24 hours to go: broadband
It’s been two years since liveworkhomes delved into the digital spaghetti to unravel the options on offer for live/workers and others trying to run a business from home. So we’re hugely grateful to the experts at broadband.co.uk for a guide to today’s market that even we can understand
There are currently three main types of broadband in the UK:
broadband via the BT phone network
Broadband over the BT phone network is the most common type in the UK and is (almost) universally available.
The most common is ADSL, commonly advertised as ‘up to 8Mbps’, also available is ADSL2+ which provides speeds ‘up to 24Mbps’. Both ADSL and ADSL2+ degrade as distance from the exchange increases, leading to frustration to those furthest from their exchange.
Currently ADSL is available to 99.9% of properties in the UK, while ADSL2+ is only available in larger exchanges. BT is in the process of replacing its entire phone network to its new 21st century network (21CN for short). As part of this, ADSL2+ will be made available at all UK exchanges between now and 2012.
Cable broadband
The vast majority of cable broadband is provided by Virgin Media and is only available in selected high density residential areas. Virgin's cable network uses fibre optic cabling so, unlike ADSL technology, it does not give slower speeds the further you go from the telephone exchange.
Current maximum speeds on cable broadband are 20Mbps with 50Mbps due to be launched before the end of 2008. The present cable network could theoretically provide speeds approaching 100Mbps.
Mobile broadband
The broadband newcomer, mobile broadband has really come of age in 2008. Allowing consumers to access broadband without needing a fixed line has proved extremely popular. However the speeds do not yet rival those of the fixed line suppliers, with the current average around only 2Mbps.
Mobile broadband also is not universally available and the more remote your location the less likely you are to get a good signal. Future mobile broadband technologies may achieve speeds of over 100Mbps, but this is unlikely to be commercially available before 2012.
To find mobile broadband availability in your area go to the website of the network provider you are interested in and use their coverage checker.
If you buy mobile broadband online this is a distance purchase and if you are unsatisfied with the performance you are within your rights to return the product for a full refund so in many cases it doesn't hurt to just try it. For example 3 Mobile offers a 14-day trial period on all its mobile broadband contracts.
Whatever happened to wireless?
Wireless broadband can be quite a confusing term, as the fixed line broadband providers offer ‘wireless broadband’ by which they mean a fixed line broadband connection with a wireless router. So you still need to be able to get fixed line broadband at your property.
The range of the wireless router is usually around 20 metres (depending on the model and potential obstacles in and around your home), so it’s not easy to share among many properties.
In some areas there are niche providers of true wireless broadband, where you get your broadband wirelessly with no need for a fixed line connection.
There are no providers of UK-wide wireless broadband, and those that do exist tend to cover only small areas. One example is Zycomm (http://www.w3z.co.uk) which covers some parts of Derbyshire. These providers find it hard to compete with the fixed line providers on price and speed and many have been squeezed out in recent years.
Satellite
The only real universal broadband is satellite broadband, however this comes at a cost far in excess of all the others. Delivery with upfront costs is usually several hundreds of pounds and monthly costs start at around £50 for a 0.5Mbps connection and over £100 for a 2Mbps connection.
It’s one really only for those with no other option and a burning need for a connection.
Future broadband
The real conundrum for future broadband in the UK is the £28bn plus cost of providing the gold standard of fibre to every home and business in the UK, with speeds of 2.5Gbps (Gigabit per second, the equivalent around 2500Mbps).
The scale is beyond a single commercial entity and would really require government intervention if it is ever to happen. The ‘cheaper’ option is to take fibre to every street level cabinet, at a cost of around £5bn, giving speeds of 30-100Mbps.
The real issue is that there is currently no unified broadband strategy for the development and rollout of superfast broadband in the UK so the digital divide between town and country is likely to grow ever wider if left to market forces.
