BULLETPROOF YOUR BROADBAND

Lockdown has been described as a three-month live experiment in homeworking. Given that millions of people were plunged into said experiment with almost zero preparation, it’s no surprise that many have found their “broadband” isn’t quite up to the task. Zen Internet alone reports that it’s seen three times as many customers enquiring about broadband upgrades than it would expect normally.

The reason I put broadband in speech marks above is that people often blame the “broadband connection” for a multitude of sins that are nothing to do with the raw connection in the first place. “Usually, when people say ‘my internet is slow and unreliable’, they haven’t assessed whether it is the wireless or the broadband connection itself,” said Alex Bloor, general manager at broadband provider Andrews & Arnold (A&A).

Wi-Fi, broadband–it’s all the same, innit? Well, no, it’s most definitely not. In this feature we’re going to deal with both the external measures that can improve the speed and reliability of your broadband connection – the ones that will be predominantly handled by broadband providers – and the internal factors such as your choice of router equipment and internal wiring, to ensure that you’re getting the maximum possible speed and reliability from your broadband. It will give you one less thing to worry about as you get settled into the