internet connection - Tag Archive

Bridging the digital divide

1 Reply George Guest

In this day and age, people have come to expect at least a modest speed for their internet connection. In many urban parts of the UK, speeds of around 10MB per second are commonplace, with some homes experiencing five times that amount. Home internet access has become a prerequisite for many school pupils in their learning, but not all of them are so lucky.

For many children based in rural areas or internet blackspots or for those whose families cannot afford to pay a premium for access, getting the information they need in order to complete their homework or simply boost their knowledge is extremely challenging. This is something that was raised by Estyn, the Welsh education watchdog, and they’re not alone.

Call for more investment

Those in rural areas, even if they’re just on the edge of major conurbations such as Greater Manchester and Leeds/Bradford, will find getting even basic broadband a pain, which has seen people in high-powered positions call for investment in improving connectivity where there is none. David Nuttall, the MP for Bury North in Greater Manchester, is one such voice.

Of the £990,000 allocated to the region, Mr Nuttall is calling for a large chunk of that to go towards people in his constituency who are experiencing problems with their speeds and, in extreme cases, access.

“Those who live in areas which have very slow broadband access speeds are seriously disadvantaged in this digital age”, he said in an interview with the Bury Times.

“Although in recent months we have seen some progress — for example in Nangreaves thanks to the hard work of local residents — there is still much to be done”, he added.

Solution from above

An optical fibre broadband cable

Whilst fibre optic broadband the fastest form of broadband, satellite broadband offers much faster speeds for those in rural communities, without optical fibre cables.

Until something is done about access to fast broadband nationwide, those affected are left to ponder what, if any, alternatives are open to them. One could come in the form of satellite broadband, which can work as more than just a stopgap solution.

“Many people don’t realise the role satellite broadband has in filling in rural not-spots and connecting the last 5% of homes and businesses that will never get fast broadband over wires”, said Andrew Walwyn, CEO of EuropaSat.

“The latest generation Ka band satellite broadband services offer defined, predictable service levels at reasonable cost, with no geographical discrimination. Using a small set-top box and an outside mini dish it’s now possible to deliver up to 20 Mb fast broadband to any property in the UK or indeed Europe.”

Are broadband speeds on the rise?

14 Replies Christopher Roberts

Many providers will be increasing their broadband speeds from 100Mbps to 120Mbps at the start of 2012, with an estimated completion date in mid-2013. The increase will be really good for customers in the UK, who are looking for faster internet speeds for both personal and business use. Faster speeds could boost the economy, as well as change the way households and businesses use the internet.

Giving access to a super-fast internet is all part of building a newer and improved economy in the UK. The government alone has set goals to expand broadband speeds within the next three years. By the end of 2015, investors predict fibre optic broadband will be available to two-thirds of the UK. Many providers are doing their part to support the economy, understanding that the internet is such an essential part of the everyday lives of their consumers. People are using the web to assist them in every aspect of their lives these days, so having a fast and reliable internet connection is important now more than ever.

Investors will be bringing even faster speeds to the UK. It is thought that around 300Mbps speeds will become available in limited locations within the next few years. Currently, many providers are trying to keep up with these investors by doubling their speeds, allowing customers to upgrade from 10 Mbps to 20Mbps. Those who subscribe to their highest speeds of 30Mbps will be upgraded to 60Mbps. Some providers aim to roll out the changes free of charge, so customers may be pleasantly surprised by the change in their broadband speed! Users will be able to benefit from streaming television, movies and music twice as fast as before.

An example of some optical fibre internet cablesThe increase is good news for the UK, which currently ranks somewhere between 10th and 40th globally in terms of average broadband speeds – depending upon where you get your figures. Once upgrades are complete, the average UK broadband speed could increase to around 16.46Mbps, a massive download speed increase!

Consumers will be gaining this speed boost at the most opportune time, since the highly popular Netflix, this week launched its service in the UK. Such services require high bandwidth speeds and will undoubtedly attract large numbers of costumers, all of whom will need super-fast internet to watch their favourite movies and television shows.

Conference calling has never been so easy!

5 Replies Christopher Roberts

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When you think of conference calling, you think (of I do) of complicated systems where big businesses get in contact with each other, or where employees within big businesses contact each other.

Then along came the likes of Skype and Google Talk introduced VoIP, and the whole thing became much simpler, opening it up to a much bigger market, not just big businesses.

Recently I came across a site called Powwownow, which is a voice conferencing site. Powwownow uses both VoIP (for its web and video conferencing) and telephone conferencing.Powwownow LogoThis means that you can use its conference call services via the phone, rather than having to do it over the internet. Now many people prefer the internet, I understand that, however telephone conference calling also has its merits.

With VoIP you are subject to drop-out if you don’t have a very stable internet connection. Say you are calling across time zones, meaning that you are calling someone at 8:30pm, then half an hour into your call, when peak time internet usage starts, you could experience slower internet speeds and ultimately drop-out – a logistical nightmare! Telephones don’t really experience this issue.

Furthermore, with VoIP it can often be hard to understand people due to poor microphones being used by whoever you are calling, now telephones don’t offer the clearest quality possible, but it’s usually pretty easy to understand someone using one!

Powwownow’s system is dead easy, all you need do is enter your email address and you will be given a pin. You then contact whoever you want to be in the call and tell them when you want the call to be, what the pin is and the dial in number. Finally, ring up their dial in number, enter your pin and start conferencing!

This all makes conferencing easy, quick, secure, and thanks to low international rates, cheap too!

Do you conference call others as part of your job, or do you do conference style calls to get in contact with friends or relatives? Why not try a free conference call courtesy of Powwownow and let us know how you get on!