I have been using High-speed Internet for over 10 years. As soon as it became available in my area back in the late Nineties I immediately swapped out my 56k dial-up connection for broadband. Over the years, I have experimented with different Internet Service Providers (ISP), to see which ones performed and which ones didn’t. I have found that the speeds advertised aren’t always what’s being delivered.

At the moment, I am on an acceptable 10 Mbps download package with my Internet Service Provider. It’s not the fastest, nor is it the slowest Internet speed available on the market, but it does everything I need.  Although I’m on a 10 mbps Internet package, I have yet to reach the advertised speed. My connection hovers at approximately 6 - 8 mbps which is what you can normally expect. There are many reasons why my Internet download speeds will never reach maximum, including network congestion, website download restrictions, modem frequency issues among other things. That said, my broadband speed should always remain within the top 60 % - 80 % of the total advertised limit throughout any given point of the day.  My experience with some Internet Service Providers, is that I wasn’t even close to their advertised speeds, often only getting 30% of what was promised. There is no reason why anyone should be getting 30% of their allocated broadband speed limit unless the Internet Service Provider isn’t maintaining their network or equipment.

Testing your download speed is easy, you can do one right now by clicking broadband speed test at broadband-expert.co.uk. The speed test is simple and free, and you will get an immediate idea on the state of your broadband. If you find that you aren’t getting, at the very least, 60% of the promised speed then it’s time to contact your ISP. If your ISP isn’t willing to do anything about your slow broadband connection, then it’s time to consult broadband professionals like broadband-expert.co.uk to help you select the best package in your area. It is, after all, your money and unless you like spending money without any significant returns then shopping for better broadband is the only solution.