Vote in our broadband speeds poll

I've added a new poll to www.ukbroadbandfinder.com. Take our free speed test and then let us know how fast your broadband download speed is - compared to what the advertised download speed on your broadband package is.

Actual broadband speeds can be reduced by several factors, particularly distance from the exchange. They can also vary according to time of day which means it is useful to take several speed tests, over time. So start checking your broadband speed now and then vote in our poll.

By Sarah at UK Broadband Finder

Speed up your internet

if you are stuck on dial-up with no prospect of getting broadband via your phone line or cable in the near future, you can still speed up your broadband.

ONSPEED is an internet accelerator that speeds up your dial-up. You could end up with a dial up service ten times faster than what you have currently.

Your connection speed will stay the same but ONSPEED will reduce the size of a webpage you view, which means it can download to your machine that much faster.

OnSpeed also works for broadband internet connections up to 2 Mb, and mobile internet. Great news if you are in contract with a broadband provider at 512k, 1 Mb or 2 Mb, and your current broadband provider won't upgrade you (or there are other factors affecting your internet speed).

It is £24.99 a year and you are not tied into any contract - this is in addition to any dial up, broadband or mobile broadband charges you are paying.

If you are on a slow broadband package, or you suspect you may have an underperfoming broadband connection, you can test your current broadband speed for free on my broadband availability website UK Broadband Finder.

Then check out internet accelerator ONSPEED and speed up your dial up, up to 2 Mb broadband package or mobile internet connection.

Or visit my lastest post on my "official" UK broadband Finder website blog, which has tips on maximising your broadband speed.

By Sarah, at UK Broadband Finder

Check your broadband speed for free

With so many broadband packages out there offering superfast download speeds of up to 8 Meg, 10 Meg and now up to 24 Mb (with Be - sadly only available in a few areas of the UK - you can check on the Be website whether you can get Be broadband from your exchange) it can seem like a no-brainer that anyone on a 1Mb or 2 Mb package should switch, but for one aspect...

...you've probably also heard that magic phrase "up to" that precedes every advertised broadband package speed. There are several reasons why you may not be experiencing the advertised broadband download speed on your own broadband connection, including your distance from your BT exchange (if you have ADSL broadband), the quality of the wires going into your house, even how many people share the network connection from the exchange (the contention ratio).

If you have an existing broadband package, you can check your broadband download and upload speeds with our FREE broadband speed test on our website www.ukbroadbandfinder.com. (You can take this test as often as you like, and find out if your broadband speeds change at different times of day). You can find out more about broadband speeds in our article How fast is your broadband... really? which includes Five ways to turn around a slow broadband speed test result.

Then you can decide whether to stick with your existing broadband package, change to a new package or broadband provider, or even try a broadband accelerator such as ONSPEED to speed up your broadband or dial up.

By Sarah, at UK Broadband Finder