Broadband Speed

Until just recently, I was a BT Openreach engineer, So my reply is going to differ to some peoples.

Obviously, I have a lot of knowledge with regard to different service providers, good and bad. There are places in the Uk where broadband speeds of 40mb+ are possible, but they are few and far between.

Best speeds generally are from cable companies such as virgin. However, they tend to be limited to large ctowns and cities.

For the majority of people, your broad band will be fed down existing BT cables. And that is where the problems begin.

In my area for instance (Cumbria), we have cables in the ground that are getting on for 100 years old. They are deteriating obviously. Many areas have a mix of copper and alluminium cables. Alluminium is very poor for broadband.

Fibre optic is best, copper cable them alluminium.

In terms of Service Suppliers (SP's), You get the best speeds from those that have LLU lines in your local exchange. LLU (local loop unbundled) is simple in simple terms, the SP's own equipment in the exchange, which does not use any BT equipment. The advantages are:
No BT line rental.
Better reliability.
Faster speeds.

At least thats the theory.
In reality, SP's vary hugely on speeds. Also you have to factor in the distance you are from your local exchange, and the type and quality of cable feeding your location.

Most areas now have LLU providers, most common being Talk talk.
Customers of Tiscali, who have been transfered over to Talktalk, have had a raw deal. If you are one of these, contact Talk talk and check if you have been moved onto one of their LLU lines. Chances are you havent.

In terms of customer service, all SP's are pretty much the same, with one exception, BT! They are very poor.

All lines, in 90% of the UK, that are copper lines, are serviced by BT Openreach. Openreach are in theory a seperate company to BT, and do give fair service to all SP's.

For my part, I use Talktalk. from my point of view, their customer service is better than most, and the broadband speed is far superior to my previous SP's. The only difference between them all, is that Talktalk offer LLU lines here.

Sorry for the long winded reply, but I hope it might explain the differnces people experience in broadband speeds and reliability.