If you’re having technical, service or supply problems, or just have a question you want answering, why not write to OurExpert@BroadbandChoices.co.uk
Michael Phillips is product director at BroadbandChoices.co.uk and can help with anything from contractual problems, to giving technical advice or telling you how to speed up those slow movie downloads.
Our expert says...
Hi Val. If you’re paying £14.99 a month for your broadband, then you’re actually paying for an up to 8Mb service, even though you’re only getting 285Kb and Toucan(www.Toucan.com) does actually offer a slightly cheaper 512Kb service for £13.99 a month.
Both download and upload speeds - the speeds with which you can take things from, and add them to, the internet - are affected by a number of factors including distance from the exchange, congestion on the lines and the type of hardware that you’re using.
Although your neighbour says that he is on an 8Mb package, he definitely won’t be getting 8Mb, as it’s almost impossible to achieve these advertised speeds. He can install our free Speed Tester to see what he’s really getting.
However, considering the very poor speed you’re achieving, I would definitely say that you should consider switching. By doing so, you’ll most likely be able to get a better deal as well as a faster connection.
TalkTalk(www.TalkTalk.co.uk) offers very competitive deals, with its “free broadband” offer, and you could get up to 8Mb broadband, line rental and very competitively priced phone calls - including inclusive international calls - for only £16.39 a month. Alternatively, if you’re in a cable area, Virgin Media(www.VirginMedia.com) offers some of the most reliable broadband connections in the market, and it’s currently upgrading all of its 4Mb customers up to 10Mb for free. Virgin Media’s L Broadband currently costs £8 a month for the first three months when taken with a phone line, £16 thereafter.
Visit SamKnows.com and enter your postcode to find out just how far you are from the exchange and what type of speed you should expect, and then do a Postcode Search on BroadbandChoices.co.uk to see what deals are available in your area.
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