A good broadband connection is a modern day essential. Yet the service many of us get simply isn’t good enough. Do you struggle with bad broadband?
I’m addicted to the internet. When my broadband goes down it becomes apparent how much my life relies on a good connection – whether its watching on-demand TV in the evening, streaming music, paying my bills, sorting my banking, shopping or maybe trawling holiday booking sites for a dream break.
Bad broadband
The fact is that more people now bank online than in branch, online shopping is becoming the norm, and streaming our favourite TV shows and movies has become a big part of our popular culture.
There’s nothing that annoys me more than settling down to watch a film and the internet cutting out. For no apparent reason.
In fact, thanks to my shoddy broadband I may never know what happens in the final scenes of JK Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which I rented last weekend. Annoyingly, my broadband dropped and the rental period ended before I had a chance to finish the film.
In this digital age you would expect broadband to be better than it is.
Connection problems
In rural and urban communities alike, people are let down by poor connections, dropouts and slow speeds.
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Our latest research has found that six in ten people have experienced a problem with their broadband in the last year, and the majority of them are frustrated as a result.
Over a third of people who have experienced problems with their broadband have been completely stopped from carrying out their online activities, and some have even said that it has cost them money.
Providers draw us in with all-singing, all-dancing connections, yet many people aren’t getting the speeds they need.
Fix bad broadband
We want to build up a picture of the actual speeds and problems people are experiencing across UK, so we’ve created a new free speed checker for you to test your connection and compare your broadband speeds with others living in your area.
We also have tips and advice on how to improve your connection, and a free tool to help you to complain to your provider if you’re not happy.
In this digital age we should all be getting the broadband connections we need to keep up with modern life. By using our speed checker you will be helping us build a better picture of the speeds and the problems that people are actually experiencing across the UK, so that we can help everyone get better connected.
Update: 3 June 2017
The government has announced a £400m Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund to improve broadband connectivity across the UK.
This investment in the UK’s digital infrastructure is being touted as a fast-track to full fibre – it will seek to make internet access more reliable for homes and businesses with an overhaul of the UK’s fibre network.
To aid the delivery of the full-fibre network, it’s expected that the £400m fund will be matched by private investment and bring the total investment sum to £1bn.
Alex Neill, our Managing Director of Home Products and Services, said:
‘Our research shows that too many consumers across the country still struggle with slow broadband speeds, finding it hard to carry out even the simplest of tasks, such as online banking and shopping. This investment will offer a much-needed boost to upgrade our national broadband network.
‘The industry must now press on with installing full fibre swiftly in communities across the country so that consumers get faster, more reliable broadband.’
Have you used our speed checker? What speed did you get?
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