Superfast this. Gigafast that. What does it all mean?

Recently, we found that one in three Brits are unaware of their broadband speeds. Further findings also revealed that, in the past year, eight out of ten Londoners reportedly experienced ‘WiFi rage’ because of slow internet connections - yikes. So, we’ve set our sights on demystifying broadband speeds and have enlisted Youtube’s, Miniminter to help you get the most out of your connection.  

What determines broadband speed? 

Broadband bandwidth

Broadband bandwidth is shared across all devices connected to your router. The more devices connected, the slower your speeds may become. More bandwidth speed allows more data transfer, resulting in quicker speeds for all your devices. 

Wired or WiFi

Using an Ethernet cable (wired connection) to connect your devices to the router will give you the fastest broadband speeds possible.  

WiFi generally offers slower speeds than a wired connection, especially with higher-speed packages. Your WiFi connection may also be affected by other factors around your home, but we’ll touch on this in more detail a little later. Check out our article covering all the differences between broadband and WiFi.

Why your broadband speed may be slow 

You have too many devices

Internet use has evolved over the years with many households demanding more and more from their broadband. Mobiles, laptops, tablets, security systems, video doorbells and many more devices now depend on a fast and stable broadband connection.

You connect all those devices over WiFi 

To add to this conundrum, more households are opting to connect these additional devices via WiFi which is often affected by several factors around your home, but we’ll touch on this in more detail a little later.

You don't have a reliable broadband connection

Unfortunately, copper and standard fibre connections simply aren’t built for such high capacity and often slow down your speed during peak hours to counter this.

On the other hand, a full fibre service is built with 100% fibre optic cable. It should never include the slow and easily damaged copper that is used in non-fibre or standard fibre connections. This means having a 100% full fibre connection will give you the fastest and most reliable connection you can get. 

What’s the benefit of more speed? 

More speed means you can connect more devices at the same time without compromising quality, and a 100% full fibre connection gives you way more speed for far less dosh.  

Full fibre (often referred to as Fibre-To-The-Home or FTTH) has the potential to deliver gigabit speeds and the same powerful download and upload speeds. Upload speeds are especially important when uploading a lot of data like transferring large files, sharing your holiday photos or video calling your pals.  

Tip tips to improve your current broadband speed 

1. Go wired whenever possible, use an Ethernet cable to connect your devices. 
2. In plain sight — keep your router in an open location, off the ground and not placed behind bulky furniture. 
3. Don’t be greedy — disconnect any devices that are not in use.  
4. Keep away from the window - windows can ‘waste’ signal by broadcasting to the outside, so keep your router clear! 
5. No one likes conflict — keep your router away from devices that emit interference like microwaves and wireless speakers.
6. Swimming with the fishes — avoid placing your router near fish tanks as this can stop your high-speed efforts dead in their tracks. 

Challenging London – Miniminter steps in as our Head of Speed 

We’ve enlisted the help of Miniminter, the UK’s biggest gaming influencer, and have appointed him as our first-ever Head of Speed to help Londoners understand their broadband connections better.    

Followed by millions, Miniminter is a leading gamer, content creator, and founding member of Sidemen, a British YouTube gaming collective alongside other world-renowned personalities, including KSI and W2S.   

As Head of Speed, Miniminter, aka Simon Edward Minter, will be responsible for encouraging more Londoners to put their broadband speeds to the test. He’ll also challenge other broadband providers to answer why they advertise and sell fixed speeds but never communicate WiFi speeds except deep in their T&Cs. This a tricky scenario, considering WiFi speeds are always slower than wired. 

Put your speed to the test and become ‘broadband happy’ 

Ready to step out from under that cloud of broadband confusion and start getting the speeds you deserve and have paid for? It’s time to put your current speed to the test.

If you're on the lookout for more broadband jargon-busting guides and tips and tricks for improving your broadband speeds at home, our Content Hub has a comprehensive range of guides. 

And if what you find sends you on the hunt for a powerful broadband connection that will handle all your working/studying from home needs, indulge your social fancies and support your Gamer championship dreams, we offer unbeatable broadband at incredible prices with our range of 100% full fibre speeds. 

We also offer London’s fastest wired speeds up to 3,000 Mbps (aka a whopping 3 Gig), and WiFi speeds up to 800 Mbps - now that could make anyone 'broadband happy’.