How to Compare Broadband Speeds

By Neil Hawkins Staff Writer Friday, 18 January 2008

How to Compare Broadband Speeds How is ChooseISP helping you compare broadband speeds? Compare Speeds of Broadband Only Packages (ie. Internet only) Compare Speeds of Broadband & Phone Packages (ie. Internet and Phone) Compare Speeds Broadband Bundle Packages (ie. Internet, Phone, TV and/or mobile) Related Guides on Comparing Broadband See our other recent related guides about how to compare broadband: 8 Great Reasons to Compare Broadband If you rush into signing up to a broadband package without comparing broadband first, you could miss out. Helen Storey uncovers 8 great reasons why you should always compare broadband if you want to get the best broadband package! 5 Things Everyone Forgets When They Compare Broadband Prices When you compare broadband prices you can easily land up choosing the entirely wrong package for yourself. Julia Kukiewicz examines the 5 things you must not forget when you compare broadband prices. How to Compare Broadband - A Quick Guide to Broadband Comparison Do not compare broadband without reading this first! Bruce Stevens reveals the things you need to watch out for when comparing broadband prices and broadband packages. Seven Highly Effective Habits for Comparing Broadband Want to compare broadband? Follow these seven highly effective habits for comparing broadband deals and you’re sure to find your perfect broadband partner.

IF you’ve been comparing broadband packages and the various speeds on offer have left you in a bit of a spin then worry not. At ChooseISP we are here to help you compare broadband speeds easily!

We’ve come up with the top 5 things to remember when comparing broadband speeds from different broadband providers.

This will help you narrow down your choices and speed up your selection of the perfect broadband package.

1. Determine Your Usage.

The first thing you should consider when comparing broadband speeds is what you are going to use broadband for.

Heavier users should plump for faster broadband connections with no download limits whilst lighter users might be better off with a cheaper but slower and potentially more restricted broadband connection.

Ultimately the speed of your broadband connection can depend on other factors that physically affect the line to your home so let’s look into these in more detail...

2. Check where you live.

One of the main factors to consider when comparing broadband speeds is whether or not you live in a cable area.

If you do then you can receive Virgin Media Broadband packages via a nice, shiny, fibre optic network rather than an ADSL service (one that comes via BT telephone lines).

This is important because cable wires should always operate at their advertised broadband speed. If you compare this cable broadband speed to speeds from ADSL providers the notable difference is the use of the phrase ‘up to’.

ADSL providers have cleverly utilised this phrase in their advertising because broadband speeds can differ depending on other factors (see point 4).

3. Check where you live. Again?

Yes again!

Broadband technology has evolved rapidly over the past 5 years.

Gone are the days when grown men would stand idly and compare broadband speeds boasting that they had a 512k line that only cost them £30 a month!

Some broadband providers like Sky, O2 Broadband, Be Broadband and UK Online have put their own equipment into exchanges which means they can offer speeds of up to 24Mb broadband speed using what’s called ADSL2+ technology.

Sadly this improvement can’t happen everywhere overnight which means that the speed you can get in the Isle of Skye might not compare favourably to your friend in the Isle of Dogs!

Most other places are enabled with ADSL Max which is basically the technical term for ‘up to’ 8 Mb broadband speeds.

4. How clean is your line?

If you do receive your broadband via your BT phone line then the physical condition of your line may affect the broadband speed you are able to receive.

The biggest factor for determining broadband speed here is how far away you are from the exchange, as on copper telephone lines the signal degrades over distance.

This is something which will affect your broadband speed comparison with all providers, so if you live quite far from your local exchange consider using one of the ADSL2+ Providers like O2 Broadband or Be Broadband and you might be able to squeeze out some value-added broadband speed from your line.

5. Traffic Police

During busy times, usually evenings, some providers manage or shape their internet traffic, so always remember this when comparing broadband speeds.

What this means is that people who exceed their bandwidth allowance or breach the ISP’s fair use policy will be ‘throttled’. It sounds nasty but really it means that broadband speeds are cut to prevent that user from slowing the service down for everyone else.

When comparing broadband speeds look closely at the traffic management or traffic shaping policies of the provider to see if you could be affected. It might also be called something like ‘Fair Use Policy’.

If this concerns you then when looking at broadband speed comparion tables consider an ISP like Be Broadband, O2 Broadband or PlusNet who are regularly commended by their users for their policies....or lack of them.

You can compare broadband speeds with ChooseISP’s general broadband comparison tables

I want to... compare broadband services

Compare broadband and bundle services
Back to broadband guide