Ask Our Expert

Why has my broadband speed suddenly dropped?

Our Broadband Expert says...

The first thing you need to do in this situation is contact your provider. An engineer doing work in your area may have damaged some equipment at the exchange for example, or there may be a fault on the line - but you won’t know unless you speak to your internet service provider (ISP).

Has your exchange recently been upgraded, or have a large number of new customers suddenly signed up? Talk to your ISP and see if there’s anything they can do to speed you up.

Run some speed tests

Although running a broadband speed test is the best way to find out how your connection is performing - but you need to do more than one test to get an accurate reading.

Ideally, you should run tests throughout the day so you can compare peak and off-peak speeds. Research by Broadband.co.uk shows that average speeds can fall significantly during peak times when more people are online at the same time.

In August 2011, the average overnight speed for UK broadband speeds stood at 8.9Mb, compared to 7.6Mb in the evening. This is a drop of 1.3Mb, which could make a real difference to your connection.

There are three main reasons you might find a big drop in your speed at peak times:

• Your provider cannot handle the number of connections, and the amount of data across its network during these hours
• You've exceeded your fair usage policy and so your connection is being slowed down to stop you downloading so much
• You're being traffic managed. Depending on the types of applications you're using, and how much data and bandwidth they require, your provider might apply traffic management measures during peak hours. This is to stop the heavier downloaders affecting others on the network and could see your broadband speeds drop

But again, you will need to speak to your provider to find out if any of these things are slowing you down.

Speeding up your broadband

Whether you've always suffered from slow speeds of if it’s a sudden issue, there are things you can do to try to improve your connection.

If you have an ADSL broadband connection, which means you use your telephone line to get online, then your internal wiring can play a big part in your speeds.

You can check your internal wiring by plugging your router or modem directly into the socket inside the main socket where your phone and broadband line enters your home, known as the faceplate.

If your speed goes back up, then the problem is within your home. You can then connect each device at a time, such as phones and computers, to check where the fault is.

Two devices will help to reduce interference on your line, which can in turn affect your broadband speed - mircofilters and an iPlate.

Microfilters are essential to stop anything connected to your phone line from interfering with your broadband and you need a filter on every socket that you use.

Your phone extension wiring runs around your house and, according to BT broadband (www.BT.com), can “act like an aerial; it picks up interference from things like phone chargers and microwave ovens - and this can affect your broadband”.

Some newer phone sockets have an iPlate, or Broadband Accelerator as BT calls it, already fitted. But if you have an older socket that looks like this, SMALL RIGHT-ALIGNED PICTURE HERE you could benefit from faster, more reliable broadband simply by installing an iPlate.

Watch our video on how to fit an iPlate for more information.

Switch to fibre

One surefire way to boost your broadband speeds is to switch to a superfast broadband package.

Fibre optic cables can carry much more data at much faster speeds than the traditional copper wires used by most people to get online. This allows suppliers to offer speeds of up to 40Mb, 50Mb and even 100Mb broadband - as well as delivering far faster connections in reality too.

Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) already offers superfast connections to around 13 million customers through its cable broadband network.

All Virgin Media customers can access its 50Mb package already, and it is currently rolling out 100Mb broadband to its network. Even its 30Mb broadband was averaging 31Mb when tested by telecoms regulator Ofcom in May 2011 - faster than advertised.

However, only around half the country has been cabled by Virgin Media, so where you live will dictate whether or not you can sign-up.

BT is also in the process of rolling out its own fibre network, which currently offers speeds of up to 40Mb broadband - set to double next year.

Ofcom’s speed tests found it was delivering an average 34Mb on its BT Infinity packages, and nearly 9Mb upload speeds.

BT is investing £2.5billion to bring superfast broadband to two-thirds of the UK by 2015, but again, your postcode will determine whether or not you can get it now.

Rural areas are also set for a speed boost; the government recently announced £363million for rural broadband in Scotland and English counties. If you struggle with slow countryside broadband, check with your local council to see what’s happening in your area.

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