superfast broadband - Tag Archive

Why does superfast broadband matter?

3 Replies Christopher Roberts

Technology Blogger has had many articles about broadband speeds, superfast internet connections, and how the general trend is that global internet speeds are on the rise, but the question is, why is that important? Why do superfast speeds matter?

Download and Upload

There are two types of internet speed, your download speed, and your upload speed. Your download speed is how fast you can receive data from the internet – how fast you can stream media, receive emails, load websites etc. Your upload speed refers to how fast you can send information to the internet – how fast you can send emails, upload media, update your status etc.

When people talk about broadband speeds on the rise, they are usually referring to download speeds, as most of us get a lot more from the internet than we upload. Both upload and download speeds are on the rise, but upload speeds are usually only around 10% of download speeds – depending upon your location.


So superfast broadband means that we can do things faster, we can download and upload content quicker than we used to be able to. But that does that mean?

More Going On

Faster internet speeds mean that you can be doing more things at once on the internet, with less lag or jitter. You can be on an online game, whilst streaming the radio, and in the background sending emails, all at the same time! You can have more internet hungry applications running at the same time, and the speed of your activities (providing you have adequate processing power) should be the same as if you just had one activity going on.

Improved Internet Call Quality

Faster internet speeds will allow for smother internet calling, with less lag and better quality. You will be able to chat with friend across the globe and stage a conversation as though they were there in the room with you. VoIP will be significantly improved, as faster speeds meant that the media you are sending out is of higher quality, and the stream you are receiving is better too.

Such improvements could significantly benefit businesses, as VoIP can significantly lower the cost of holding meetings with fellow colleges based in different locations, thanks to better, more affordable online conference calling.

Furthermore, improvements in internet call quality can make remote working more viable, meaning that employees can spend more time working and less time commuting, thanks to them being connected all the time. This can save time, money and office space, as more employees are able to work off-site.

Improvements in Healthcare and Education

As Rashed suggested in his recent article (Five changes in video conferencing for the next decade) improvements in internet calls could lead to an improvement in the provision of telemedicine, meaning that the best doctors can help patients from across the world.

There is also similar potential for education. The best lecturers and teachers will be able to educate far greater numbers of individuals from across the world, thanks to faster broadband speeds. Improvements in such technology could be very beneficial for those living in isolated communities.

Cloud Computing Becomes More Viable

Cloud computing has huge potential to cut costs, improve efficiency and improve data security, and superfast broadband makes it more viable! With faster broadband, more and bigger files can be stored in the cloud, meaning that files are less likely to be lost if one device fails, and are more likely to be accessible from any location.

Media Streaming

Streaming media from across the internet is smother, faster and more seamless with faster internet connections. You can watch online videos with less buffering, or even in high definition.

Furthermore, internet TV and other similar services become more viable than ever before. In the last quarter of 2011, Virgin Media reported profits of £48 million, which it is believed is mainly down to faster broadband speeds encouraging more users to user its TV and internet services.

Virgin Media's logo

More People Online

Every day thousands of new people around the world make the leap and go online. For every extra person on the internet demanding resources, the whole system slows down a little. However with superfast broadband, more people can be online with less of an effect on speeds. In large offices, more employees can be connected, with less of an effect on the speeds received. This is also true in households, more people can be downloading media, whilst it not affecting others on online games.

Your Speed

Superfast broadband is very important and is revolutionising the way we do business and live our lives. The question is, how fast is your broadband speed? Are you likely to benefit from the things I mentioned above, or do you need to think about switching provider? Try testing your broadband speed and comparing it to what you are paying for; could you be getting a better deal elsewhere?

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.