Broadband Guide

20Mb broadband

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An array of upgrades throughout 2009 has allowed more and more broadband providers to offer speeds of up to 20Mb.

20Mb broadband providers

A huge number of broadband providers now offer speeds of up to 20Mb, from the big contenders like Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com), BT Broadband (www.BT.com), O2 Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) and Sky Broadband (www.Sky.com) to smaller ISPs, including award-winning providers Plusnet Broadband (www.Plus.net).

BT upgraded a large amount of its exchanges in summer 2009, bringing its faster speeds to around 10 million homes, or 40% of the UK.

Why do so many advertise 24Mb?

ADSL copper wires, traditionally used for home phone lines, are currently capable of speeds of up to 24Mb. However, because top advertised speeds are rarely achieved, many providers choose to advertise 20Mb instead, in a bid to curb disappointment.

Some suppliers, such as Be Broadband (www.Bethere.co.uk) and TalkTalk Broadband (www.Talktalk.co.uk) do advertise speeds of up to 24Mb though.

Using its next generation cable broadband network, Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) offers the UK’s fastest downloads at superfast broadband speeds of up to 50Mb. It also offers 10Mb and 20Mb packages.

Will I really get 20Mb dowmload speeds?

No broadband packages, not even those offered by fibre optic cable providers, can promise to deliver their full advertised download speeds. A number of factors, such as distance from the exchange, congestion on the network and traffic management can all slow you down, so you shouldn’t expect to get 20Mb.

The way that you use your broadband can also affect your speeds. Some providers, such as BT have been accused of throttling connections to bandwidth-hungry peer to peer networks such as the BBC iPlayer and Channel 4’s 4oD.

What can I do with superfast broadband?

Broadband speeds have evolved rapidly in recent years, allowing users to take full advantage of everything that the internet has to offer. Whether you want faster music and movie downloads or the BBC iPlayer and YouTube in 1080p, high definition online gaming or just a smooth connection for surfing the net, a superfast broadband connection could really show you what the internet is capable of.

Read our Complete guide to speeding up your broadband for tips on increasing your download speed.

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