Does your broadband pass the 10Mbps test? (1 in 6 don't) šŸ‘Ž

Broadband Discussions
1

You might have seen some of Broadband Genieā€™s recent research - shockingly, 1 in 6 (or 18%) of households in the UK have broadband download speeds slower than the Universal Service Obligation (USO) - thatā€™s 10Mb download or 1Mb upload.

Thatā€™s the equivalent of 5.1 million households who donā€™t meet the Governmentā€™s view of a ā€˜decentā€™ broadband connection, based on 140,000 speed tests across the UK.

We had a fun discussion recently about excessive speed claims - but this is serious stuff. Millions may be struggling to work, study, run businesses or access essential services.

:snail: Are you, or someone you know, in one of these affected households?
:+1: Do you usually get the speeds your provider advertises?
:crossed_fingers: Are you optimistic things will improve soon?

And if youā€™ve got some tips for the rest of the community, let us know below :backhand_index_pointing_down:- weā€™ll be sharing some later in the week too!

Does your broadband meet the USO minimum?
  • No, under 10Mbps download / 1Mbps upload
  • Yes, meets USO but friends/family still suffer with slow speeds
  • Yes, Iā€™m OK and donā€™t know anyone with such slow speed
0 voters
2

Until recently my ā€œgreat day, great weather, nobody else in the house, stars alignedā€ speed was about 9mbps (I never know how to type that). It now hits the amazing heights of 14mpbs after being forced over to digital voice and thus also some sort of FTTC service (still donā€™t actually know what it is because our ISPā€™s comms are, wellā€¦less said the better, which ironically seems to be their approach too). We are hoping for full fibre to be available sometime before the next milennium as Openreach have been stringing cables about the place like theyā€™re decorating a Christmas tree, but again, no actual reliable story on this at all. Meanwhile, I am reluctantly happy with having invested in a separate satellite connection for work purposes - but the price is heading upwards, which is frustrating (not to mention the ethical considerations). Itā€™s incredibly frustrating for rural areas to be left behind - it certainly makes it harder for people to run a competitive business or work remotely.