Bandwidth rage
“Who’s using the internet?” muttered teenage son as he came downstairs, “my game keeps dropping the connection.”
“I am,” said Mrs R, catching up on a missed TV programme using iPlayer, “it kept breaking up earlier because your father was downloading music or something. So I’m using it now.”
“Well I’m booking my hotel room for next week now,” I said, “I don’t want the connection to drop when I’m making a transaction.”
Once upon a time families used to argue about who used the household candle to illuminate their evening, then they argued about who had the remote control, now it’s bandwidth rage.
Fortunately technology always brings an answer. Eventually. I checked to see when my broadband provider will bring 40Mb fibre to this area… Our local exchange is not one of those listed for upgrade in 2010 or 2011.
The arguments will continue.
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Alex's Blog 
I get moaned at for using the internet when hubby to be is trying to play Call Of Duty online, same thing the internet is dropping out!! heaven forbid!!!
You could be really unlucky and have aluminium cables like we have here in Reepham rather then copper. I’ve never seen my supposed 8MB download speed ever exceed 3.5MB. Still the new coalition government are supposed to be rural friendly aren’t they?
Rural friendly, perhaps. Digital friendly…?
Maybe they will let the market decide who gets 40Mb. Good luck in Reepham.
I wish I could get 3.5Mb.
Andy – 3.5mb – how lucky are you. Despite the BT promise of upto 8mb for my area, I think I make about 1.5. I think my phone line must be made out of wet string.
Washing line?
it’s mostly down to contention not hardware i think. If i log on in the early hours i can get 2-3 Mb, in the evening i’m frequently in the 150kb range. Surfing is done with a book in hand, which is exactly how i used to do it in the dial-up days…
My Internet speed is quite good, where I live gets slagged off but Internet speed is darn good. Got sky t’internet out ere!!
Good god. I have just tested mine and it is 4.5MB. BT says I can get 6.5MB so it is only 30% wrong!
Good old BT, the lying B*!@~#ds. I think you would only get the full 6.5mb if you actually lived in the exchange. They tried to snare me into their broadband package several years ago with the promise of 8mb speeds, I declined but my neighbour went with them – she gets the same as me, a poor 1.5 if we are lucky. But hey – ho, it’s better than dial up.
I think someone tried to take BT to court over the 8mb speed thing a few years ago, but because BT had the “up to” in the promise it was deemed OK. You would indeed need to be in the exchange to get that speed and then you’d need the door closed.