Member Article

Demystifying Broadband

According to a recent survey, 39% of Brits admit to spending between 21 and 40 hours online every week, with 19% saying they now use the internet for more than 41 hours – longer than the average working week! Yet for many of us, that uninterrupted connection isn’t a given. In fact, more than half of households have complained about poor connections and slow speeds. With experts predicting that by 2025, the internet will become “‘like electricity’ — less visible, yet deeply embedded in people’s lives” , it’s time we got to grips with this ‘thing’ that connects us to the wide world around us. So, if you’ve ever called to check your speed or change provider, and have become tangled in a jargon web full of fibre and megabits and superfast and ultrafast… full fibre rural broadband provider Gigaclear, might just be able to help. It has put together a list of the most commonly used terms and phrases, as well as a useful list of questions to ask a provider. Next time you need to look at your package, or organise broadband for your new home, you can be armed and ready with all the knowledge you need, to make sure you’re getting the connection you want.

Broadband Dictionary 15 confusing broadband terms explained

Broadband – an internet connection, distinct from the old dial-up internet (‘narrowband’). Here’s an example if you’d like some nostalgia or are too young to remember!

Bandwidth – the capacity of a connection. E.g. high definition video streaming uses a lot of bandwidth

Basic broadband – up to 24Mbps service that comes from high-speed cable, satellite and wireless connections (ADSL). To download a 2hr HD film it would take approximately 1hr and 47 minutes

Superfast broadband – above 24Mbps is the general definition of superfast, and most often refers to a Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) connection. To download a 2hr HD film it would take roughly 37 minutes and 30 seconds

Mbps - short for megabits per second, a measure of data transfer speed (a megabit is equal to one million bits) for basic and superfast broadband. The higher the number, the faster the speed of your connection (not to be confused with megabytes (MB) which is the unit for digital information)

FTTC (Part Fibre) – Fibre-to-the-Cabinet: the fibre optic cabling is laid to the cabinets, then uses century old copper phone lines to provide a broadband connection to the home. This is the most common type of “fibre” broadband advertised, limiting speeds to 24Mbps. Speeds also depend on distance between property and cabinet.

FTTP / FTTH (Full Fibre) – Fibre-to-the-Premises / Fibre-to-the-Home: the fibre optic cabling is laid to the cabinets, and then extended from the cabinet directly into the home. This allows ultrafast speeds of up to 1,000Mbps (1Gbps). However, in the future this technology will allow for even faster speeds through the existing fibre cable.

Gbps – short for gigabits per second, often denotes a measure of ultrafast broadband and data transfer (a gigabit is equal to one thousand Mbps)

Fibre optic broadband – a method of transferring data using pulses of light sent along very fine glass fibre. Fibre optic data communications are fast, less prone to interference and deliver the same speed to users regardless of distance from the cabinet (this only applies to full fibre). Fibre optic technology has revolutionised telecommunications. One day, it will entirely replace all old copper cables

Ultrafast broadband – this is the category for broadband speed of 100Mbps and above, delivered by Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH). To download a 2hr HD film it would take roughly 53 seconds

Gigabit services – broadband service capable of achieving connections of 1Gbps or higher

**Wi-Fi **- a facility allowing computers, smartphones, or other devices to connect wirelessly to the internet within a particular area. Note: your Wi-Fi speed will not be the same as your broadband speed

Download speed – the rate at which data is sent from the internet to your computer. E.g. streaming music or tv programmes (through iPlayer / Netflix), video on demand (VOD), playing online games

Upload speed – the rate at which data is sent from your computer to the internet. E.g. sharing images or video (Facebook / YouTube), email and video calling

Router - manages the local network traffic, sending information between connected computers. It may also direct traffic to a hard drive or printer. This is the box in your house where the internet password is generally printed / attached

So, what do you need to ask a provider? ***What type of fibre connection do I have / can I get? *** Find out if you have a part or full fibre service as this determines the level of connectivity available.

Do you offer full fibre connections in my area? If you currently have a part fibre connection and find your service is not meeting your expectations, then you may wish to investigate whether you can access a full fibre connection. Ask your provider if they offer this or enter your postcode in Gigaclear’s online checker to see if the service is available in your area.

***What kind of speeds are best suited to my usage? *** Make sure you tell your provider what you use the internet for (e.g. streaming, gaming, video calls), how many people are in your home, and how many smart devices (phones, TVs or Alexa etc.) you use. The more downloads / uploads and devices you use will have a direct relation to the broadband package you need.

***What speeds can I expect at peak times? *** This is a good question to ask your current provider. But as of this year, Ofcom’s new regulations will allow you to compare average and minimum internet connection speeds experienced by other households in similar areas yourself, before choosing a provider.

***What is the minimum speed I can expect? *** A good question to ask to compare the advertised speeds to the actual speeds.

***How can I check my speed? *** If your provider’s website doesn’t have an online tool, then Which? has an easy-to-use tool that can check your speed for you.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gigaclear .