Christmas tree fairy lights 'could slow down broadband speeds'

Festive drain: Ofcom said fairly lights could slow down broadband
Rex
Robin de Peyer1 December 2015

Fairy lights on Christmas trees could lead to slower broadband speeds, a communications watchdog has warned.

Ofcom estimated that up to six million homes and offices could improve their broadband connection as “interference” from other devices slowed down wireless networks.

It cited electronic goods such as baby monitors, microwave ovens and even festive fairly lights as possible causes for slower speeds.

The warning came as it launched a new app to test Wifi connections in homes.

The free Wi-Fi Checker app, for smartphones and tablets, allows homeowners to test the quality of their internet signal and suggests ways to enhance it.

Ofcom also released research which found more than a quarter of homes in the UK have "superfast" broadband connection of more than 30MB per second - an increase to 7.5 million households from six million last year.

But higher-speed broadband is available in fewer than two in five homes in rural areas, the regulator found.

And around eight per cent of households – about 2.4 million - cannot receive a connection with speeds of more than 10MB per second, a figure which rises to nearly half of houses in rural areas.

This was often because caused by remote houses "lying further from the network's local street cabinet or local telephone exchange", Ofcom said.

Small businesses were struggling in particular with slower connections, as almost half are unable to achieve more than 10MB per second, and the watchdog estimated that by 2017 around 18 per cent will still be unable to access superfast services.

According to the report, a 10MB per second connection was a "tipping point" above which customers rated their broadband as "good".

Meanwhile, "ultrafast" broadband, with speeds of more than 300MB per second, was available to around 500,000 homes in the UK.

Mobile 4G coverage has also increased across the major networks from 44 per cent in 2014 to 73 per cent this year, with data use on mobile growing at a faster rate than on fixed wireless networks.

Sharon White, Ofcom chief executive, said: "Mobile and broadband have become the fourth essential service, alongside gas, electricity and water. There's been a technological revolution over recent years, with 4G mobile and superfast continuing to extend across the country.

"Our challenge is to keep supporting competition and innovation, while also helping to improve coverage across the country - particularly in hard-to-reach areas, where mobile and home internet services need to improve.

"It's vital that consumers have the tools they need, such as the new Wi-Fi Checker, to get the most out of their communications."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT