Broadband Speed - Virgin, Is This A Good Package I Am On ?

[dieseldick]

im in belfast. ive checked today my brodband upload speed with www.speedchecker.uk
download speed -64 mbs . then run it again its showing - 75mb/s
upload speed - 3.2 mds

www.broadbandspeedtest.co.uk

downlaod - 55 mbs
upload 3 mds

everything was typed in correctly inc postcode and my provider. i currently pay £30 per month to virgin.

is this a decent package do you think ?

[Buenchico]

What do you pay that £30 for? Does it include telephone services? Does it include line rental? Does it include anything else, such as TV services?

There are plenty of people here in East Anglia (particularly in the more rural parts of Norfolk) who can't even get a 1Mbps download speed so, to them, over 50Mbps must be almost unimaginable!

As a guide, the Government's original basic target speed for downloads was a minimum of 2Mbps (using traditional copper cabling). I've still got a copper-cabled service but I get around 10Mbps and pay about £18 per month for it (with nothing else included). However that's a 'business' service that's incredibly reliable, with excellent support and a good contention ratio; if I went for a 'budget' package (but still using copper cables) I'd expect to pay only half that price but only get half the download speed as well.

With the advent of (so-called) super-fast broadband, the Government has now set a target of all homes having download speeds of at least 24Mbps within the next few years. (However the EU's target is slightly higher, at 30Mbps by 2020). So you're already getting well above the official target figure.

BTW: The most widely recognised speed-testing service (which is frequently used as a reference point by the technical press) is this one:
http://www.speedtest.net/

[ukbod2015]

We`ve just been updated here near Wisbech and get a very tasty 71/19 split from BT

[Bathsheba]

@Chris...I've just checked my speeds there, then I was given the option of a free download of PC Reviver....is that any good?

x x

[Bathsheba]

just a cheeky *bump*...I know it's not my post...;)

[Buenchico]

Bathsheba:
PC Reviver is a registry cleaner. They're generally best avoided but, if you want to try one, the only one that's regularly recommended (both here and in the technical press) is this one:
https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

[Bathsheba]

Chris, thanks so much. But you don't like them? I was just interested when it said it could speed up my pc ;)

x x

[Buenchico]

^^^Most registry cleaners don't seem to make much difference for most people. Further, anything that makes changes to your computer's registry needs to be used with considerable caution (so that you don't make things far worse). CCleaner is well-designed though, so you can easily see what it's doing. (I've used it myself a few times but I wouldn't regard it as an essential program to have on a computer).

If you want to find out about all of the stuff that's most likely to slow your computer to a crawl (and what to do about it), head to your local newsagent (or supermarket) and invest £1.99 on the latest issue of Computer Active magazine. The cover article (which runs to 6 detailed pages) is full of useful advice:
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/latest-issue

[Bathsheba]

@Chris,....oh thanks again!! Me buying a computer mag, eh? I've put it on my shopping list beneath Baby Powder + Jeyes Fluid....(don't ask) ;)

Cheers
x x x

[dieseldick]

£30 per month is for internet only

[Buenchico]

Alternatives (which might only offer slightly slower speeds) here:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-broadband#ttfibre