Love it or loave it, Broadband is here to stay.

I have worked for BT and during that time I spent a lengthy period on their Broadband Helpdesk, and whilst queries there were specific to BT Broadband, in general the same queries applied to all Broadband Service Providers.

With Broadband you do have to see the bigger picture. Any speeds quoted by the ISP (Internet Service Provider) are the  maximum speed your line can support. It isnt guaranteed to be that fast as there are just too many factors outside of their control. That said, even the slowest Broadband will be magnitudes faster than any dial up service. Broadband technology is being "piggy backed" onto a telephone line that was typically installed decades ago and was never meant for data transmission. For voice calls the technology is perfect, but for data calls it leaves a lot to be desired. Most homes are served by a pair of copper wires, newer developments are more likely to be fed by a fibre optic cable, and if you are supplied with a fibre optic cable you have struck gold, you will get the fastest possible speeds.

For the rest of us, the speed depends on how close you live to your telephone exchange. The closer you live then the faster the speed. Just because your neighbour has an ultra fast service does not mean that you will get the same speed. Their telephone line may be routed through a shorter route than yours, and those with the least amount of telephone line will get a faster service, its as simple as that. Although yours and your neighbours line finish next to each other, your line could have gone off down another street or two and added another kilometre or so to the total line length before arriving at your property.

However, there are still things you can do that will enable you to get the fastest speed possible at your property.

I can help check your configuration at your property, and although I cannot guarantee that you will get a faster speed, I will make sure you have everything set up to get the best speed possible at your address.

It is always important to remember that cancelling your current Broadband contract to go with another provider WILL NOT get you a faster speed. All the ISP's get their Broadband service from the same outlet, BT Wholesale. Provider "B" or "C" will be no faster than your current provider "A".

The only exception to this is if you have a dedicated cable company broadband provider, in which case you will receive close to, if not their maximum quoted speed. Unfortunately for all of us, me included, their services are only available to specific areas.