At UK Online we firmly believe in properly informing our customers on what speed they can expect and what factors will affect their speed. We have invested a large amount providing the second largest network in the UK and innovative services such as 16Mb broadband.

We always provide our customers with an estimation of what speed their connection will be before purchase. We strive to maximise the performance of the service we provide through low network contention, ensuring the correct balance between speed & stability as well as updating the equipment that we use.

In the Summer of 2008 UK Online was part of the first group of ISPs to sign the Ofcom voluntary code of practice on Broadband speeds. The code in full can be downloaded here: DOWNLOAD.

How Broadband speeds work

The below diagram shows a simplified path of how you connect to the internet using UK Online Broadband.

There are two speeds that are referred to by ISPs, the connection speed and the download performance (sometimes called throughput).

The connection speed is often the headline speed seen in advertising and given as a result in online broadband sign ups. This is how fast the router (left of picture) can transfer data to the telephone exchange and vice versa. The router communicates using a range of frequencies transmitted over a telephone line. Where this signal is weakened your maximum potential speed is decreased. The connection speed is the technical limit of how fast you can go as this “last mile” from the telephone exchange to your premises is the weakest link in the end to end connection between you and the internet. For more information on what affects connection speeds see the “Your connection speed” section below.

Your actual download performance, also known as throughput, refers to the speed at which you will actual receive data on your computer. This will always be less than your connection speed as a certain amount of your data is used in the routing. Data is split into packets and each packet has a header and a footer that contain important information such as the sender's address, the intended receiver's address, the application being used (email, HTML, etc), something that tells the network how many packets the data has been broken into and the number of this particular packet in the sequence. Your download performance will also be constrained by traffic volumes in the fibre network and the internet itself, this has the same effect as seen by rush hour traffic on a motorway. For more information on what affects download performance see the “Download Performance” section below.

Your connection speed

The maximum speed you can achieve is affected by the following factors. If your actual connection speed is below the quoted figure it can be down to the following rather than being a fault.

• If your line is connected to a telephone exchange on our network. We have more advanced equipment on our network that allows speeds of above 8Mb. Our network covers 70% of UK homes & businesses.
• The length and quality of your telephone line. A longer line, or one which is of poor quality will reduce the signal strength of your connection, leading to slower speeds.
• Internal wiring of phone extensions within your premises. If your internal phone wiring has not used good quality wire or the wire goes past sources of electrical noise this will reduce your speed.
• Your computer processing speed
• The router or modem you use. Older models do not perform as well as newer equipment with USB modems generally not recommended for speeds above 2Mb.
• Electrical noise from TVs, Set Top Boxes and other electrical equip ment. These can be both in your premises or near you phone line as it travels to the exchange.

Download performance

Once your line is up and running the connection speed will remain stable but the download speed will vary because of the following factors:

• The time of day, the busiest period is in the evenings between 18:00 and 22:00.
• The number of people on line in your premises
• The capacity of the network and how the network manages the internet traffic
• The speed of the website you are viewing. This may be located abroad or have speed restrictions
• Spyware or other viruses slowing your computer down.

Trouble shooting

Please click on the troubleshooting process diagram below for more information.

 

Fair Use Policy

UK Online Broadband is an unlimited service but we do have a Fair Use Policy in order to protect the majority of customers from the odd occasion when a customer is consistently excessive in their usage and adversely impacts or other users.

Our full Fair Use Policy can be found at www.ukonline.net/legal/fup.php