Choosing the right broadband

Broadband offerings are improving and evolving and as we’ve learnt this year, it’s important to keep up to date with the latest technology so that we can remain front footed and resilient. Choosing the right broadband can be confusing, but it will essentially be determined by your internet requirements and what is available in your area. Until Covid, we all thought we knew exactly what our internet requirements were, but that’s changed since most of us have been working from home and relying on TV streaming services to keep us entertained.

When we talk about broadband speeds, we are essentially talking about how quickly data is transferred to effect a response. There’s the ‘upload speed’ which is how quickly you can send data to the internet and there’s the ‘download speed’ which is how quickly you can receive data from the internet. If you’re searching for something on the internet or watching Netflix, it the download speed that is significant but if you’re sending an email or saving files to your server, it’s the upload speed that is. Since more services are now cloud-based, the up speed has become increasingly important. To put this into context, our 80/20 broadband – that’s up to 80MG down and up to 20MG up – is sufficient for users of cloud-based services such as Office 365, Sharepoint and Live Drive.

Broadband speeds are affected by the cables that they are delivered on. Traditional copper cables will deliver much slower and less reliable speeds that their fibre counter parts. Rural areas are last on the list for infrastructure upgrades from the likes of BT, Virgin and TalkTalk but the Government has pledged funding support for those areas with the introduction of the Gigabyte Voucher Scheme. Speed can also be affected by localised demand but dedicated circuits direct to your premises can overcome this issue. Dedicated circuits also have larger capabilities, meaning quicker speeds and greater reliability.

If you’re thinking of upgrading your broadband, want a broadband quote, or simply want to explore more about our IT support company in Birmingham, please get in touch.