Switching broadband in the UK is about to get easier
Changing your broadband service provider has always been a hassle. Usually it takes around 10 days, not to mention that you have to put up with phone calls and emails from your old supplier offering you better deals and pleading with you not to go.
For people in the UK, however, things are about to get a whole lot simpler. The One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo) is a non-profit organization that has set up a messaging platform called the TOTSCo Hub.
Europe stays on top for broadband speeds
Comparison site Cable.co.uk has released its annual analysis of broadband speed tests around the globe.
As in last year's report Western Europe tops the regional charts with an average download speed of 118.69Mbps, with North America second on an average of 94.02Mbps.
UK telcos not ready for 'One Touch Switching'
The UK telecoms regulator Ofcom's 'One Touch Switching' initiative -- intended to make it easier for consumers to change broadband providers -- has been delayed as service providers aren't ready.
Whilst it was announced in 2021 and meant to come into force this Monday (April 3rd), One Touch Switching has now been pushed back and Ofcom has begun an enforcement program.
Want cheap broadband? Head for Sudan
Analysis of data on over 3,700 broadband packages from 219 countries around the world shows that if you want the cheapest deal you should consider moving to Sudan.
The study by Cable.co.uk shows Sudan offers the world's cheapest broadband, with an average cost of $2.30 per month. By contrast another African nation, Burundi, is the most expensive place in the world to get fixed-line broadband, with an average package price of $383.79 per month.
Western Europe dominates broadband speed tables
Western European countries take seven of the top ten fastest spots in the world for broadband, with Macau, Taiwan and Japan the only locations elsewhere to make it into the top ten fastest in the world.
The five places with the fastest internet in the world are: Macau (262.74Mbps), the Channel Island of Jersey (256.59Mbps), Iceland (216.56Mbps), Liechtenstein (166.22Mbps) and Gibraltar (159.90Mbps).
US among the most expensive for fixed-line broadband
The US ranks 134th in the world for fixed-line broadband costs with an average package price of $55 per month making it one of the more expensive developed nations.
If you want a cheap service you need to head to Syria with an average monthly cost of just $2.15 according to a study from comparison site Cable.co.uk. At the other end of the scale the African state of Burundi tops the chart with an eye-watering monthly cost of $429.95.
Want fast internet? Move to Liechtenstein
The tiny 62 square mile principality of Liechtenstein has the world's fastest average broadband speed at 75.7 Mb/s. If you want cheap mobile web though you're better off in Israel, with an average cost of $0.3 for 1Gb of data.
These are some of the findings from the annual Internet Accessibility Index produced by comparison site broadbandchoices.co.uk which looks at fixed-line broadband speeds, the price and affordability of home internet packages, and the cost of mobile internet data to rank the world's most connected countries.
NETGEAR NBK752 Orbi 5G WiFi 6 Mesh System should terrify ISP monopolies
When it comes to broadband internet, many parts of the USA are forced to use just one ISP as that is the only option. Sadly, whoever controls the wires that run into the homes has all the power. Even worse, in some rural areas, there are no wires going to homes, making broadband an impossibility. A local ISP may even ask you to shell out many thousands of dollars to cover the cost of running the cables from the street to your home.
Thankfully, 5G wireless can change all of this. Monopolistic companies that run wired ISPs have a current stranglehold, but that is coming to an end. Soon, 5G connectivity will be so ubiquitous, that it can serve not just as your smartphone's mobile internet, but your home's main internet too! Today, NETGEAR unveils a new networking solution to transform a 5G (or 4G LTE) wireless signal into whole-home Wi-Fi. The Orbi 5G WiFi 6 Mesh System (model number NBK752) even utilizes tri-band Wi-Fi!
Europe leads the broadband speed table
Western Europe dominates the global internet speed table, containing eight of the top 10 fastest countries in the world for broadband.
Analysis of over a billions speed tests by comparison site Cable.co.uk shows if you want really fast speeds you need to move to the Channel Island of Jersey which tops the chart with an average speed of 274.27Mbps.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky -- it may not blow your mind though
Elon Musk's Starlink is a project aimed at delivering fast broadband via satellite to rural areas left behind by fiber rollouts.
But research from Ookla, the company behind Speedtest.net, suggests that its performance is somewhat variable, much faster than fixed broadband in some areas but a lot slower in others.
UK broadband among the slowest in Europe
Analysis of over 557 million broadband speed tests worldwide has revealed that the UK now sits in 47th place, with an average speed of 37.82Mbps.
The research from Cable.co.uk puts the UK ahead of 174 countries, but behind 46 others, coming in behind 21 Western European countries. This puts the UK among the slowest in the region when it comes to average broadband speed, losing 13 places since the measurements were taken last year.
UK consumers look for higher broadband speeds
We reported yesterday on how lockdown has impacted broadband speeds around the world, although the UK has been less affected than some, new research from NTT DATA UK shows that connectivity is still an issue for many people.
The survey of 2,000 UK consumers shows that 49 percent have struggled with the speed of their broadband during lockdown and 31 percent have struggled to find reliable mobile phone signals.
How lockdown has affected global broadband speeds
Average broadband speeds during COVID-19 lockdown measures that limited people's activities dropped by an average of 6.31 percent globally, according to a new report.
Internet advice site Cable.co.uk analyzed data from the Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), and over 364 million broadband speed tests courtesy of M-Lab to compare average internet speeds in 114 countries both during and outside of their most stringent COVID-19 lockdown periods.
Lockdown highlights UK broadband problems
While many people are happily working from home during the pandemic, for others a switch to remote working has thrown the deficiencies of their home internet connections into perspective.
UK comparison site Uswitch has found that people have been performing 44,000 searches per month in the hope of fixing their broadband issues. The top 10 searches are all related to technical issues and two thirds (62 percent) of all searches are related to speed.
The speed and cost of internet around the world
Within any given country, while you might have a choice of different internet providers, the speeds they offer and the prices they charge tend to be broadly similar.
UK-based comparison site Compare the Market has done some interesting research looking at the costs and speeds of broadband around the world. So prepare to be made jealous, or smug, depending on where you live.
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