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When will you get superfast broadband?

Posted on 6 Nov 2009 at 15:14

Yet even if you’re offered a free upgrade by BT, you might want to think twice. Ofcom’s recent broadband speed survey revealed that LLU lines are significantly faster than those delivered via BT Wholesale. The speed difference was particularly marked during the peak hours of 8-10pm, when LLU lines were almost 1Mbit/sec faster on average.

“This slowdown during peak hours is the result of contention on the network as multiple users share the same backhaul bandwidth,” Ofcom concluded. “The faster average speeds delivered by LLU operators are likely to be a reflection of the lower cost per unit of backhaul capacity for operators using their own network, compared to the cost of renting capacity from wholesale suppliers (such as BT Wholesale or Cable & Wireless).”

Who will get 24Mbits/sec?

You can check to see whether your telephone exchange is served by LLU providers or is WBC-enabled on SamKnows Broadband’s excellent Exchange Checker. Ironically, those areas served by fibre are most likely to receive ADSL2+, while rural areas may struggle to receive either. Which leaves them with...

8Mbits/sec

Those areas left untouched by LLU providers, Virgin Media or BT’s fibre will be left to slog it out on bog-standard ADSL lines. These are sold as up-to-8Mbits/sec, but even if you squatted in your local telephone exchange, you wouldn’t get a connection faster than 7.2Mbits/sec because BT Wholesale’s Broadband Remote Access Server (BRAS) takes 10% off the line speed to ensure the connection is stable.

And even a 7.2Mbits/sec connection is beyond the realms of fantasy for the majority of people on ADSL. On lines sold as “up to 8Mbits/sec”, the average download speed is only 3.9Mbits/sec according to Ofcom research released this summer – less than half the advertised speed.

So while the lucky few who are connected to BT’s FTTP service can enjoy multiple HD streams into the home, the average ADSL customer would be lucky if their connection was fast enough to stream a single show in HD from the BBC iPlayer, which states that customers need at least a 3.2Mbits/sec connection to keep the streams running smoothly.

Little wonder, then, that BT Total Broadband has resorted to measures such as giving away its iPlate device (now redubbed BT Broadband Accelerator) to help boost broadband speeds.

However, such devices are mere sticking plaster. The biggest obstacle to ADSL speeds remains the length of that copper wire running to your home from the telephone exchange. And there’s little prospect of that being replaced anytime soon.

Who will get 8Mbits/sec?

ADSL remains the dilapidated backstop option for areas that aren’t covered by cable or fibre rollouts, and are still waiting for their local telephone exchange to be upgraded for ADSL2+. Sadly, it’s likely to be the fastest option for many rural areas for some years.

Zero

And then we come to the Have Nots: the many homes and businesses that have no access to broadband, or speeds so despicable that it doesn’t justify the name. Ofcom and BT may proudly boast that 99% of the population is within reach of an ADSL line, but that still leaves tens of thousands of families and rural businesses without access to a decent internet connection.