Tag Archives: broadband

How important is internet speed to you?

by Darice de Cuba
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How important is internet speed to you?

Most of us are online every waking moment one way or the other. Computers are on the whole day, our smart-phones are constantly connected and pushing data. As soon as internet is down we’ll “freak” out and our daily routine is disturbed. This past week I spend days fretting over my internet speed. Internet is not cheap here in the Netherlands, I pay an average of 60 euros a month for a broadband cable connection. The package used to be 50 Mbit down and 5 Mbit up. Since then my provider has upgraded the speed to 120 Mbit down and 10 Mbit up. There is no data limit, fair use Read more »

BT boasts one-million strong Wi-Fi hotspot network

by andy
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BT boasts one-million strong Wi-Fi hotspot network

As a prime example of a large telecoms company embracing a concept rather than railing against it, British Telecom has announced a one-million user strong Wi-Fi network. BT’s customers are expected to spend over a billion minutes on Wi-Fi this year, thanks to a not insignificant amount from iPhone users. Hotspots include the BT FON Wi-Fi community of ordinary users sharing a separate part of their home connection with the public, plus BT Openzone nodes. To celebrate, BT is running a competition in which you have to locate the millionth hotspot. Read more »

Britain to get 50p broadband tax

by andy
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Britain to get 50p broadband tax

British netizens who are already paying through the nose for broadband will no doubt be irritated to learn that a new “broadband tax” will be introduced in the next budget. Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced that the 50p per month tax will be added to the bill of every household with a fixed line telephone. Given that many broadband users have to keep a landline in order to use the Net, even if they don’t make phone calls with it, this will be sure to raise a fairly substantial revenue. The £6 (about $10) per year tax will be used to fund “super fast broadband”, particularly in rural areas which Read more »