The rumour mill, though, has it that Virgin Media’s upload speed (the speed at which you can send things to the web) will be just 1.5Mbps.

This is being seen as a real let-down considering the generous amount of bandwidth on hand for downloading.

This initial feedback will hopefully prompt Virgin Media to have second thoughts about their considerably slower upload speeds – they won’t want to have any Doubting Thomases about when they launch their new product.

Will traffic be ‘managed’?

More worrying perhaps are reports that Virgin Media plans to apply traffic management to the proposed high-speed broadband connections.

A Virgin Media representative refuted this and pointed out that the company has not yet determined whether they will apply traffic management, and if they do, at what level it will be applied.

Virgin Media stirred up a bit of a storm among its broadband customers when it revised its traffic management policy a few months ago.

Users, exceeding what was generally regarded as a rather paltry peak download allowance, had their connection speeds slashed by as much as 50%, sometimes for as long as five hours.

Users are hoping for a policy change when this product finally comes on stream later this year. There seems little point in such a fast broadband connection if users can’t use it for the things that make fast broadband worth having (streaming media, large downloads etc)?

How will it affect the UK broadband landscape?

The question on many people’s lips now is whether Virgin Media is about to capture the whole of the UK broadband market with a broadband package twice the speed of its closest rival, and well over five times the speed of most broadband packages.

It will certainly be very appealing to Virgin Media’s current 20Mbps package users.

More tempting still is the fact that Virgin Media’s fibre-optic cable network will evidently be able to deliver the advertised speed all the time, unlike broadband via copper wires which suffers from disparate speeds that often bear little resemblance to their advertised speeds.

Reports that Virgin Media broadband is on the verge of rolling out their newest product countrywide will be a wake-up call for BT broadband, whose fastest broadband offering is only half the speed at 24Mbps at most.

What’s more, the BT project is way behind schedule.

But if Virgin Media is going to keep its customers satisfied, they will have to bust a gut to ensure that their broadband service is a cut above that of their competitors by maintaining those promised ultra high speeds.

Broadband connection has three basic elements that define its efficacy and performance. These are availability of the service provider, speed of the connection and the download limit. Availability refers to the provider’s influence and network coverage in an area. BT Broadband has widespread network and latest infrastructure covering majority of UK. Its strength and influence in remote areas is acknowledged by all. Better availability ensures improved broadband services and cheap prices. Speed of any connection is a combination of many factors. Wiring, type of package and network coverage are few important elements that influences the speed. BT Broadband delivers excellent speeds for all their connections. It also maintains minimum difference between the actual speed and the maximum speed for any connection. Many service providers creates false impression regarding their connections by advertising only maximum speeds. While their actual speeds are significantly lower than that. BT Broadband offers various download limits with their packages. Unlimited download deals are also available with their connections. The name assigned to these packages is misleading as they are not truly unlimited. There is a fixed limit covered under the fair usage policy associated with them. BT packages are extremely transparent about such policies and abreast consumers with every necessary information. Service providers tend to charge users for exceeding their download limits without any warnings. This hidden cost is playing a huge role in UK broadband market. Service providers capitalize on the negligence and poor knowledge of users. Broadband bills also carry paper cost and non direct debit payment as additional cost which are actually hidden charges. These costs are mentioned in fine black print at the end of contract.

Information regarding latest broadband packages offered by BT Broadband is available online. The websites designed for these purposes gives comparison and helps user formulate a correct decision. Packages from BT are easily compared with other deals on these sites. Voucher codes provide additional advantages for broadband connections bought online. Voucher codes for broadband connections from BT are easily available from many websites. BT Broadband has achieved excellence in technology through innovation and infrastructure. Extraordinary performance from BT is expected in future for their expanding network and growing professionalism. It has proved itself in all three aspects of broadband ie. speed, availability and download limit. BT has many competitors in UK that constantly forces it to provide better quality and attractive packages. Best way to know BT is by experiencing its performance.

To get it right first time, just make sure you ask the right questions before taking any deal:

1. Can I get this broadband deal where I live?

Upfront, remember that not all broadband deals are available to every address in the UK. A number of providers have their own equipment set up in different exchanges around the UK and this enables them to offer cheap broadband deals to customers – but this may not include you!

So how do you find out?

Fortunately you can enter your phone number and/or postcode into a postcode checker on a broadband comparison site which will sieve out the deals that are definitely available in your area.

Alternatively, a simple postcode check on the broadband provider’ own website will soon tell you if you are eligible or not.

2. Will I have to switch telephone providers to take the deal?

A number of broadband providers presently offer a deal where their own phone service is ‘bundled’ in tandem with their broadband offering. This means that you have to switch your line rental – and/or your call provider – from BT to the new provider.

PlusNet, TalkTalk and Tiscali are broadband providers offering such deals and are well worth considering, since these deals are in most cases more economical than having to pay line rental to BT.

3. Is the price being distorted by an introductory price offer?

This is an important point to consider as a number of broadband deals appear very tempting to start with until you look at the full picture. Remember the old warning? Let the buyer beware!

BT Total Broadband, for example, offers a deal of £7.95 a month that at first glance seems a bargain until you realise it is only for the first 3 months, after which the price doubles to £15.99 a month for the remaining 15 months of the contract.

4. How many months will you be tied to the provider by a contract?

Most bargain offers tie you down to an 18 or 24 month contract, though genuine broadband deals will give you the best value for money.

It’s a good idea to choose a shorter contract if you prefer to switch broadband deals every year or if you are likely to be out of the country for a spell.

5. Am I going to have to pay connection charges or activation fees?

This one is quite simple, but make sure you first read the small print carefully to pick up any hidden setup expenses.

As a general rule, broadband packages with no contract almost always require setup costs, typically in the region of £40 – £50.

Virtually all broadband deals will give you free setup, provided that you sign up for a year.

6. Will I be able to download as much as I want to?

A favourite ploy of some broadband providers is to limit bandwidth at busy periods because this keeps their costs down.

So it’s pretty important that you read through the ‘fair and acceptable use policy’ of your selected broadband deal to check that there are no harsh restrictions on peak time usage.

Sky Broadband has recently become the first UK broadband provider ever to totally drop its fair use policy, allowing users to download as much as they want, whenever they want.

7. Will I have to pay over the odds for customer support?

Low-priced broadband deals, in particular the very cheapest, quite often make use of premium rate numbers for customer or technical support
lines, which sort of detracts a bit from what you thought was a bargain deal.

Fortunately, these are becoming few and far between and even some of the cheapest broadband deals now offer entirely free telephone support.

So, armed with the above information, you should be able to make an informed and accurate choice of broadband provider. Good luck!

The technologies currently offered by the mobile network operators can provide a solution to this limitation. They are currently offering downlink data rates up to 3.6Mbps and in some cases 7.2Mbps to large towns and cities. In the small towns and rural areas the data rates available are lower and usually between 1.2Mbps and 384kbps. However remote areas may still have only very limited data rates. Again this comes down to costs against commercial benefits.

The answer lies in minimising the costs of rolling out high data rate solutions to remote areas where the population count is very low. Technically there are various solutions such as Multi-operator Radio Access Network (MORAN) and Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN). Each has their advantages and disadvantages but essentially involves operators deploying joint network and sharing the costs.

MORAN
In the UK T-Mobile and Hutchison 3G (3) are currently combining their networks using MORAN solution from Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN). They are the first companies in the UK to use this technology. MORAN solution allows the sharing of antenna system, base station and radio network controllers while having separate core networks. This technology can support up to four carriers (Four network operators) in a single base station thus allowing the possibility to rollout in remote areas at a substantially reduced costs.

MOCN
MOCN is a 3GPP solution for RAN sharing which allows operators to share their spectrum and core network. As opposed to MORAN solution, where multiple carriers are required to support different operators, this allows RAN sharing with a single carrier. MOCN is currently offered as a solution by NSN but has not gained much interest from the network operators. Sharing spectrum and core network is expected to provide significant cost savings compared to the MORAN solution. In the rural areas this may be the technology that offers high speed broadband capabilities as a commercially viable solution.

The focus for all network operators now is in getting revenue from their large investment in 3G technologies. Hence it may take a while before we see mobile broadband in areas such as the Highlands of Scotland.

Business broadband can help your business grow; these are a few ways how:

Communication

If you have more than one office then a good business broadband offering can increase your efficiency between them as well as improving communication between all offices. If you only have one office then the broadband will still help you with communication between customers and various clients.

Efficiency

The internet opens many doors to companies as it allows you to get an in-depth look at your market and what your customers want. This is done by researching the vast amount of information and data that can be found online. Business broadband is designed especially businesses and you can use it to promote your website and draw people to the offerings and deals you have available.

Enhance Security

The data and information that is on your computers is of the utmost importance to your company. Financial and staff records are probably kept there and you have to keep them secure and with business broadband this is something you will not have to worry about.

The security of your broadband is important because you are able to back up any files and data so in the event of system failure you will not lose any work. This is one of the main advantages of a business broadband package.

Customer service

Providers will make it their priority to get you back online as quickly as possible if you lose connection. They understand that even a few hours could mean a large decrease in profits so they will prioritize your case to ensure you are back on as soon as possible. Providers have trained, technical support engineers that can either talk you through a problem or, if it is more serious, come out and fix it.