Far-flung Scottish communities get BT access
With the news that the existing BT telephone exchanges in far-flung rural Scottish areas will get an upgrade, communities see themselves getting faster internet services. More so for the Scottish government that has witness piling up of complaints from the border towns, and increasing demands for improved broadband network service.
BT, the largest broadband internet provider in the United Kingdom, recently announced it has allotted a £3 million fund to upgrade accessibility of about 50 rural towns in Scotland. The company is currently undertaking finalization plans with the Scottish government which is expected to have a positive end in the next few weeks.
Scottish finance secretary John Swinney expressed the remote areas are anticipating speedier accessibility to more homes. He said communities have been frustrated with the existing internet services they are getting, mostly small and medium sized businesses who are burdened with unreliable connections. But with the successful initiation of BT’s move at Inverness, Culloden and Dingwall telephone exchanges, their frustrating experiences will soon end.
Swinney went on to say that there is a stark margin between high levels of broadband availability in more populated and larger areas of the country, and the weak connections in the rural areas. The BT plans is expected to close this gap in the coming months, he said.
BT announced that their provided stable broadband service over phone lines distancing some seven miles away from exchanges is twice the current reach of existing broadband services in rural Scotland. With this, businesses in the remote areas are expected to be boosted with the more effective services and faster internet speed.
This BT plan came amid a continuing debate with the UK government of the latter’s broadband tax proposal that, if approved, a 50 pence monthly tax would be collected from subscribers with a fixed telephone line.
More information related to this post at: news.bbc.co.uk
Guernsey home broadband users to see speed increase
On the heels of an announcement that they will be reviewing the pricing of their packages, the popular ISP, Sure, announced that they would be providing high – speed broadband connections at a low cost to their home broadband users located in Guernsey.
Sure unveiled a new 8 Mbps broadband package this month which was priced at 17.99 monthly and Jersey Telecom had introduced the same for 27.99 pounds a month, which seems to have brought about this announcement.
Though Sure offers a 4 Mbps broadband package for 49.99 pounds and an 8 Mbps connection for 79.99 pounds a month for business customers, residential users in Guernsey have only been provided with a 2 Mbps service so far.
Currently home users do have the option of using this high – speed broadband package but, Sure says, business users are the ones who demand this package.
The marketing director of Sure, Paul Taylor, said that they had introduced Sure Pro 4 & 8 Mbps packaged before Jersey Telecom, but they had been priced according to the business users, which explains the demand for it. He continued by saying that they were investing 2 million pounds for expanding their network by utilizing street boxes so that they would be able to meet the increased demand for high speeds from their customers. They will be having a look again at the offerings being provided and would be consulting the other ISPs in the island, due to legal obligations, and, he continued, expected to make a further announcement on this regard within a few months.
Sure said that they hoped to change their current 2 Mbps service in Guernsey just like the other internet providers.
Taylor also added that they were keen on supplying faster connections at a more competitive price to Guernsey, similar to the connection presently available in the UK.
Your Guide to a Faster Broadband Speed
The broadband internet connection speed you have at home or at work is not solely dependent on the service provider. The speed is not even affected whether you have a post-paid or pre-paid deal, or what time of day you’re online.
The broadband speed could be more related to how far you live or work from your area’s telephone exchange! Yes, internet speed that you get from broadband connection via your phone line could be faster if you’re in a closer distance to the service provider.
One tip is to install microfilters into each and every home phone sockets. This will allow your broadband to work at the same line as your telephone service. So go check how many home phone sockets there are in your house and verify if it’s still working and active. If they are, then the microfilters will sure render faster internet connection, but if not, the broadband connection performance you have may go on ever so slowly and weak.
Also, to help you achieve faster broadband speed, we produced a consumers’ guide that will prove helpful in choosing a broadband deal. Most likely, you just signed up to get a connection and was not informed of other important details.
In the consumers’ guide, you will have detailed explanations why certain factors like price and availability should be considered before closing a deal with a provider. It also gives helpful information on how customer services of broadband connection providers should matter in making a choice.
More importantly, it explains why price, availability and customer service quality should come at par with the desired broadband internet speed you desire at home.
More details regarding this post is available at: Ofcom
