Is fibre broadband available in your area?
Broadband internet is today viewed as an essential utility by many people, and studies have revealed that as much as 98 per cent of the UK is able to access the internet – whether it’s through their home or office connection, mobile broadband or remote satellite and cable networks. However, the area in which you live does play an important part in determining the speed and quality of your broadband service, especially with new technologies such as fibre broadband being introduced in more areas and delivering faster speeds and greater connectivity than ever before.
At present, the average broadband speed in the UK is around 4.1MB, but that doesn’t mean everyone enjoys such reasonable speeds. Indeed, one study revealed that around 15 per cent of homes are still struggling to receive speeds of 2MB, which is often insufficient depending on the type of activities you wish to access online. If fibre optic networks are rolled out across the country, UK broadband users could conceivably enjoy speeds up to 100MB as standard, and distance from your nearest supplier will be less of a factor when using fibre cables than with more limited copper cables.
If you are fortunate enough to live in one of the areas earmarked for fibre broadband trials, such as Ebbsfleet in Kent, you may already have experienced the fast speeds and reliable connections of the new technology, and more parts of the country are set to receive the technology in the coming months. Around 10 million homes will reportedly be capable of receiving fibre broadband by 2012, delivering speeds of 40MB or greater.
If you haven’t kept up with the latest broadband developments or you’re thinking of upgrading your connection and are unsure of your options, you can check online to ask: owe is fibre broadband available in my area? By entering your postcode or other identifying details, the website will be able to inform you whether fibre broadband has already been introduced where you live, or if it’s planned to be introduced shortly.
If you are excited about the prospect of high-speed fibre broadband coming to your area, you can also register your interest with service providers, which could help inform their decisions over where to introduce the service next. Just because you live in a more remote location away from the big cities doesn’t mean you’ll be last on the list either, as companies are keen to demonstrate the wide reach of fibre cables for delivering superfast broadband to areas that may previously have felt themselves neglected.
Isla Campbell writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
Isla is a part of the digital blogging team at shoutingindigital.com who work with brands like BT. For more information about me, or to keep up to date with the latest in retail news, check out my posts at shoutingindigital.com or visit my Twitter account, @shoutingID.