There are three different broadband checkers that you can use. The one that you should be using will depend on what it is you are checking. All checkers are around to help you find the best broadband you can. By using a broadband checker you will be able to see what speeds your area can support, what is actually available in your area and compare the different broadband deals. These checkers can be used at any time and many people use the broadband speed checker to ensure they are getting what they paid for.
Broadband speed checker
The first broadband checker that you should use is the broadband speed checker. Speed checkers are used by people in two different scenarios:
When they are looking to get broadband.
If they feel their broadband is not working at the correct speed.
When you are looking at get broadband you should complete a speed test. By doing this you will be able to determine which packages your phone line can support. While you might think that this is an unnecessary task you could be saving yourself a lot of frustration and money in the long run. Broadband packages with higher speeds will cost more. If your line cannot handle that speed you will be paying for something that you cant actually get.
If you feel your internet connection is not working at the speed it should a speed checker can help confirm this. Of course when you use this checker you should close any programme which would be using the internet. Video streaming should be closed and any downloads. If you do not close these applications the speed reading you get from the checker will not be accurate.
Speed checkers work in a few different ways. The most common way is that the checker downloads a file from the server and measures how long your connection takes to retrieve and download it. The size of the file retrieved from the server will vary depending on the speed of the line. While companies who have checkers have made them as accurate as they can be it is recommended that you perform the task a couple of times to get an average.
The results you get from the checker will be in megabytes per second. You will receive both upload and download speeds in the results from your checker.
Available broadband checker
If you are looking to get broadband for the first time you should use the broadband availability checker. These checkers will see what broadband is available in your area. The checker looks to see which providers are available in your area. To begin checking you will have to input certain pieces of data into the checker.
Your phone number
Your postcode
Your house number
Most checkers will only need one of these items and the majority of them will only ask you for your postcode.
The results you get from the checker will be a list. This list will be of all the service providers who operate in your area as well as the type of broadband they are offering. Service providers who offer ADSL connections will have ADSL or LLU after their name and fibre optic providers will have cable after their name.
The main reason why you should use these checkers is to determine which providers you should consider. This is particularly important if you are looking for your next broadband deal online. You may decide to go with one broadband deal only to find that you cannot get it in your area. This could be because the provider does not operate in the area or the infrastructure is not in place. By first finding out what is available you will save time by only looking at what you can get.
Broadband deal checkers
Broadband deal checkers can be found on their own or combined with a broadband availability checker. As the name would indicate these checkers see what deals you can get in the area. While you may be thinking that this is what the availability checker is for the results you get from a deal checker is different.
To use a deal checker you need to have certain pieces of information. However, like the availability checker most of these programmes just as for the postcode. You can also choose if you are looking for home or business deals. Once you have entered your information you just have to click on the check button.
The results you get from these checkers can be basic pr complex depending on the checker. Checkers that are combination of available and deals give more information than a deal only checker. The combination checker will tell you what types of internet you can get and many of them will tell you the exchange you are with. After this information the results will list the deals you can get in your area.
The deal results are usually divided into different groups to make it easier to read. These groups are usually:
ADSL broadband
Cable or fibre optic broadband
Broadband and TV bundles
Mobile broadband
The results will list the service provider and what is offered with the deal including costs, data limits and speeds. There will generally be a link on the results page which takes you through to the deal on the service providers website.
Problems with checkers
While broadband checkers can help you in a number of ways you need to know about any accuracy problems or other problems they may have.
The most important problem you need to know about is accuracy. On the speed checker accuracy can be affected by programs running in the background and the number of devices connected to the broadband. If you run a check while someone else on the network is downloading you will not get accurate results. Many availability and deal checkers state that using your postcode alone will not give the most accurate results. May recommend including your phone number as well for the best results.
Sam Jones used an online broadband checker to make sure that he was getting the service he was paying for. He knew that changing to a better service would be easy with the help of uSwitch, the online comparison site.
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