The average UK household’s broadband struggles to cope with the simultaneous use of popular streaming services like Apple TV, BT Sports, Snapchat and Amazon Music, making it hard for families across the UK to use the internet the way they want to.
The minimum broadband requirements for everyday household apps like Netflix, Apple Music, Zoom and Xbox Live, could exceed average broadband speeds if used simultaneously at peak times, according to data collated by rural full-fibre broadband provider, Gigaclear. The cumulative broadband requirements will only increase further with the rising popularity of internet-connected devices, such as smart doorbells and thermostats. The result being service interruptions and quality issues.
The national average broadband speed in the UK is 50.4Mbps, according to Ofcom, but that figure is brought up by full-fibre (FTTP) infrastructure, which has average download speeds of 145.4Mbps but can achieve download speeds of 1Gbps. Part-fibre (FTTC) and copper (ADSL) infrastructure are comparatively much slower, with average speeds of 42.6Mbps and 10.7Mbps respectively. All of these speeds will also vary at peak times and can be impacted by the usage of neighbouring properties, as well as WiFi spec and signal.
Many rural areas of the country and even some towns, as was the case in Haddenham and Thame, have previously only had ADSL and part-fibre broadband options. This means modern internet usage is simply not as feasible for local residents until the infrastructure is upgraded.
TV streaming apps such as Disney+ recommend broadband speeds of 25Mbps minimum just to stream to one device in Ultra High Definition, while Netflix suggests a minimum of 15Mbps for 4K streaming. Even short-form streaming apps such as YouTube require 20Mbps for UHD, while BBC’s iPlayer (5Mbps) and the ITV hub (3Mbps) are more bandwidth-friendly. BT Sport is the most bandwidth-intensive of the streaming services, requiring 30Mbps to enjoy it in all its 4K HDR glory, meaning residents in Haddenham and Thame would struggle to enjoy the service in this way without a full fibre connection.
Among music apps, Amazon Music, Apple Music and Tidal require speeds of 7.5Mbps for their Ultra HD, Hi-Resolution Lossless and Hi-Fi options respectively.
Gaming consoles require 3Mbps to 8Mbps for online gaming but all recommend a connection of at least 25Mbps for an interruption-free experience. Social apps with a heavy emphasis on streaming, such as Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook Live are also bandwidth-intensive, and video calling software, such as Zoom, requires a minimum of 6Mbps.
Gigaclear General Manager, Ben Woods, says, “When we stream, game and download, we want less lag and fewer interruptions. When you consider that the average UK household has two to three occupants, you can see how these intensive bandwidth needs might start to strain broadband services at peak times, not to mention how it impacts a family with teenagers. For those living in well-connected towns and cities, this is not much of a problem because we can just switch to an internet contract with more bandwidth, but there are places in rural England with speeds as slow as 1Mbps and no other options. That’s why Gigaclear is building ultrafast full-fibre broadband to these areas of up to 900mbps.”
Click here for the full breakdown of popular apps’ bandwidth needs. Gigaclear’s ultrafast full-fibre broadband is now available in Haddenham & Thame. To find out if your property can connect to Gigaclear’s ultrafast full fibre network, please visit www.gigaclear.com and use the postcode checker.
Gigaclear offers industry leading FTTP broadband packages starting at £17 per month for 200Mbps, frozen until October 2023.
Over an 18-month contract period, new Gigaclear customers would benefit from faster broadband speed and make a saving of £269 when compared to BT Fibre 2’s 67Mbps, an FTTC service which currently costs £31.99 per month*.
