
Broadband is referred to as high-speed Internet because it has a high rate of data transmission, which allows customers the ability to download and upload data in a far more reliable manner compared to old-fashioned dial-up. It is important to understand that there are differences between what various countries consider broadband, with the International Telecommunication Union Standardized Sector referring to broadband as any transmission faster than 1.5 to 2 mbit/s, while the FCC in the United States has a standard of 768 kbit/s as their definition. This is important when looking at which type of broadband you are being offered, as where you are in the world will determine your actual speeds.
June 25th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Equipment
Many individuals assume that just because broadband providers offer a specific type of speed with a given package, that their download and upload speeds are guaranteed, but this is generally not the case.
This is especially true with wired Ethernet, where customers are literally wired indirectly to the fibre-optic network via a cable. Whilst they might be offered a 10, 100, or 1000 mbit/s transfer rate, it doesn’t always mean that they will be able to utilise the full potential of the network. One of the clearest examples of a situation where the bandwidth for each individual user could be severely limited is a college common room. A 100 mbit/s Ethernet connection might indeed be available, but the problem is that it is shared between all of the users who have access to the network in that building. This effectively results in a limited bandwidth via the leased line running into the building that connects to the fibre-optic cable provided by the broadband company.
However, there are certain cases when an Ethernet broadband connection can have a guaranteed service, such as with a data centre or POP. However, it is important to understand that these are business broadband connections and not those typical of residential areas. Ethernet Internet is the most viable option for companies running high streams of data around the clock, but the price makes it fairly accessible for the common user. Also, the common user rarely needs a 10 gbit/s connection to send emails and stream online videos.
June 22nd, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Deals, Broadband Providers
The next time you visit Tesco, try looking beyond its massive range of groceries, homeware and clothes: check out the Tesco Broadband deals, too. This supermarket giant offers two exceptionally well priced broadband products to compete with industry giants like BT Total Broadband, Sky Broadband, O2 Broadband and Orange Home Broadband.
Avoiding stand-alone broadband packages, Tesco offers two bundles that provide low price line rental, home phone bills and broadband internet connections in one. Connection speeds are ‘up to 20 Mbps’, which of course means that they depend on factors like how close to the telephone exchange you live, the quality of copper wire in your telephone line, and signal interference, but it’s a creditable speed for such a low fee. The unlimited downloads are subject to a fair usage policy; for most internet users at present, this won’t be a worry, but if you’re a heavy duty downloader; gaming, and/or guzzling movies and music files, take care as limits will quickly be reached.
Tesco Broadband offers an evening and weekend telephone calls package with its internet service for £8 per month or an ‘anytime’ telephone call service plus internet for £12. You’ll have to add £11 to each for line rental, but this is considerably cheaper than many of the bigger broadband suppliers. The call centre is UK based and you can even collect points on your Tesco Clubcard when you use the telephone. One small negative point is that Tesco Broadband charges for 0845 and 0870 numbers, which are free with providers like BT Total Broadband and TalkTalk Broadband.
June 19th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers, Broadband Reviews
One of the newer players in the UK broadband market is PlusNet Broadband. Known as a value provider, they offer a “Value” package that combines up to 10 Gb download capacity with up to 8 Mb speeds. This is a package that will satisfy many people who are considering switching from dial-up internet service to broadband.
With broadband, you enjoy an “always on” connection rather than having to free up your telephone line every time you want to access the internet. Many people consider this advantage alone worth the higher cost of broadband over dial-up.
PlusNet offers one big advantage that you can’t get from many other providers: the option to sign up for their service without a contract. Most other providers, like BT, Virgin Media, and Sky, require you to sign a contract for a specified length of time. These typically run from 12 to 18 months, and you will be penalised under most situations if you cancel your service prior to the termination of your contract. However, along with those contracts come some “free” products or services, like a dongle or wireless router. But for those in school, on temporary jobs, or who just want to try out the service without a commitment, the non-contract option will be tempting.
In fact, PlusNet Broadband offers the no contract option even on their Premium package, which allows up to 20 Mb speeds and up to 80 Gb usage allowance, with unlimited overnight usage. This might be a good option if you want to see whether this is the package for you or not.
June 17th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Deals, Broadband Providers
Whether recommending your provider to a friend, or embarking on a mobile broadband comparison task on local providers, it is important to determine just what you think about the service you have now. Taking the time to evaluate your thoughts and experiences will make the process of mobile broadband comparison much easier. Here are three criteria to consider.
First, there is the reliability of your provider. Are you obtaining the speed promised? Are there periods when the connection seems slow? How much down time, if any, do you experience during the course of a month? Questions of this type will give you an idea of what you really think of the day to day use of the service, making it easier to understand what you have come to expect from the provider.
Next, consider the price. As you compare broadband deals, do you find that the price you pay is in line with the competition? Perhaps there are other services that offer the same range of services and support, but at a lower monthly rate. Assuming they are just as reliable, you may find that your current provider is not quite as wonderful as you thought and may not be the best solution for your broadband. UK providers are numerous, including Virgin Media Broadband, Vodafone, and many others. This ensures broadband deals are always available.
Last, consider the support received from your current provider. When you have question or concern, do they make it easy for you to reach someone? Are the support personnel usually knowledgeable as well as courteous? If so, there is a good chance your provider is worth hanging on to, even if they are a little more expensive than some of the competition.
June 14th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers
Satellite Internet is the predecessor to the current mobile broadband offered by many of the broadband providers across the world. They rely upon geostationary satellites that relay the broadband data from a satellite company to the customer, and then back again. Unfortunately, it is also the most expensive way of gaining broadband Internet access. In some extremely rural areas it may be the only option other than a cellular broadband connection. One of the major pitfalls associated with satellite Internet is the fact that there are significant latency issues due to the fact that the signal must travel to an altitude of 22+ miles above the sea to a satellite in orbit and then back down to earth again. This causes delays ranging from 500 ms to 900 ms, which makes this type of connection fairly unreliable for individuals who need a real-time broadband connection. If you simply need a broadband connection for access to e-mail and website browsing, the latency issues are barely noticeable, but if you are looking to stream data you could be in for a rude awakening.
The other problem with most satellite broadband providers is that most of them operate with a FAP, otherwise known as a Fair Access Policy. Basically this throttles the connection of the customer down to dial-up rates after they have hit a certain invisible wall that is determined by the company, usually around 200 MB a day. This can make certain bandwidth-intensive activities such as streaming live data completely impossible for rural customers relying on a satellite connection.
June 11th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers, Broadband Reviews
Many of us opt for the most prominent market names such as BT Total broadband, Sky broadband, O2 broadband or Orange home broadband when we’re signing up to a broadband connection. But it could be well worth the effort to do a little consumer research, before signing on the dotted line.
BE Broadband for example, quietly owned by 02, is now one of the UK’s fastest growing service providers. Its first connected customer received a highly creditable transfer rate of 18.5MBps, and the company continues to offer a fast, reliable service. All of BE’s packages come with unlimited download allowances, so you won’t be faced with hefty penalty fees for exceeding your usage cap, and even customers on its lower end 8 Mbps package can reach upload speeds in excess of 1.3 Mbps.
The advertised speed, as with all providers, is the maximum possible. It will be impeded by factors such as the distance of your home from the local telephone exchange, signal interference and the quality of the copper wire used for the connection. But you can still bank on some fairly zippy download and upload rates all the same. The company operates an exceptionally generous ‘fair usage’ policy which has never, so far, been implemented, which makes BE Broadband an excellent choice for heavy-duty internet users like gamesters and download addicts of all kinds. More information about the various packages on offer can be found on the company’s website, www.BeThere.co.uk.
June 10th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers
You might be surprised to find that your unlimited broadband internet service has a sneaky download limit tucked away inside it after all. Currently, only Sky Broadband Unlimited and Virgin Media XXL are offering truly unlimited services, just about everyone else employs a ‘fair usage’ policy. These can range from the miserly to the surprisingly generous (BE Broadband’s policy, for instance, has never been implemented). As millions of us are cheerfully downloading music, or catching up on missed TV programmes via BBC iPlayer, we might find the cold touch of a fair usage policy fingering our collars (or our bank accounts), especially as internet television and film downloads are catching on like wildfire.
If you’re one of the more heavy-duty downloaders, you’d be wise to cut down on your usage or confine your downloading/uploading to the wee hours when fewer people will be browsing locally; you can generally download as much as you like then without inconveniencing anyone else. Fair usage penalties can take one of several forms: charging you an excess fee, throttling your connection so that you can only download a limited amount, reducing your usage at peak times or limiting your access to peer-to-peer sites.
If you love movies and download, say, ten quality films a month, you’re already guzzling 40 GB. If you upload and download pictures on social networking sites like Facebook, too, you’ll almost certainly be feeling that cold finger slipping inside your collar. Installing a free Broadband Download Monitor can help but, ultimately, you might need to upgrade to a beefier package, if you can’t curb your download enthusiasm.
June 7th, 2010 | Broadband, Broadband Providers, Mobile Broadband
Dial-up connection to the internet has been almost completely replaced by broadband, with only a few remote UK communities unable to access it. Broadband is basically a much faster connection, its most common form being ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line). Using it, you can make calls on your landline at the same time as you’re on the internet, the connection is permanent, and download times are much faster because data is converted over a wider frequency range and much more efficiently. The way that broadband is accessed takes a number of forms, such as through a cable line or through a wireless network, or via a satellite link. Broadband is also available via mobile telephone networks and is usually sold as mobile broadband.
The choice of broadband provider depends on many factors. There is an increasing trend amongst broadband providers to offer bundles, packages that also cover the telephone and/or cable TV as well as the broadband line itself. This is proving very popular, as taking out such a contract for a bundle of services reduces the cost. Virgin Media broadband and Sky broadband both offer competitive packages.
For the business sector, and the public sector as opposed to the home user, a raft of factors has to be considered when choosing between the broadband providers such as TalkTalk broadband, O2 broadband and Plusnet broadband, all of which offer business broadband packages.
Check a few of the broadband comparison websites such as Broadband Finder before coming to a decision on the one that’s best for your needs, and see what deals are on offer.