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Double your broadband for free

Posted on 16 Jun 2008 at 12:49

We find ten ways to boost the speed of your broadband connection, many of which won't cost you a penny.

Broadband has become a national obsession on a par with the good old British weather: we all moan about it, connection speeds are horribly unpredictable and everyone feels like the problem is beyond their control. However, we're going to reveal ten measures you can take in your own home to make a significant improvement to your broadband speeds and ensure you're benefiting from every last dribble of bandwidth available to you.

There's no doubt that there's widespread dissatisfaction with broadband speeds. A recent survey from USwitch showed that half of all broadband customers are unhappy with the service they receive. And while there's often little you can do to improve the physical speed of the line entering your house - especially if you don't live in a cable area - it's entirely possible to add 2 to 3Mb/sec to the actual speed of your connection by simply following some of the measures offeared here, effectively doubling the throughput of most home ADSL connections.

Some are little-known fixes and workarounds we've gleaned from talking to experts, some are experimental new technologies such as the BT iPlate that could have huge benefits for those suffering from erratic speeds, others are potential pitfalls with equipment that some in the broadband industry would rather you didn't know about.

Our selection of ten fixes will ensure your home is benefiting from its maximum available bandwidth. Let us know how you get on and share any tips at letters@pcpro.co.uk.

1 - Test your TVs
2 - Fit an iPlate
3 - Avoid extension wiring
4 - Tweak your Wi-Fi
5 - Ask for the reactive repair tool
6 - Keep your router up-to-date
7 - Replace your filters
8 - Watch out for AR7 routers
9 - Finetune your MTU settings
10 - Ask for interleaving
How to measure your broadband speed