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The Future of Broadband – 4G, 5G, Fibre and Everything Else

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It is important that you know about what is going to happen in the future with regards to broadband. By having some idea you can better choose the deals you take now. You can see if you should lock yourself in for a certain number of months or if you should take something longer. By reading broadband news you will be able to find out what is going to happen in the future. Broadband news outlines the plans from different providers and bodies which affect the future of broadband.

The major players
There are certain companies and governing bodies that provide the best news on the future of broadband in the UK. By knowing who these major players are you will be able to identify information faster. It is possible to find broadband news and developments by simply searching for these providers.

Ofcom this is the media regulatory body and they will look into certain aspects of the future of broadband.
Home broadband providers the steps taken by home broadband providers, and the investments they make, will impact on the future broadband connections offered to people.
Mobile broadband providers these providers will affect the types of broadband connections offered to mobile broadband users. Many people want to know when 4G is arriving in their area.

Coverage news
Broadband news has always allowed consumers to know about what is going to happen in regards to the connections offered by mobile broadband providers. By looking at the news you will be able to see when providers plan to roll out new connections and what the extended coverage zones will be.

News about the 4G network has dominated the mobile broadband press over recent months. News about this network relates to the coverage zones and the providers who offer it. As of the start of 2013 only the mobile provider EE offered this connection. Many other providers are looking to offer this connection by mid 2013. However, broadband news has shown than certain providers have pushed their plans back and are now only looking at the end of the year as their target. It is important to know this news as you will be able to see if your provider will be rolling out this connection, and when.

Whether making tablet or smartphone decisions it is important to know about 4G coverage. 4G is about 10 times faster than 3G and makes so many activities more possible, such as streaming TV and movies, downloading large files, and video chat. You should also check see if your provider will need you to get a new contract for 4G, or if you will be able to connect on your current contract.

5G News
Other mobile broadband news that has recently come about relates to the 5G network. This network is still in the planning stage. The only information we really have about 5G is that Ofcom is looking into it. This is a proactive step by the regulator to ensure that consumers get the best connection in the future. The regulator is looking at what would need to be done to ready the countrys infrastructure for 5G when it becomes available.

Fibre optic broadband connections
The future of home broadband connections is mainly linked to the roll out of the fibre optic network. As it stands the network run by Virgin media connects 50% of the country to this connection. BT runs a fibre infrastructure that connects to 60% of the country. At some point in the future both of these companies will want to connect the majority of homes to the fibre optic network.

Following the broadband news sites will tell you when fibre will be available to you, and any problems that are faced by the roll out. The providers will often put out statements telling people when they expect roll outs to be complete in certain areas. It should be noted that this roll out process is not an easy one. The cabling has to be laid out and the fibre optic cables need to be connected to the providers. Not only is this an expensive undertaking but also a time intensive one. This means that each roll out step can take months to complete.

Broadband news will highlight any additional incentives given by providers and councils for people to get this broadband. It should be remembered that there is no reason for a company to spend the money increasing the fibre network if no one is actually going to use it. That is why many councils have incentives and grants for people and businesses who choose to take high speed connections. These incentives will be outlined in press releases, which can be found on the broadband news websites.

Rural broadband
Many people who live in the rural country side will find that they have a problem connecting to the internet. There are a number of reasons for this.

Outside of the city the number of phone exchanges decreases. This means that those living far from the exchange will not be able to get ADSL internet, or will get extremely slow speeds on their connection. This often causes people to avoid ADSL as they pay the high premiums but get very low speeds.
Mobile coverage is patchy. We all know that when you travel through the country side you will lose mobile signal. This means that people living in rural villages will not be in the coverage zones for mobile broadband. Even if they are in the coverage zone the signal is generally too weak to be of much use.

Recent broadband news has shown that research is being done to help these people. The information mostly relates to the use of ‘white space on the radio network to transmit broadband signals. This means that the unused frequency bands of the radio will be used to allow people to get onto the internet.

Other news that relates to rural broadband is concerned with satellite broadband. This is a way that some rural inhabitants will get online if they absolutely need a decent connection and can stomach some extra expense to do so. This is considered a last resort by most people because it is slow the signal can be lost, and set up costs are normally between £300 and £700. There is news relating to this, details are emerging of how the broadband is going to be stabilised through the use of different frequencies.

The local broadband news highlighted to Sam Jones the fact that he was not getting value for money. He browsed uSwitch and other price comparison sites to get a better deal with faster speeds.

 

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