What is broadband?
Broadband is an always-on Internet connection. It has a much larger capacity to send and receive data to and from the Internet than an old dial up Internet connection. Put simply Broadband is a general name for a range of technologies that allow data to be transmitted back and forth
There are various types of broadband currently available in Somerset, each is based on how the service is delivered.
What is ADSL Broadband?
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is a technology similar to the DSL. However with ADSL, information is downloaded more rapidly than it is uploaded. ADSL is particularly useful for homes and businesses as it can download web pages and files at fast speeds. ADSL2 and ADSL2+ are new technologies with speed up to 24Mbps.
What is Symmetric Broadband (SDSL)?
Symmetric broadband (SDSL) is a technology similar to ADSL broadband.
SDSL broadband downloads information at the same speed as it uploads information. Whereas ADSL broadband downloads the information faster than it uploads it.
SDSL broadband is particularly suitable for businesses that send large volumes of information.
What is Cable Broadband?
This type of broadband is delivered through the cable television infrastructure e.g. Virgin Media. You can only get cable broadband if a company has cabled your street. Cable companies also offer television and telephone packages as well as broadband Internet services.
Cable companies provide broadband, television or phone packages to about 51% of homes and businesses in the UK. But, in Somerset Frome is the only place that receives this service.
Satellite Broadband?
Broadband that is delivered via a satellite.
To receive satellite broadband you must have a dish antenna. This can be used almost everywhere in the UK. Two major suppliers, Eutelsat and Avanti, have both recently launched new satellites that will offer faster speeds everywhere in the UK.
Satellite transmissions may be affected by weather conditions.
The cost of installation and monthly charges for satellite broadband can be relatively expensive compared with other types of broadband, but prices are falling.
Satellite broadband generally has quite high latency – the time it takes data to travel from the ground to the satellite and back - compared to other broadband, and so is unsuitable for certain types of Internet Access such as online gaming. However, for businesses and residents in extremely isolated rural areas this could the only means of receiving a broadband service superior to dial up.
What is Wireless Broadband?
This type of broadband requires an antenna to be installed to get a connection to the Internet. Wireless broadband uses radio waves rather than wires to deliver broadband services.
Wireless broadband is particularly suitable for distributing information between buildings and for homes where access to ADSL or cable broadband is unavailable, such as rural areas of Somerset.
What is 3G?
3G is a popular wireless network technology used mainly with mobile phones for mobile broadband connectivity and other services.
What is Superfast broadband?
In the UK, most broadband is delivered via telephone lines made from copper. The introduction of fibre optic cables will offer huge improvements in speed and bandwidth.
There are two main ways in which fibre optics can be used to bring faster speeds to the end user.
Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) replaces the copper connection from the exchange to the cabinet - the green box you may have seen at the side of the road – with fibre optics. The final connection from the cabinet to the end user remains copper but the broadband speed available increases to around 40mbps.
Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) works in the same way as FTTC but where fibre optics is brought to the cabinet, here the fibre optic connection will go directly to the premise. This will allow broadband speeds of 100+mbps.
To see how Superfast broadband compares to standard broadband try out the FibreSpeed Tool developed by FTTH Council Europe.
When can I expect to get Superfast Broadband?
Currently in Somerset the only exchange where BT have announced that they’ll deploy Superfast Broadband is the Taunton Exchange. This should happen by the end of 2011. This is not to say that other exchanges won’t be enabled, just that BT has yet to make any further public announcements.
The BDUK funding that Somerset County Council is bidding for is specifically for the final third, that areas where the Telecoms market are unlikely to invest in Superfast Broadband without some financial support from Government. This is mainly rural areas. 47% of Somerset falls within the final third.
Somerset County Council will be bidding for funding for Superfast Broadband in April 2011 and should know if they’ve been successful by the end of May 2011. There aim is to ensure access to significantly faster broadband for every business and community by 2015, with the vast majority having access to superfast broadband.
If successful it would take at least a year to procure a solution from the market and perhaps a further two to three years to deploy it. So, 2015 is the target date to.
What speed is Broadband?
Speeds vary dramatically throughout the world, the UK and Somerset. In Somerset download speeds vary greatly depending whether you live in an urban or rural location; the distance you are from your local exchange; the quality of the line; and, how many users are online at any one time.
The average download speed in Somerset is currently approximately 3mbps, whilst the UK average is around 5mbps.
The most common means of delivering broadband in Somerset is ADSL. The speeds that you receive via ADSL are dependant upon how far you are from the exchange – a major issue for rural locations in the County - and the amount of users that share your connection – the contention ratio. For example, a 50:1 contention ratio is very common on residential ADSL services- meaning that you could be sharing your 8mbps service with 49 other people.
The UK Government has committed to a standard universal coverage of a 2Mbps download speed by 2015. Currently 21% of premises in Somerset fall short of this universal standard. The UK Government aspires to have the ‘Best Superfast Broadband Network’ in Europe by 2015.
Countries with the most advanced Broadband networks, such as South Korea and Sweden, can access speeds far in advance of the UK, which currently ranks 26th in the world with regards to broadband speeds. In fact South Korea plans to have available a 1 Gbps – that’s 1000 mbps - service by 2012.
You can check your broadband speed via these links:
http://www.speedtest.net
http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest.html
What does download mean?
Download refers to the direction of Internet traffic which is sent from the Internet to the user. Or the speed of the connection to you.
What does upload mean?
Upload refers to the direction of Internet traffic which is sent from the user to the Internet. Ot the speed of the connection from you
What is bandwidth?
Put simply bandwidth is an indication of the amount of information that can pass along your connection back to the Internet. It’s the speed of your connection and the faster it is the more quickly you can download files, surf the web or access applications.
Bandwidth varies widely, depending upon the technology that delivers your connection. For example, ADSL cannot deliver as much data as fibre optics.
The speed that you get from ADSL is dependent upon where you live in relation to the telephone exchange. The further away you are from the exchange the slower your connection. This is not true of fibre optics.
Bandwidth is most commonly measured in mega bits per secon – Mbps – which is a million bits of data.
There are two types of bandwidth:
Download - refers to the direction of Internet traffic which is sent from the Internet to the user. Or the speed of the connection to you.
Upload - refers to the direction of Internet traffic which is sent from the user to the Internet. Or the speed of the connection from you
You often see the expression ‘Up to’ in relation to bandwidth. For example, if you were to buy an ‘Up to 8 Mbps’ it is unlikely you’d receive 8 Mbps unless you lived very close to the exchange, nobody else was online using your 8 Mbps connection – or contending it - and the copper cables delivering your service were perfect.
Why does my broadband run slowly at different times of the day?
You’ve probably noticed that the your broadband speeds vary throughout the day. This can be for a number of reasons:
• You’re using your connection at peak times - the evening – when there is more traffic and a greater number of people sharing or contending the bandwidth you have access to. Most residential broadband connections have a 50:1 contention ratio, meaning you share you broadband connection with 49 other people.
• You Internet Service Provider – ISP – may slow your speed down, if they determine you are a heavy user. This is also known as ‘throttling’.
• There may be other users online in your home or business premise.
Also see our glossary of terms
