Words About Things

Anyone who has done any research into broadband offers and deals will know that connection speed is a very important factor. For many it is the deciding factor between choosing between mobile broadband and wireless broadband (or, heaven help us, dial-up). You will also know that there is often quite a difference between the highest speed available on a tariff and the actual speed you are likely to receive.

Its a bit like those adverts that say that Product X will decrease the amount of germs by up to 99.9%. This is basically a convoluted way of saying that germs will be reduced by any amount (0.1% perhaps) but never totally. For this the possible percentage only goes up to 100% which would horrify the idiots who go on The Apprentice who never give less than 110%.

A new initiative has been launched which aims to give potential customers a clear picture of what speed they are likely to get on their telephone line. ISPs covering up to 95% of broadband users have signed the Code of Practice. They will be required to inform customers the maximum speed their phone line can carry as well as factors which may reduce this speed. The distance of the landline from the exchange for instance can have a significant impact on the speed of your connection. Those using wifi or wireless broadband can also be affected by the quality of their wireless router.

O2, AOL, BT Total, IDNet, TalkTalk, Nildram, Pipex, PlusNet, Sky,  Virgin Media, Orange Home and Tiscali have all signed up so far. More info can be found on the Ofcom site.

Mobile broadband has been taking off in a big way over the last few years. In fact YouGov someone (see comments)  reports that a third of all broadband users will be connecting via mobile broadband by 2012. Despite not always receiving a the speed advertised most mobile broadband users seem to be happy connecting via 3G.

The benefits of not having to use a fixed phone line will be familiar to many. Those of us who rent rather than own may not feel the need to have a telephone line in addition to mobile phones. The price of mobile broadband is often lower than fixed line although speeds are normally slower. As mobile broadband becomes more popular pressure is put on traditional broadband suppliers to offer more to maintain their customer base. As the copper phone lines supporting the current system begin to seem a little out dated fibre optic broadband begins to seem like a real possibility. The only problem there is that nobody seems to want to pay to replace the entire system!

The media rich nature of the internet and increasing demands from customers means that connection speeds need to continue to evolve. Those who regularly use the BBC Iplayer and other bandwidth intensive services need speeds to increase so that high definition online video can become the norm.

A recent test of a 4G system produced speeds up to 30 megabits per second. Considering that the average broadband speed (via a landline) in the UK is only 2.95Mbps this would be a massive improvement even for those currently using fixed line broadband. The 4G LTE (long term evolution) service operates on a previously unused band of the mobile spectrum which will be auctioned off next year. This means that broadband service providers will have to put their money on the line if they plan on increasing mobile broadband speeds for their customers.

“We are not able to deliver the speed and consumer experience for the applications coming out, we need to accommodate higher use at a lower price. With 4G LTE we can increase traffic without increasing the cost.”

Joachim Horn, chief technology officer of T-Mobile International

All this means that if wireless broadband providers want to compete with 4G they will need to consider upgrading the infrastructure their service is based on. This race to provide the best system can only be a good thing for those using wifi or mobile broadband.