Where to find the best detail for fibre, leased lines, broadband?

RachelFar

My son is a gamer and we are struggling with our bandwidth as I work from home.  I know I need a better solution and have looked around at some of the comparison sites:

Energy Comparison of Gas & Electricity | Broadband Deals & Mobile Phones | uSwitch.com
Leased Line Business Guide - Amvia
etc

I am totally confused.  Leased lines may be too expensive but they would suit our needs best as we get guaranteed capacity.  Else and I are losing business/money.

Anyone else been down this road?

EndlessWaves

Broadband price comparison sites are universally terrible. You don't say where in Suffolk you are, but if you're in range of someone like Symmetris then the only way you're going to find out about it is doing the research.

The ISPReview ISP list is probably the best resource for finding home ISPs (many of which are also small business packages), although it doesn't cover purely business offerings like leased lines:
Best Broadband ISP List - Internet Service Providers - ISPreview UK

Prices and availability of services vary so much location by location that you need to find out what's available where you are.

What sort of connection requirements does your business have? If it purely bandwidth (transfer speed) or is it important to have a high quality connection in terms of ping etc. as well?

RachelFar

Wow! That is really helpful. Thank you.

I am outside of Ipswich and to be honest - I just know what we have isn't enough.  Games don't run, I can't get online, download speeds are ridiculous.  I don't know the difference between transfer speed and ping?

EndlessWaves

If you're downloading files it doesn't matter if no data is transferred in a given couple of seconds, as long as the transfer rate when it's working is quick.

But if you're doing something interactive like gaming then having it unresponsive for two seconds is a disaster. As is having the time things take to arrive vary. Many games rely on being able to predict when something will happen, such as an opponent braking for a corner in a racing game.

Ping in the time it takes to get a response from across the internet from another computer, such as a server running a game or providing a file.

A consistent and low ping time is ideal, but it's an aspect separate from bandwidth. You can have a high bandwidth connection totally unsuitable for gaming such as Satellite internet. But such a connection may be suitable for your business and would free up your existing connection for your son.

The first thing I'd do is find out what package you're on currently. That will tell us what type of connection you have (ADSL, VDSL/FTTC etc.)

Then perhaps run a speed test such as the thinkbroadband one which will give some idea of the bandwidth and ping (latency) you're getting now
UK Broadband Speed Test | thinkbroadband

Often the best solution for a better connection is to go for the best technology available down the normal landline. BT Group has an Availability checker that'll tell you what's available:
BT Broadband

Mine looks like this:
                                                                               

If yours is similarly lacking in options with dismal speeds then you'd need to investigate alternative options. That may be a wireless ISP like symmetris, I believe there are a few in the areas around Ipswich. It could be satellite broadband, it could be mobile broadband.

You might end up on an expensive business option like leased line but reading between the lines of your description it sounds as if you're on a very slow connection currently and a faster home connection for £30-50 a month may be all you need.

Also, has this always been an issue? If the problems haven't always been there it's worth considering whether it could be a faulty modem/router.

RachelFar

Wow. Thanks Endless Waves.

We have checked our broadband and its shocking and it always been this way.  They have put fibre all around, except our valley.  And the valley is the reason why mobile broadbands also don't work.  

Hence looking at leased lines, but you bring us to the point that the lease line need maybe more due to gaming needs vs. the business.  I just need things to work.