Poor Wi-Fi performance causes neighbour disputes
April 30, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Slow download speeds are creating tension amongst neighbours living as owner-occupiers or tenants in many UK cities and towns. Where large properties are divided into flats and/or bedsits, residents often have separate Wi-Fi routers. But this is resulting in airwave congestion (particularly in the evenings and at weekends). With typical download speeds dropping by an incredible 30 per cent, neighbours are blaming each other for poor Wi-Fi connectivity performance! Some people try changing ISP provider, in the hope that their service will be better; however, this rarely works.
The core problem lies in people living in split dwellings in a building (or even in a terraced street) all using the same router frequency, regardless of who their ISP is. But the Wi-Fi routers all defaulting to the same frequency channel after being installed and switched on is just the start of the problem…
The interference level is then compounded further by possible cross-interference being created by other common household appliances, such as microwave ovens, cordless phones, and even TV and stereo sound system remote controls. Microwaves can cause slow download speeds and even reduced Internet surfing speeds if they ‘leak’ radio waves from an antenna that is not property encased.
For so many people in the UK now working from home, a reliable broadband feed that performs consistently well is regarded as essential. When some IT workers, freelance writers or graphic designers, for example, find they are losing income due to slow broadband speeds meaning they miss crucial deadlines, the blame game starts: the responsibility for Wi-Fi interference is placed at the door of neighbours, and even, in rare cases, fellow tenants or housemates, who opt to pay for their own broadband provision, rather than simply connecting to the single ‘house router’.
TalkTalk comes top with Simplifydigital
April 26, 2011 at 1:26 pm
TalkTalk has been chosen by price comparison site Simplifydigital as offering the ‘Best Value Broadband and Home Phone Bundle’.
TalkTalk is increasingly becoming the No.1 choice for customers across the UK who are anxious to get the very best deal in these tough economic times. Recognition from Simplifydigital is just reward for TalkTalk who have worked hard over the past year to help those on a low income to ‘stay connected’ with value-for-money broadband and home phone bundles.
Simplifydigital is also helping to take the pressure off thousands of people in the UK who are concerned about their finances, post-budget. They pride themselves on offering ‘TV, Broadband & Phone Made Simple’, and pull out all the stops to find the very best deals. They even help with arranging installations and set-ups, etc.
With recent budget cuts meaning people across the UK are really feeling the pinch financially, many are having to work extra hours, or take on a second job; therefore, the time available to research and then compare digital TV, phone and broadband provision prices simply isn’t there. This is where companies such as Simplifydigital come into their own, but only if they can find amazing deals offered by the providers they monitor.
By switching digital TV, phone and/or broadband provider (with Simplifydigital’s help) it can be possible to save hundreds of pounds over a 12 or 18-month period. Simplifydigital compared TalkTalk Broadband and Home Phone Bundle packages with those offered by numerous other providers, and were left in no doubt that TalkTalk offer the best value-for-money by far.
Home wi-fi slower than fixed broadband
April 5, 2011 at 11:57 am
A new study carried out by network measurement company Epitiro has found that people who use wi-fi at home experience a significantly slower internet speed compared to those who use a fixed broadband connection.
Between November 2010 and February 2011, Epitiro ran one million tests over 14,000 wi-fi connections in the UK, US, Spain and Italy. Researchers were surprised to find that, on average, home wi-fi speed was 30% slower than fixed broadband.
Despite this difference, the researchers claim that most customers, who only surf the web casually, would not notice the slower speed due to the low level of data taken up by web surfing. The difference in speed only becomes noticeable when downloading large files from the internet or doing media-rich activities such as streaming video online. However according to Professor Andy Nix, a wireless expert at Bristol University, popular services such as Skype could also be affected.
According to Nix, most speed-related issues could be avoided by investing in good quality wi-fi equipment and making sure customers use their computer close enough to the router. Iain Wood, from Epitiro, also offers advice. He says that anyone who is unhappy with the speed of their home wi-fi can change channels on their wi-fi router to reduce interference. Other devices could also be causing interference in the home, such as baby monitors, TV remote controls, microwave ovens and cordless phones.
As a last resort, the user can always plug their laptop into the router directly whenever they want to do something data-intensive like download video. However, the study also found that the convenience of wi-fi outweighs the disadvantage of speed. Indeed most users would be willing to tolerate slower speeds in exchange for the freedom of wi-fi.
