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Broadband in St Germans

Home Update

Well, we all have broadband now. So, let's use it!

The latest on the street is up to 8MB broadband if speed is your thing. Some companies are offering faster, but at a premium cost.

We need to get to grips with the huge array of Broadband service providers and determine which of these is best for our individual needs. So, here I have compiled some information from BT and Tiscali Broadband services to demonstrate some of the many service packages available.

First, we need to translate the "techno-speak"...
Speed: the speeds of Broadband connections are often quoted as, for example, "5 X" or "5 times". This means that the download speed is up to 5 times the speed of a current standard modem operating at 56 Kilo bits per second (Kbps). You may also see Mbps, meaning 1000 Kbps. Typical speeds vary from 5 times (250Kbps) to 40 times (2Mbps). Please note that upload speeds are only a little faster than your current dial-up service. You can read up on this from the "How Stuff Works" site
Data is normally measured in bytes, (1 byte generally = 8 bits). A Kilo Byte (KB) is rounded to 1000 Bytes (1024 Bytes to be exact), A Mega Byte (MB) is rounded to 1000KB and a Giga Byte(GB) to 1000MB. Broadband suppliers may limit your data transfer and here, they are talking multiples of bytes.
A Modem is the acronym of Modulate/Demodulate. This is a device to communicate a digital signal over an analogue signal service, such as a telephone line. Broadband requires a modem just for the cable between your home and the telephone exchange, which operates a service with an enhanced frequency range. It is this that allows the use of your telephone while operating Broadband services.

So, with that confusion out of the way, as of 4th March 2005...
BT's entry level package is £17.99 per month operating at 500Kbps and an allowance of 1GB of data transfer per month. You also get a free modem, and connection. This basic service is not available to Apple Mac computer users.

The drawback here is the limitation on data transfer, which might seem a lot, but is around 1% of today's typical PC hard disk size each month. For most light Internet users this will be acceptable, but for the more serious user, this may be too restrictive.

The next level BT offering costs £24.99 per month. This is as above, but with a fast 2Mbps speed and a 15GB limit on data transfer, plus you get a better support package for Apple Mac and PC users. For £26.99 you also get the ability to share Broadband with more than 1 PC in your household and have a number of email accounts.

In comparison, but unfortunately only for PC/Windows users, Tiscali is offering their entry deal for £15.99 per month. This offers up to 250Kbps speed, but unlimited data transfer with a free modem and connection. So, we have a trade-off: less speed than the BT entry level package but no limitation in download. You might wish to consider that you can leave your PC connected 24 hours daily. Given this, is speed as important as limitations of data transfer? Having said that, if you don't mind being limited to 2GB of data per month, you can have a speed up to 1Mbps from Tiscali for £15.99 per month. More non-restrictive services from Tiscali include 500Kbps for £17.99, or 1Mbps for £24.99.

Many suppliers will require you to sign up for a minimum of 12 months. Others tend not to offer free modems and/or connections.

So, just two companies who compete in this market appear to offer a plethora of packages for the typical home user. What about business users?

There are many suppliers offering tailored services to suit your business needs. BT, for example, can provide Broadband services from £29 per month and Tiscali from £15.99. Both provide related services that may be beneficial, i.e. additional security, help with selling your products and services on line, the ability to back up (and restore) your critical business data, and so on. It may be useful to check out what BT can offer and use this as a benchmark for other service providers.

I have undertaken a little research and put some links on the left for some (nowhere near all) worthy participants in this market.

Good luck

© P Smith