When you start a business, your home is often your office, but for those fortunate enough to live in the wonderful British countryside, your broadband could cause you some problems.
The reality of living in a rural area is the broadband speeds just aren’t as quick as they are in towns and cities. There are a few reasons for this including:- No lines, expensive to get them
- Spread out
- Far from ASDL equipment box
Ofcom data shows that 91 per cent of homes and businesses in the UK now have access to superfast broadband, which is defined as 30Mbps (Megabits per second).
See the UKs varying speeds here - see the speeds in your area!
Until the UK’s broadband infrastructure is developed, in all areas including rural, here are a few things you can do to try and improve your broadband speed.
Test your line
If a line can provide speeds of 4Mbps, it should be able to sustain it without dropping speed. The fact that the speed is unreliable could mean there is a problem with the line itself or with your router. If you’re experiencing slow speeds, check your router by following these steps.
Another thing you could try is logging your speed at different times of the day, and in different types of weather, to see if there’s a correlation. Of course, there might not be, but if you do discover some correlations, you can use your internet at it’s fastest times for activities like up/downloading or sending large files. Basically, learn how to use your internet to it’s best. It might still be slow, but by learning a bit more about what can affect the speed will save you time in the long run.
Is wireless faster?
If you can get 4G mobile phone signal close to your house then you should be able to get speeds of up to 40Mbps inside. 4G speeds are better than the fixed-line performance in rural areas, but unsurprisingly, the biggest issues in rural areas is the signal quality. The other downfall is 4G plans are more expensive than normal broadband.
Tried satellite broadband?
This will involve a satellite dish attached to your home. It’s a wireless network that is perfect for those who struggle to get speeds of 2Mbps or less. Although it isn’t a very widespread technology, it could be the solution to your internet worries. It is perfect for getting internet to places that are difficult to reach by the traditional means, i.e. cables.
Final thoughts
Starting a business is an extremely bold and admirable thing. Don’t let something as trivial as broadband speed determine how you run your business in a rural area possibly from home. There are ways around slow broadband, as we’ve just gone through above, so don’t let it define your business decisions. Improvements to the UK’s broadband infrastructure may be slow, but they’re coming!
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If you have any questions or comments about this post, please fill in the comment box below. Or send me an email: shale@bonline.com.
