I have recently upgraded to Fibre broadband. Tempted to go one better I agreed on Fibre Plus. My previous speeds measured 7 Mbps. Sounds terrible I know and the thought of something ten times as fast was very appealing.
Not so long ago I didn’t have many things connected to the internet. Mainly a laptop and or a desktop, but not constantly of course. Now with several smart phones, tablet devices, a smart TV and Amazon Firestick, Sonos speakers in more than one room, I did occasionally feel the internet was under performing. Using Twitter might grind to a halt for a minute or two (OMG!).
So when my broadband super fibre plus plus was ready how excited was I? And when I measured speeds of 56 Mbps of the 76 potentially promised, whilst stood near the router, and 46 Mbps when in the other room, and sweet F.A in the back bedroom upstairs I considered whether I had done the right thing.
My tablet does not load faster. My phone is often quite slow. My laptop is still next to useless. I sit in the garden and my phone connects to open data and not to my Wi-Fi. In the back bedroom sweet F.A. measures a big zero on the improvement scale.
In my new contract I also lost my inclusive free landline and mobile calls during the week, and have since paid even more to get them back again (instead of a standard call charges of 12p min from a landline). All in all I am paying half as much again for almost no gain compared to my old standard broadband package.
It’s not super fast broadband that we need, but improved Wi-Fi technology. I live in a small house not a supermarket or a hotel or office block. I shouldn’t have to install additional access points to boost my Wi-Fi and cover black spots in a house.
Maybe if all my devices were connected to my superfast router with ethernet cables I would be completely bowled over by the lightning speed. But they are not. Going fibre is a bit of a con so if you are not happy then make a fuss during your cooling off period. Providers need to start guaranteeing Wi-Fi improvements (within reason for those who don’t live in castles!) and supply routers tough enough to do the job in a normal domestic situation.
