Like a house, but bad broadband speeds

Domo · 25 Oct 2016 at 14:07

We've just been to look at a lovely house which ticks all the boxes. However, I saw their router and connected to it from my phone to run a speed test.

4MB download and 1MB upload

We're currently on BT fibre (get around 70mb) so this is a deal breaker - especially as I often work from home and even when I don't I depend on receiving information round the clock.

Is 4MB download such a bad thing? Basics like email, surfing + YouTube - will they still work?

Is it worth phoning providers? It's in the sticks so I imagine it's the physical wire + distance from the exchange.

Glanza · 25 Oct 2016 at 14:10

Get the postcode and phone number and run some speed checks with ISPs, could be the current owner only has a basic package.

Slow internet would be a deal breaker for me.

joeyjojo · 25 Oct 2016 at 14:18

Domo said:
Basics like email, surfing + YouTube - will they still work?

Yes. Even HD video is only about 2-3 Mbit. It will be annoying at first though.

As above check if you can get FTTC or cable: https://www.samknows.com/broadband/broadband_checker

Greebo · 25 Oct 2016 at 14:43

Pfft. Until this year we lived in an area with no fibre and 4Mb was our max internet. GF has worked from home for three years with that speed.

4MB is fine, even to watch HD video on tv although you cant really use the net for anythign else at the same time.

Cant believe people wont buy a house for slow download speed?

Also they are probably just on normal broadband like we were which is 8Mb max and usually 4Mb. Doesnt meant to say 70Mb fibre isn't available at that house. Some people dont want to pay for the upgrade or extra money.

Akagi · 25 Oct 2016 at 14:45

Greebo said:
Cant believe people wont buy a house for slow download speed?

I can. It is important these days. And if it might be years, decades even, before a house (particularly in a rural location) gets high speed internet, it can be incredibly off putting.

cheesyboy · 25 Oct 2016 at 14:54

We've got around 4Mb. It's fine for youtube and amazon Prime, but gets a bit flakey if two streams are going at once.

And downloading games means leaving the PC on all night.

Kids are getting older (6 & 3) and wife is starting to make use of video streaming, so might go for fibre when my year of cheap broadband expires next spring. It's been in the area for a few months now.

deFiniLoGy · 25 Oct 2016 at 15:07

Maybe because I grew up in a country where Hyperoptic is a norm, living in a 8/1 region with my sister already annoys me at times (both of us are heavy internet users).

So no, 4/1 is a definite deal breaker for me hands down.

Greebo · 25 Oct 2016 at 15:21

Well unfortunately to live in the nice places in the country means not having super fast internet.......you take your choices. A bit like not having public transport or any takeaways who deliver.

Greebo · 25 Oct 2016 at 15:23

Acme said:
I can. It is important these days. And if it might be years, decades even, before a house (particularly in a rural location) gets high speed internet, it can be incredibly off putting.

It will always be behind even then. By the time some areas get 70Mb, more populated areas will be on Gb speeds.

It was only 4 years ago we moved from 512Kb to 4Mb.

Greebo · 25 Oct 2016 at 15:24

cheesyboy said:
And downloading games means leaving the PC on all night.

Pfft GTA V took me 3 weeks to download.................. :eek:

Domo · 25 Oct 2016 at 15:47

Greebo said:
Cant believe people wont buy a house for slow download speed?

At the time of asking I was concerned since I need to use WebEx, VPN and Skype for work. The alternative would be commuting to London every day. Far from ideal. Furthermore I won't deny we've grown to depend on it for the likes of Netflix, NowTV, Amazon etc..

Greebo said:
Also they are probably just on normal broadband like we were which is 8Mb max and usually 4Mb. Doesnt meant to say 70Mb fibre isn't available at that house. Some people dont want to pay for the upgrade or extra money.

You're spot on. I called up Sky and they confirmed fibre is available which is pretty incredible if you were to see the area. It's a tiny hamlet set in deepest darkest Surrey!

Looks like the offer's going in.

Thanks for all the tips.

ANDARIAL · 25 Oct 2016 at 15:57

they confirmed fibre is available

But at what speed?
You can get Fibre at low speeds too

Domo · 25 Oct 2016 at 15:59

The guy at Sky said up to 70MB in the area based on post code.

ANDARIAL · 25 Oct 2016 at 16:16

`Up to` is not very informative though is it
I can get `up to`17 MB from SKY
All I CAN get is 3-4 on a good day
Any near neighbours you could check with?or use that BT online checker?

Swifty55 · 25 Oct 2016 at 16:22

I bought my house which had VM readily available, although very high utilisation issues (4Mbps and 100+ pings on an evening) now I'm currently with BT fibre with a 15Mbps fibre connection.

Luckily its only me who lives here with my daughter occasionally stopping so it's no biggy, just downloading is a pitta. Shame cos having 200Mbps was awesome when it worked!

Cleisthenes · 25 Oct 2016 at 16:24

Greebo said:
Well unfortunately to live in the nice places in the country means not having super fast internet.......you take your choices. A bit like not having public transport or any takeaways who deliver.

Sometimes it can work both ways. I live in the middle of nowhere and had 1mb internet.

For what ever reason we've been put on FTTP over the last year or so and can now get excellent speeds. I feel like someone in the village knows someone at openreach...

Domo · 25 Oct 2016 at 16:32

ANDARIAL said:
`Up to` is not very informative though is it
I can get `up to`17 MB from SKY
All I CAN get is 3-4 on a good day
Any near neighbours you could check with?or use that BT online checker?

Is that on fibre?

TheVoice · 25 Oct 2016 at 16:46

Greebo said:
Well unfortunately to live in the nice places in the country means not having super fast internet

No it doesn't. Plenty of rural locations are well-connected these days.

KIA · 25 Oct 2016 at 16:54

https://www.dslchecker.bt.com/

Use the address checker.

Greebo · 25 Oct 2016 at 17:11

Domo said:
The guy at Sky said up to 70MB in the area based on post code.

Yeah, I have "up to 70Mb fibre" but only get 14Mb in reality due to distance from the fibre box.

A lot of websites for fibre will give you the expected speed for that line. In my case its 12 - 16Mb and I cant ring as been faulty unless it drops below 10Mb.

Sadly 500m up the road they get 38Mb.