{"id":738,"date":"2021-05-26T17:25:44","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T16:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/?p=738"},"modified":"2021-06-11T09:19:08","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T08:19:08","slug":"connecting-dorset-busting-the-broadband-jargon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/2021\/05\/26\/connecting-dorset-busting-the-broadband-jargon\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting Dorset \u2013 busting the broadband jargon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Don't<\/a>
Don’t let broadband jargon drive you mad<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u00a0<\/span>can\u2019t tell your<\/span>\u00a0FTTC\u00a0<\/span>from your<\/span>\u00a0FTTP<\/span>\u00a0but<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>know your\u00a0<\/span>broadband speeds are<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>driving you mad<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0t<\/span>hen you\u2019ve come to the right place.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Understanding broadband and internet services can be a gigabit (more on that later) hill to climb.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But don\u2019t be mind-boggled by your Mbps, we\u2019re here to help!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In this article we bust the jargon and\u00a0m<\/span>ake the broadband and internet world easier to naviga<\/span>t<\/span>e<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Jargon buster<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Let\u2019s bust a few\u00a0<\/span>of the infuriating\u00a0<\/span>jargons<\/span>\u00a0often used in the broadband and internet world<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>ISP<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>You may have seen companies that offer internet services called ISPs,<\/span>\u00a0or Internet Service Providers. These are the companies\u00a0<\/span>you pay to receive an internet service from<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 your BTs, Sky, TalkTalk etc<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Most of\u00a0these companies provide services to you over infrastructure laid by other organisations<\/span> such as Openreach and City Fibre.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few companies act as both a broadband infrastructure supplier and an ISP. This includes companies like Wessex Internet, Jurassic Fibre and Virgin Media.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Fibre \u2013 full fibre, FTTC and FTTP<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Most internet service providers will talk about their \u2018fibre\u2019 packages \u2013 but don\u2019t be fooled<\/span> into thinking that this a \u2018full fibre\u2019 connection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of these packages are actually only a partial fibre connection and not what we would call \u2018full fibre\u2019 (no wonder people get confused!).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>There are two main fibre products \u2013 FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) and FTTP (fibre to the premises).<\/p>\n

At the moment most people receive FTTC broadband. This means your broadband is connected to a nearby cabinet,\u00a0<\/span>via your\u00a0<\/span>existing\u00a0<\/span>phone line. <\/span><\/p>\n

The cabinet is\u00a0\u2018fibre-enabled.\u2019 which means it is\u00a0<\/span>connected to the exchange via fibreoptic cable.\u00a0This is not a \u2018full fibre\u2019 service<\/span> and the maximum speed you can get on this connection is 80 Mbps download. In some rare cases, a cabinet may have a special add on that can give you speeds up to 330 Mbps.<\/span><\/p>\n

The closer you live to the cabinet the faster your speeds are likely to be.<\/p>\n

FTTP is a\u00a0\u2018<\/span>full fibre<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0service and it brings the fibre optic cable directly into your property. This is known as the next generation of broadband and is capable of very fast speeds.<\/span> We call this kind of connection \u2018gigabit capable\u2019. This means it could give you download speeds of 1,000 Mbps.<\/span><\/p>\n

Megabits per second \u2013 Mbps, download and upload<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Broadband speeds are measured by how much data your internet connection can transfer per second \u2013 this is megabits per second (Mbps).<\/p>\n

The internet speeds you see in Mbps\u00a0measure the rate at which a provider delivers internet data to and from your hom<\/span>e<\/span>;<\/span>\u00a0this is your download speed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>An upload speed refers\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0how quickly you can send information from your computer to another device or server on the internet. Sending emails, playing live games, video<\/span>–<\/span>calling and virtual meetings require good upload speeds.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Speed categories<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Sub-Superfast:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>These are download broadband speeds of less than 24 Mbps.\u00a0The\u00a0<\/span>further your speed moves towards zero, the more you will struggle to cope with the modern demands of online living. <\/span><\/p>\n

People who\u00a0are not connected to a fibre-enabled cabinet and<\/span>\u00a0receive their broadband via old copper networks<\/span>\u00a0straight from the exchange<\/span>\u00a0are likely to be in this category. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some people who are connected to a fibre cabinet but live some distance from it may also struggle with these low speeds.<\/p>\n

Superfast:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This is download speeds over<\/span>\u00a024 Mbps\u00a0<\/span>and 96% of<\/span> residents and businesses in Dorset can receive a Superfast connection. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Superfast\u00a0speeds are considered sufficient for most everyday online uses.\u00a0 Live video gamers and uses such as 4k\u00a0<\/span>streaming<\/span>\u00a0could struggle on speeds at the lower spectrum of Superfast.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>If you have a\u00a0FTTC connection, you are likely to be receiving between 24 Mbps and 80 Mbps. Cable networks could be faster.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Ultrafast:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This is the next generation in connectivity and is anything from 300 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps download speeds. That magic 1,000 number is also known as 1 Gigabit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The government wants to move to what it calls \u2018Gigabit capable\u2019 broadband and you will hear this mentioned in all its subsidised schemes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Most households will not need ultrafast now,<\/span>\u00a0but emerging technologies will make this future-proof<\/span>\u00a0for when you do<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>FTTP and cable will be the main networks for these speeds and just because you have \u2018gigabit-capable\u2019 broadband<\/span>, you don\u2019t have to take out the most expensive and fastest service on it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Test your speed now<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Now you know your broadband speed you can better understand what help might be available to you.\u00a0Go to this link Connecting Dorset \u2013 a guide to broadband support schemes \u2013 Digital Dorset (dorsetcouncil.gov.uk)<\/a> to find out more about the national broadband schemes that are available to help people get better speeds.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Need more advice?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>If you have any further questions on any of the above please email us at connectingdorset@dorsetcc.gov.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u00a0can\u2019t tell your\u00a0FTTC\u00a0from your\u00a0FTTP\u00a0but\u00a0you\u00a0know your\u00a0broadband speeds are\u00a0driving you mad,\u00a0then you\u2019ve come to the right place.\u00a0 \u00a0Understanding broadband and internet services can be a gigabit (more on that later) hill to climb.\u00a0 \u00a0But don\u2019t be mind-boggled by your Mbps, we\u2019re here to help!\u00a0 \u00a0In this article we bust the jargon and\u00a0make the broadband and internet… Read more Connecting Dorset \u2013 busting the broadband jargon<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1907,"featured_media":740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/files\/2021\/05\/voucher-17-1-of-1resize-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1907"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":766,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738\/revisions\/766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}