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Tech Labour Manifesto Pledges: 5G, Broadband, AI and More

On the 4th July we saw the Labour party secure a landslide victory in the election, with Sir Keir Starmer becoming our new Prime Minister.

With the recent Microsoft problems that saw the UK digital world crash rather spectacularly,  we thought we’d take a little look at the top 5 tech policies promised by the Labour Party in its manifesto, including Digital Infrastructure, Broadband & 5G, AI Regulation & Investment, Cyber Security and Tech Innovation. 

Labour Manifesto and Digital Infrastructure

  • Digital Infrastructure will be given a boost by developing a 10-year infrastructure strategy. This will benefit mobile and broadband networks, AI, and data centres.
  • Approval processes will be streamlined for nationally important designated projects and data centres by easing planning restrictions. 
  • Restarting the economy with a new industrial strategy, designed to supercharge the tech and digital sectors. 
  • Overcome previous planning blocks by supporting the construction of data centres on brownfield sites.

Plans for Broadband and 5G in the Labour Manifesto

  • Target ambition of having national 5G coverage and full gigabit accessibility by 2030 to have a renewed push. 
  • Encourage cooperative building between networks and greater infrastructure sharing by working alongside Ofcom. 
  • Continue to support the last governments Project Gigabit broadband roll-out program.
  • In addition to the above, address the slow roll-out of gigabit broadband under the Conservative government.

Regulation and Investment for AI

  • Labour plans to introduce binding regulations on companies developing powerful AI models and give the AI Safety Institute statutory footing.
  • The creation of sexually explicit deep fakes will be banned and safe AI development will be ensured through comprehensive legislation.
  • They will use the industrial strategy to support the development of the AI sector.
  • New laws will be introduced to regulate AI companies, ensuring ethical AI practices.

What Has Labour Got Planned for Cyber Security

  • Labour will address cyber attacks and misinformation campaigns by conducting a Strategic Defence Review within the first year.
  • Policing techniques will be modernised by integrating new technologies into law enforcement to keep pace with modern threats
  • Critical infrastructure will be protected by developing a comprehensive cyber defence strategy.
  • Labour is committed to ensuring the UK is fully prepared to deal with hybrid warfare, including cyber-attacks.

Tech Innovation and Regulation with the Labour Party in Power

  • In order to help regulators update regulations and speed up approval timelines for new technologies, a new Regulatory Innovation Office will be created. 
  • In order to help harness new technologies and advise businesses, an Industrial Strategy Council will be set up.  
  • The construction of laboratories, digital infrastructure, and giga-factories will be facilitated by modernising national planning policy. 
  • Barriers to growth will be removed and opportunities seized by working in partnership with industry. 

What’s Next?

We’ve seen first hand over the past few days how important digital infrastructure is and how much we all rely on it to go about our daily lives – From paying for groceries, to travelling, to simply trying to log on to be able to start a days work. It’s likely you’ve been affected some way or another by the most recent Microsoft outage. And whilst that was supposedly down to an operating system crash, it’s clear Labour need to follow the tech pledges they have made in their manifesto and commit to following through with those promises. 

Here at Geekabit we’re most interested in connectivity and keeping up to date with how we can help businesses and large private residences stay reliably connected – Whether they’re based in the city or in a more rural, remote location. Will we see national 5G coverage and full gigabit accessibility by 2030? We’ll have to wait and see. 

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2023 Internet Failures Lost UK Businesses £3.7bn, Survey Claims 

Business Broadband ISP Beaming recently commissioned a survey by Censuswide where UK based businesses were asked about their business broadband connections. 

The survey claimed that the surveyed businesses reported over 50 million lost hours due to internet failures in 2023, equating to a loss of £3.7 billion. 

Reductions in Time Lost, But a Soar in Associated Costs

Interestingly however, over the last 5 years the time businesses have lost has dropped by a fifth.

In 2023, the survey estimates that UK businesses experienced a cumulative 8.8 million internet failures, culminating in 50.5 million hours of downtime disrupting business processes, the ability to trade and impairing access to vital services. This is down from 60 million hours back in 2018. 

Despite a reduction in hours of downtime, the survey claims that the cost of this downtime has increased from £742m in 2018 to £3.7bn in 2023. 

Thankfully, things like the adoption of full fibre lines and improvements in broadband and network connection technologies does mean that incidents of internet downtime and failures are less common. 

On the flip side however, businesses are relying more and more on reliable connectivity for business process, operations and trading which we’ve seen increase over the last 5 years. This means that the cost of this downtime through missed sales, lost productivity and other business disruptions has risen by a whopping 400%. 

15% of UK businesses lose money as soon as connectivity fails

The survey highlighted an increased dependence on connectivity, with businesses relying on a strong connection for things like:

  • Communication
  • E-commerce
  • Access to cloud applications

This means that approximately 850,000 UK businesses would start to lose money the very moment their connectivity fails. 

Compared to 5 years ago, this is 81,000 more firms. 

39% of UK businesses would lose money during an 8-hour outage

If a business were to have an 8-hour internet outage, in other words a standard working day, 39% of UK businesses would lose money. This is an increase of 5% from 34% in 2018, and equates to 240,000 companies across the UK. 

Financial losses begin from 6 hour internet failures

The survey found that the median time for financial losses to begin following an internet failure is 6 hours for businesses with employees. This was true for employers of all sizes, from micro-companies (2-10 employees) to big businesses with more than 250 staff members. 

Internet disruptions worst for SME’s

During 2023, it was found that SME’s were hit the hardest by internet disruptions. 

They experienced an average of 3-4 failures culminating in 19 hours of downtime each. For those working a standard 8-hour day and 5-day week, more than 2 working days a year were lost to internet downtime. 

Biggest financial impact of internet downtime on Hospitality, IT and Manufacturing sectors

The sectors most affected by internet failures and downtime were found to be hospitality, IT and manufacturing. These sectors suffered the biggest financial impact. 

Hospitality businesses lost on average 27 hours to internet downtime in 2023, with businesses in the IT sector losing an estimated £555 million because of connectivity failures. 

A Couple of Caveats

As always with studies like these, there are a couple of cautions to take into consideration.

The study doesn’t explicitly define what an ‘internet failure’ actually is, so that could be anything from a problem with a site’s broadband ISP connection to a local network failure in an office. 

These different issues have likely been lumped together for the purposes of this survey. 

It’s also important to remember that Beaming being a UK based business ISP proves a vested interest in the results of this survey. 

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International Broadband Scorecard Comparison Scrapped by Ofcom UK

Do you wonder how the UK fares against other European countries in regards to broadband and mobile connectivity? Well, you might have to wonder a bit more. 

Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, carries out various reports on performance, looking at things like UK broadband and mobile connectivity compared with other major EU economies like France, Germany, Spain, Italy etc. 

However, it seems that Ofcom have covertly scrapped their annual international comparison despite having been publishing it since back in 2013 when they began the International Broadband Scorecard. 

The report examined various connectivity benchmarks within fixed and mobile broadband performances across different countries, such as:

  • Network availability
  • Take-up
  • Use 
  • Prices  

This then enabled them to measure and compare them with the relative performance of the UK. 

Where did the data come from?

Ofcom normally relied on Omdia-Informa Tech, a third party provider, to supply the data for the non-UK countries included in the report. 

However, as this data is available from Omdia-Informa Tech (as well as other similar telecoms research companies) to anyone who is prepared to pay a fee, Ofcom decided that them stopping their publication of the data would not hinder stakeholders and the like from being able to benchmark the UK broadband offering against the international market themselves.

Scrapping of International Broadband Scorecard a Cost-Cutting Measure?

It would seem to us that this move to scrap the report is likely a cost-cutting measure. This is unfortunate as the reporting was a useful point of comparison to see how the UK was doing in regards to broadband and mobile connectivity on an annual basis when compared without our European counterparts. 

Despite the fact that Ofcom rarely promotes their reports which meant the information they provided was often missed, they have provided some handy and relevant information in past years. 

Can I get the Broadband and Mobile Connectivity Data Somewhere Else?

Thankfully, yes! There is an annual report published from the European Commission that goes some way to compare the UK with EU countries on Broadband and Mobile connectivity (you can find the latest one here). 

If you want to check out the latest summary from the final Scorecard from Ofcom for 2023 (with data from the latter part of 2022) the interactive report is online here. 

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Top UK Mobile Networks for H2 2023 Revealed by RootMetrics Benchmark

How did UK mobile networks perform in the second half of 2023 when it comes to 4G, 5G and mobile broadband?

RootMetrics (now an Ookla company), a mobile analyst firm, has not long published their latest benchmark study of UK mobile networks (4G and 5G) and mobile broadband performance for H2 2023. 

RootMetrics offers scientifically collected and crowdsourced mobile network performance information to consumers and the industry. The firm captures user information by testing network performance when consumers are using their mobile phone for voice or data communications. 

Results of the latest biannual benchmarking report which once again see EE (BT) come out on top against their UK network rivals at Vodafone, Three UK and O2 (VMO2). 

Which UK mobile network is the best for 4G/5G?

When it comes to 5G performance, the picture painted by this recent report isn’t so clear-cut.

This latest study used data from a 5G-enabled, latest model of Samsung smartphone (the actual model was not disclosed in the report). It was purchased from operator stores and tested for both 4G and 5G performance across all 4 primary UK operators within 16 of the most populated UK cities. 

In summary, the study consisted of:

  • 1 latest model Samsung smartphone
  • 4 primary UK mobile operators
  • 16 UK cities
  • 634,942 tests across hundreds of locations
  • 788 locations were indoor
  • 24,179 miles driven during both the day and night

Results were divided into the following categories:

  • Network reliability
  • Speed
  • Data
  • Call and text quality

Scores were given out of 100 (100 being the highest score). As you can see from the data representation from RootMetrics below, EE came out on top across all categories, while VMO2 were found at the bottom of most. 

Interestingly, every one of the 4 primary UK operators saw a decrease in their overall scores when compared to the last RootMetrics report 6 months prior. 

The Overall Scores for H2 2023 (vs H1 2023), in order of best to worst, are:

1. EE – 94.2 (down from 95.9)
2. Vodafone – 90.1 (down from 92)
3. Three UK – 89.3 (down from 90.2)
4. O2 – 86.4 (down from 86.7)

So which is the best UK mobile network? When we look at the average (median) UK download speeds for both 4G and 5G networks, then the strongest data speeds were delivered by EE (68.6Mbps, which was up from 65.1Mbps in the last report).

Vodafone also saw an increase in data speeds, increasing to 34.5Mbps (from 29.4Mbps). Despite O2 improving their data speed score from 15.5Mbps to 19.9Mbps, they still scored the bottom of the 4 providers. Just behind Vodafone to take 3rd place, Three UK fell slightly to 32.3Mbps (down from 34.7Mbps). 

How is 5G performing on UK networks so far?

However, when we look purely at 5G networks, we see a bit of a different picture emerge when compared to the previous report for the first half of 2023. 

Whereas H1 2023 saw Three UK as the fastest median 5G download performance, that award now goes to EE. O2 were unfortunately at the bottom with a score well below the other 3 primary UK networks. The scores for median download speeds for 5G from the H2 2023 report were:

  1. EE – 174.1 Mbps
  2. Three – 165.7 Mbps
  3. Vodafone – 158.3 Mbps
  4. O2 – 68.7 Mbps

What is the availability of 5G on UK mobile network providers? 

As well as 5G speeds, the availability of 5G across UK networks was also tested. 

All 4 of the UK mobile network providers had 5G availability of over 52% during this latest UK wide testing. 

The UK providers in order of 5G availability are:

  1. Three – 57.6%
  2. O2 – 54.5%
  3. EE – 52.3%
  4. Vodafone – 41.9%

You can find more data below for particular regions as well as the most improved cities. 

What can we take away from this report on 5G speed and availability on UK mobile network operators?

So it would seem that even though EE has the fastest 5G speeds, that 5G connection is less available than that of its competitors Three and O2. 

Despite coming second place in terms of speed, Three weren’t too far behind EE and are also slightly more available. 

O2 might have decent 5G availability, but the speed of that connection is pretty dire according to this latest report. 

In terms of 5G speed, Vodafone aren’t too far behind rivals EE and Three, however they are at the bottom of the pile with the lowest 5G availability. 

What more would we like to know about 4G/5G connections across the UK mobile networks? 

If you’d like to read more on this and see further data, head to the full report from RootMetrics UK Mobile Performance Review 2H 2023 here. 

Whilst this review does shine a light on 5G speeds across the UK and how UK mobile networks are performing, it does only give select information. 

It would be interesting to also see how the networks perform when it comes to upload speeds and latency using 4G/5G connections. 

As you can see from the review, there seems to be a strong focus on urban areas across the bigger cities in the UK. Here at Geekabit we talk a lot about the struggles of rural businesses and more remote locations that still need strong 4G/5G mobile broadband connections. Some more data on the performance of UK mobile networks in these areas would be beneficial and would give a clearer picture of 4G/5G availability and speed across the UK as a whole. 

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Connections Boosted by VMO2 5G Drones for Search and Rescue Missions

Here at Geekabit we talk a lot about the problems that rural areas face when it comes to connectivity – Whether it’s mobile or broadband. 

Mostly we’re talking about businesses and homes that struggle with more traditional forms of broadband internet connectivity as well as mobile broadband options. 

But what about organisations that rely on connectivity outside the normal 4 walls of business premises?

For Search and Rescue teams, staying connected couldn’t be more vital. Yet, they’re often plunged into rural and remote locations trying to find someone missing and potentially hurt. 

So how can we make sure that these Search and Rescue teams stay connected with their base and are able to utilise location data? 

Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has come up with just the solution. They’ve recently developed a 5G-connected drone that is specifically designed to bolster the communication that is so vital to Search and Rescue teams. 

Who is trialling this 5G drone for Search and Rescue teams? 

The first Search and Rescue team to trial VMO2’s 5G drone is Warwickshire Search and Rescue team.

As we said above, communication in remote and vast terrains is absolutely vital but can be a challenge for Search and Rescue teams. As the work of these teams is so time critical, it’s essential that their effectiveness is unhindered by communication and connectivity problems. 

As a Lowland Rescue Unit, the Warwickshire Search and Rescue team play a vital role in locating vulnerable missing persons alongside the police. 

With a 45% increase in callouts between 2020 and 2022, the demand for their services continues to surge with 65 callouts in 2023 – That’s more than 1 per week. 

How does VMO2’s 5G drone work?

The 5G Technical Trials Team over at VMO2 saw this need for critical connectivity and devised a portable solution that uses a network of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The portability and compactness of the tech means that it’s small enough to be integrated into a drone. Ideal for vast, remote spaces. 

This easy-to-deploy drone acts like a flying mobile phone mast, enabling Search and Rescue teams to stay connected via seamless 5G connectivity regardless of their location.

What do VMO2 have to say?

Here at Geekabit we love to see how innovative thinking and technological advancements combine to create fresh ideas and impactful solutions to a whole range of problems. 

Head of Technical Trials for Virgin Media O2, David Owens, says:

“This project is a further example of how fresh-thinking and 5G technologies can be combined to provide real societal benefits.

“The solution has the potential to transform how search and rescue teams operate and respond to life-threatening situations, enabling them to make faster and more decisive decisions. We’re enormously proud that our connectivity will be able to help these teams to save lives.”

What do Warwickshire Search and Rescue make of the 5G drone?

Trustee and Search Technician at Warwickshire Search and Rescue, Steve Brown says: 

“With more and more callouts each year, this drone with mobile connectivity is a powerful tool for our team to understand and assess a situation immediately, saving crucial time in life-threatening situations.

“It means we will always be connected, ensuring seamless communication and efficient coordination throughout our missions. As a result of this, we will connect the unreachable, save lives, and inspire a new era of technological possibilities.”

There’s no doubt that this innovative use of 5G mobile connectivity is a fantastic example of how technology can be used in even the most hard-to-reach places. 

In the UK, someone is reported missing every 90 seconds. The more swiftly that person can be located, the better the outcome. For those that have gone missing in a remote area, a Search and Rescue team that can stay reliably connected will be a huge advantage. 

As Portfolio Holder for Fire & Rescue and Community Safety at Warwickshire County Council, Councillor Andy Crump said: 

“The Warwickshire Search and Rescue team do such vital work for our local community by assisting the police in searching for missing people. 

“This new solution from Virgin Media O2 will help the team on these missions and ultimately save many lives. It is further evidence of the positive impact improved connectivity can have upon our society.”

We’re looking forward to seeing how 5G drones and satellite broadband technology can be accessed in more remote areas and rural locations.

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Jan 2024 – FTTP Broadband Advanced Installs Launching from Openreach 

From the 2nd January 2024, those ordering an Openreach FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) broadband ISP product will be able to get their new ‘Advanced Connection’ service.

This service will be leaving its pilot phase and launching fully on the 2nd January, providing an option for situations where installation is a bit more complex than usual.  

Although this has already been implemented on other broadband products, this ‘Advanced Connection’ option from this operator is quite a recent addition. 

This ‘Advanced Connection’ on FTTP lines has been piloted by Openreach since July last year, and is now ready to launch at the beginning of January to the wider public. 

How much does an Openreach installation cost?

Did you know that an Openreach installation costs from £114.78+VAT? There are a couple of options available when installing a FTTP broadband connection..

Standard Openreach Installation

On a consumer broadband line, the Standard FTTP Openreach installation will generally cost a one-off price of £114.78+VAT*. 

This only covers the basics.  

Premium Openreach Installation

For more choice, the Premium Openreach installation gives consumers more options when it comes to the connectivity inside their home or premises. 

Things like: 

  • Router repositioning
  • Wi-Fi analysis
  • More extensive testing

These options help to optimise the connectivity. 

This Premium option costs £154.78+VAT*.

What if it’s a difficult Openreach install?

The new ‘Advanced Connection’ installation provides an option for more complicated setups where a standard Openreach install isn’t an option for that property. 

The cost of the new ‘Advanced Connection’ will cost ISP’s £289.78. As this is quite a significant cost, this is likely to be passed onto the customer. 

This new option for more complicated Openreach installations is most likely to be useful for businesses and public sector users. The cost for these types of premises have a much higher connection charge. 

Some homes that are particularly tricky may also benefit from this new ‘Advanced Connection’ option. 

ISP Charges

As Wi-Fi engineers ourselves, we think it’s useful to know what the charges are to the actual ISP, so that consumers can better understand the costs that they then are quoted for Wi-Fi work. 

Especially when it comes to an Openreach difficult install or people wanting to move their BT master socket. 

* The price charged by ISP’s may vary to those quoted, as there are often discounts and other considerations. Some ISP’s offer the standard installation option free of charge. 

What Are The Capabilities of the ‘Advanced Connection’ Openreach Installation? 

Available from the 2nd January 2024, this new ‘Advanced Connection’ option from Openreach will offer wider capabilities compared to the Standard and Premium installations. 

‘Advanced Connection’ Openreach connection benefits:

  • From where the Openreach network connects to the premises, up to 100 metres of internal wiring is offered
  • The option for more complex cabling for example, through multiple walls, or new cable trunking
  • Utilising existing horizontal or vertical cable trays 
  • Ability to go through ceiling or floor tiles (that are accessible and removable)
  • Utilising in-situ structured cabling to provide the service
  • The option to connect to existing structured cabling in the building, with a preference for NTE (Network Termination Equipment) or ONT (Optical Network Terminal) install location, for example in the comms room
  • Where installs require more than the 100m of internal wiring that is included, an installation with Excess Construction Charges can be applied to pay for the additional work required
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Broadband ISP
Over Half of Broadband Users Have Woeful Connection, Survey Says 

Which? Have recently surveyed nearly 4000 broadband customers from differing Internet Service Providers to find out what issues customers are facing when it comes to staying connected. 

Internet issues like slow speeds and connections that dropped out were rather commonplcae over the past year, with 53% of respondents saying they had experienced some kind of connection issue. 

And the worst ISP on the list? Sky Broadband. 

Which ISP’s Are the Worst?

Of the 12 ISP’s listed in the survey, Sky Broadband (32%), Virgin Media (35%) and EE (37%) had the lowest percentage of customers reporting ‘no issues.’ 

Out of the most well known Internet Service Providers, BT came off the best, with nearly half (49%) of survey customers not experiencing a single connection issue in the past year. 

Similarly, Hyperoptic, Shell Energy and Utility Warehouse also did well with at least half of their customers (if not more) also reporting 12 whole months (January 2022 to January 2023) without a single performance issue. 

However, of the rest of the customer’s, at least 4 in 10 did experience at least one issue in the survey period. 

What are the Most Common Broadband Issues?

The most commonly reported connection problem in the survey was ‘frequent drop outs’ which affected 19% of the respondents. 

Almost as prevalent amongst the reported internet issues was ‘a very slow speed’ and a connection that was ‘slow to download or upload files’ (17% and 15% respectively). 

How Does This Survey Compare to Ofcom Stats?

Data from Ofcom actually paint quite a different picture when it comes to the service of internet providers. 

Official complaints to Ofcom about ISP’s have Sky as one of the providers that have the least issues from customers. According to Ofcom data, Shell Energy were the worst offender. 

It’s important to remember that Ofcom data is based on actual complaints from disgruntled customers. The survey by Which? surveyed just under 4000 customers of various ISP’s and was somewhat more anecdotal. 

We also need to bear in mind that not all of the issues reported in the survey could purely be down to bad broadband. Home networks can be affected by poor configuration (placing your router somewhere silly, for example), local network congestion, poor Wi-Fi (the transmission of the signal from the router to the device). There are scenarios where it wouldn’t be the ISP’s fault, so the survey would need to take a bit of a closer look. 

What do the ISP’s Have to Say in Response to the Which? Survey?

Here’s what the ISP’s have to say on the topic.

A spokesperson for Sky said:

“We are committed to providing the best service to our customers. We do not believe this is a representative survey – Ofcom’s quarterly complaints data shows we are consistently one of the least complained about broadband providers and, in Ofcom’s latest report, we received the fewest complaints out of all broadband providers.”

A spokesperson for Virgin Media said:

“While these findings are only taken from a small sample of customers, the latest, fuller data from Ofcom shows that our customers benefit from the fastest download speeds, and customer complaints on our broadband services fell by 22% in the first quarter of this year. Only last month we were rated the ‘Best in Test’ in Umlaut’s broadband benchmarking survey, ahead of other major providers.

With demand for connectivity higher than ever, we’re investing billions of pounds each year to upgrade and improve our networks to ensure we’re providing our customers with fast and reliable broadband services they can rely on. Customers are receiving more value than ever from their telecoms services, and we continue to invest in every area of our business to ensure we continue to improve and deliver an excellent customer experience.”

A spokesperson for EE said:

“Ofcom’s latest complaints report shows that we remain one of the least complained about broadband providers, with complaints remaining well below the industry average throughout recent years.

We remain committed to providing the best customer service across the industry and ensuring our customers get value for money as the UK’s best network. Our teams across the UK and Ireland already provide the most personal and local service in contact centres and retail stores across the country.

We have proudly led the way with social tariffs since 2008, with around 80% of the total market being supported on BT social tariffs. Customers who are struggling financially and are eligible for our social tariffs can move penalty-free at any point in their contract, this also includes EE and Plusnet customers.”

CEO of Zen Internet, said:

“Our industry unfortunately has a poor reputation for managing customer expectations and being transparent with communications, and introducing price rises mid-contract at a time when everyone is struggling with household bills does nothing to improve this. With price rises based on a 10.1% CPI rate, and the above inflation addition of typically 3.9%, that amounts to a substantial additional burden to household budgets.

We are not immune to the inflationary forces impacting supply chains and wages, but we all recognise that customers need as fair a deal as we can offer. Zen’s response to this challenge for residential customers is the Contract Price Promise – a promise not to increase prices for the length of the contract period.

When it comes to customer service, Zen was the only provider to score four stars in all seven categories in the Which? survey – connection speed and reliability, customer service, value for money, technical support, ease/speed of contact and ease of set up. We have topped the table for eight years and are the only Which? Recommended Provider for Broadband. It’s not always easy, but we will always work to ensure we provide an industry leading service and support our customers when they need it most, rather than prioritising profit-driven price hikes that only benefit shareholders.”

CEO and Co-Founder of Lit Fibre, said:

“The findings from the Which? report published yesterday are not surprising. Broadband providers have become complacent regarding poor customer service. Taking time to explain how customers can get the best experience ‘in home’ from their wifi setup is also top of our agenda as we know most customers need our expertise with this.

At Lit Fibre we put customer service and reliable internet first from the outset, it’s the bare minimum we think customers should be expecting. We’ve earnt our 5 stars on Trustpilot by providing customers with a consistently high quality and personal service, an average call pick-up time of 20 seconds, no bots and no mid-contract price hikes, so we know it’s possible for the industry to do so much better.”

How’s Your Broadband?

Which side of the fence would you be sat on – No internet issues, or frustratingly slow speeds and drop outs?

If you’re experiencing Wi-Fi woes and your broadband just isn’t cutting it, get in touch with one of our Wi-Fi engineers today. 

Whether your home and business are in a rural area and you’re struggling for a broadband connection, or your office broadband is buffering and inhibiting your business productivity – We can help.

Our expert Wi-Fi engineers can make sure you get the connection you need – Whether it’s mobile broadband via 4G or better placed routers and AP’s.

Contact us today and let’s get you better connected. 

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What is the ‘Fibre in Water’ Trial and Will Fibre Broadband Run Through Water Mains?

For the past year, the DSIT have been trialling ‘Fibre in Water’ in Yorkshire. Fibre has been run along 17km between Barnsley and Penistone to see whether fibre optic (FTTP) broadband cables could be deployed through live water mains. 

The £6.2m trial has just completed its first phase, with the DSIT releasing current progress and what they’ve learned so far, with one year left to go of the trial. 

The theory behind the ‘fibre in water’ trial is that fibre broadband could reach 8,500 more rural homes and businesses without needing to do disruptive and costly street works. Not only that, the fibre could provide capacity to local 5G mobile masts as well as monitor any leakages on the network. 

What is ‘Fibre in Water’?

The main concept behind ‘Fibre in Water’ is to deploy fibre optic cables through live drinking water mains, monitoring them for leakage. It would also mean that broadband companies could use the water network to deliver gigabit connections to any homes and businesses along the water route that the cables were deployed in. 

If you’re wondering whether it’s safe to be putting fibre-optic cables alongside water, then don’t worry! The fibre cables will be inside ‘messenger pipes’ to make sure that they don’t touch the water and are protected. 

The messenger pipe is deployed whilst water is in normal operation so that the pressure can be used to deploy an initial draw line. The installation is completed by blowing the fibre-optic cable into the messenger pipe. 

What do they hope to achieve with the ‘Fibre in Water’ project?

The £6.2m project began in 2021 and is expected to reach completion in 2024 – Taking it from a pilot schemed to facilitate delivery. The aim is to deliver advanced broadband and mobile services to rural locations via mains water. 

Led by the DSIT (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology), the project is also supported by Defra (Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs) as well as the Geospatial Commission. 

There are various objectives to the ‘Fibre to Water’ project, a few of these are:

  • To support the Project Gigabit and Shared Rural Network schemes by connecting the hardest to reach areas of the UK with advanced fixed and mobile services (such as gigabit, 4G and 5G)
  • To reduce the amount of clean water leakage from the water mains (approximately 3 billion litres of clean water is lost per day)
  • To support the digital transformation of the water industry in the UK

What are the challenges of the ‘Fibre to Water’ project?

This project sees the merging of two separate industries, so is of course going to meet its challenges. 

It’s a complex endeavour to safely bring together fibre-optic cables and water pipes in one place. Hence why DSIT, Defra and Geospatial Commission are all involved. Not only does it have to meet regulatory frameworks but also has to reflect a sensible cost for all bodies. 

Project TAWCO was formed – Telecoms and Water Combined Operations – Consisting of Yorkshire Water, Commsworld (telecoms operator), the University of Strathclyde as a research organisation and Arcadis as a Design and Engineering Consultancy. 

They proposed a route that would enable them to put the operational and commercial models to the test – Going from Barnsley to Penistoke. 

What does the ‘Fibre in Water’ project consist of? 

The project is split into 3 phases, the first of which has just reached completion. 

Phase 1

This phase has focused on the research and investigation elements to inform later deployment. It had to look at the technical, commercial, legal and maintenance aspects of everything – as well as the benefits – before being able to present findings to the government. Only then can it move into Phase 2 and 3. 

Phase 2

The second phase will look at the design and build elements of the project, including deployment of the final design. It will also include data collection and the accrual of benefits. 

Phase 3

The final phase will evaluate how the project has performed and how it can be scaled up in line with the analysis results from Phase 2, with a view of rolling out this solution on a national scale. 

What has been learnt from the 1st phase of the ‘Fibre in Water’ project?

Now that the first phase is coming to a close, the project has shown that this is a successful model, commercially viable, between the two industries. 

It would seem that there is an investment opportunity for fibre in water, with a host of benefits for not only the industries but customers too. 

European markets are seeing expansion in this area, with a rise in fibre in water technology and monitoring software solutions. More suppliers here in the UK are looking to gain approval for their offerings. As with all industries, competition in this area will drive innovation and technical improvements further as well as keep prices down.

The telecoms market is a competitive one, so Fibre in Water is likely to be another way for these companies to get broadband services to homes and businesses and provide better options for consumers. 

One issue highlighted by the Phase 1 survey was having to gain access to private landowners along the proposed route. Not only would this be a potential risk, it would also cost money due to compensation negotiations. 

A way to avoid this was to alter the route for the trial, reducing it to 8km of ‘fibre in water’ and avoiding the need for private access. Whilst this mitigated the risk and cost, it also means that the number of rural premises being reached is less, down to 7000. 

Will the proposed ‘fibre in water’ trial go ahead? It’s expected that a decision will be made imminently by the DSIT and other government partners alongside Project TAWCO. 

Could this be an exciting development in getting reliable broadband to rural areas? We might well find out next month – Watch this space. 

Rural Wi-Fi Options with Geekabit

In the meantime, if you’re struggling with your broadband in a rural home or business then get in touch with our Wi-Fi experts today. We have extensive experience with 4G and Mobile Broadband – Bringing you a more reliable connection in rural premises. Read more on our website and get in touch today.

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Satellite Broadband Satellite Internet SpaceX
UK Starlink Broadband Speeds Rise

Global leader in network intelligence, Ookla, also well known for their free web service on network performance analysis Speedtest.net, have published their latest data for the last quarter of 2022. 

Their latest study reports on the internet download, upload and latency performance for UK customers (as well as other countries) using SpaceX’s Starlink Low Earth Orbit (LEO) ultrafast satellite broadband. 

The report found that the Starlink satellite broadband speeds are on the rise. 

What is Starlink?

You can read more about Starlink on one of our previous blogs here. 

Starlink satellite broadband is made up of a constellation of approximately 3680 low earth orbit satellites. By next year they plan to have 4425, and then 7500 by the end of 2027. 

Here in the UK, a customer of Starlink can expect to pay a £460 fee for the regular home kit (standard dish, router) plus £40 shipping and then £75 per month for the ‘standard’ plan. On the standard plan you can expect unlimited usage, fast latency times (25-50ms), downloads of between 50 and 200Mbps and uploads of between 5 and 15Mbps. 

As the network continues to grow, it’s possible that the speeds will change. 

Remember though – Speeds can differ out in the real world and aren’t always the same as the performance advertised by the ISP. 

Starlink Speeds

Back in the second quarter of 2022, the report showed that Starlink’s average download speeds had fallen between then and the year before in the UK and other countries including France, Germany and USA. Here in the UK speeds had dropped by 19%. 

Thankfully, the data from the last quarter of 2022 shows that speeds are starting to rise again. 

But speed isn’t the only thing to look for. A good user experience is also about consistently lowering latency, and Starlink seems to have lowered the latency from an average of 36-39ms to 53ms. Remember with latency, the lower figures are faster!

What Were Starlink’s UK Broadband Speeds Over the Last Year? 

Below are the download, upload and latency speeds for each quarter between 2021 and 2022. You can see that latency was about the same figure for about a year, before improving over the last quarter of 2022. 

You can also see how upload and download speeds were increasing quarter on quarter Q2 2022 where they both dropped. The latest figures for Q4 2023 appear to show the upload and download speeds starting to improve once again. 

This could be the increase in the number of LEO satellites being launched. As the network gets bigger and more LEO satellites are orbiting earth, we could see Starlink satellite broadband speeds continue to increase as well as improved latency.

Q4 2022

Download 96.79Mbps

Upload 12.40Mbps

Latency 53ms

Q2 2022

Download 85.07Mbps

Upload 10.72Mbps

Latency 39ms

Q4 2021

Download 121.94Mbps

Upload 13.96Mbps

Latency 36ms 

Q3 2021

Download 111.66Mbps

Upload 16.02Mbps

Latency 37ms

Q2 2021

Download 108.30Mbps

Upload 15.64Mbps

Latency 37ms

Starlink Satellite Broadband for Rural Areas

We’ve written before about how transformative satellite broadband can be for more rural areas – Both homes and businesses. 

These clients are likely to struggle with the standard fixed line broadband options, and even some mobile (4G/5G) services. For people who live and work in rural areas, the speeds above that Starlink satellite broadband can offer are going to be gladly received compared to the other much slower options. 

Get in Touch

If you are interested in how Starlink satellite broadband could help your home or business, please get in touch with our Wi-Fi experts today. We work out of Hampshire, London and Cardiff offering Wi-Fi solutions to transform your connection. 

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3G 4G 4G Mobile Broadband 4G Wi-Fi 5G 5G Wi-Fi Antennas Broadband Hampshire Mobile Provider Mobile Signal Strength Wi-Fi Wi-Fi Installation
How To Choose and Install an External 4G or 5G Mobile Broadband Antenna

Like with so many of our utilities, we only really notice them when there’s a problem or they’re not working properly. Wi-Fi is just the same! Just like when the power goes out, if your Wi-Fi is on the blink then you know about it – And it is so frustrating! 

Whilst most people are lucky enough to connect to superfast broadband through a wired connection, there are also many rural homes that cannot access and connect to broadband or internet in the same straightforward way. 

Here at Geekabit, we work with lots of people – Businesses and homes – who struggle with the more traditional ways of connecting to the internet and have to turn to mobile broadband through 3G, 4G and 5G. 

And again, many people are lucky to have a business or home within range of a strong enough UK mobile broadband network.

‘Could I benefit from an external antenna?’

There are some more remote rural homes and businesses that find themselves struggling to connect to mobile broadband too. If your business or home is:

– Unable to connect to a decent fixed line ISP 

– Within range of a mobile broadband alternative but find it unstable on various operators

Then you might find it beneficial to get an external antenna installed. But which one do you need? 

Are External Mobile Broadband Antennas Easy to Install?

In terms of actually installing an external antenna, it’s actually pretty straightforward. All you need to do is choose a high, stable location on the outside wall of your house near the roof, and screw the antenna on. Remember to make sure it’s pointing in the right direction (ie. towards the nearest mast). 

You might also choose to mount your antenna on a pole to raise it higher than your house. If you’re going for this option, always make sure that it is stable and won’t cause any damage to the building you are mounting it to. It’s also worth liaising with your local authority before installing a large pole as in some areas, a tall pole could be in breach of planning rules. 

You will also need to drill the cable into the house – It’s very important to avoid any other electrical cables and water pipes whilst you are doing this as well as sealing up the holes afterwards. 

It’s also pretty important to keep the position of your router in mind. Will it be placed near the where the cable feeds into the building? Ideally, the cable between your antenna and router needs to be 5 metres or less otherwise you could find yourself struggling with interference and/ or signal loss. 

If that all feels a little daunting then you can hire a professional installer to do the job for you – Our expert Wi-Fi engineers here at Geekabit can do just this! We operate out of Hampshire, London and Cardiff.  

Whilst the physical aspects of installing an external antenna are quite straightforward, it’s not always easy to choose the right kit. The radio spectrum is variable by nature, which makes it very dependent on your environment. You might manage to install the antenna but not get the outcome you were expecting. 

What antenna you need depends on your specific location and needs. This blog will outline some of the options that could be right for you. Sometimes it’s a case of trial and error to find the right antenna for you – But that’s where it might be best to leave it in expert hands. 

‘Do I need an Omni-directional or Directional antenna?’

When it comes to installing an external antenna, the first thing you need to decide is whether you need an Omni-directional antenna or a Directional antenna. 

Choosing a Directional antenna

If you know where your nearest mast is and have a clear line of sight, then the Directional antenna might be the one for you. Whilst it’s weaker in other directions, the Directional antenna will have higher reception in one direction, hence why it works well for a clear line of sight with the mast or base station. This is often the better choice if you live or work in a rural area. 

What problems can you have with a Directional antenna? 

Using a Directional antenna can run into issues if the station is congested or goes out of service. E.g. during upgrades. 

Choosing an Omni-directional antenna

If you live or work in a more urban, built up area and aren’t sure where the nearest mast is then an Omni-directional antenna could be the better option for you. Whilst they have a lower overall gain, they are able to attract similar reception from all directions. Because the Omni is looking at a wider area, you may find that it provides better reliability. 

Generally, if you are finding and installing an external antenna yourself, then the Omni-directional antenna is probably the one to try first. 

What problems can you have with an Omni-directional antenna? 

It’s possible that because it’s looking at a wider area, the Omni could attract more interference. If you are able to utilise a well positional Directional antenna then you could get better performance that way. 

‘How much power does my external antenna need?’

So you’ve decided whether you need an Omni-directional or Directional antenna. What do you need to consider next? 

You’ll notice that antennas have gain figures in dB / dBi – This is how the power of the antenna is measured. 

In simple terms, the gain of an antenna is the relative measure of its ability to direct radio frequency energy in a certain direction or pattern. What do the gain (dB / dBi) figures on an antenna mean?

We could go into a lot of complicated detail here, but seeing as we’re writing this blog for someone looking to buy and install their own external antenna, we’ll keep it super simple. 

Basically, the higher the gain (dB / dBi) the better the antenna’s performance and range. Obviously, the higher the gain, the more expensive the antenna will cost. 

When you are at this stage of choosing your antenna, it is worth knowing what bands your mobile operator uses so that you can ensure how the different gain values given for an antenna correspond to the spectrum band you will be using. 

‘Choosing an external antenna – What are the challenges?’ 

As we said above, when you are installing a new external antenna, it’s really important to know:

  • Where and which direction the signal is coming from 
  • How strong the signal is
  • Which bands are being used in your local area by local operators

These are some of the biggest challenges you’ll face when installing your antenna. 

‘How can I find out the spectrum information I need to choose an antenna?’

If you go online to mobile operator’s websites you can find coverage checkers (Vodafone, Three UK, O2 and EE (BT)), but these can be rather vague and not always accurate. It’s worth comparing to what Ofcoms Mobile Coverage Checker says too.

Perhaps the best way to identify which bands are being used by your local operator is to download a relevant app or look up the mobile network details on your Smartphone or router. 

These apps will often just tell you the band number for your own operator rather than tell you the spectrum frequency. You’ll find that operators tend to own several bands, but usually use one band for national connectivity. 

What are the most common 4G Mobile Bands in the UK?

800MHz (Band 20)

900MHz (Band 8)

1800MHz (Band 3)

2100MHz (Band 1)

2300MHz (Band 40)

2600MHz (Band 7)

Remember that 5G uses a different band model and is currently only deployed on the 3.4GHz band. 

‘How do I know where my nearest mast is for installing my new antenna?’

So you’ve made sense of the bands on offer in your area from local operators. Next you need to work out where your nearest mast is and whether it’s the most appropriate for your location. Unfortunately it’s not always the option that looks most logical! 

When you’re choosing the most appropriate mast for your use, you need to consider the following:

  • Forms and features of local land surfaces (artificial and natural)
  • Local surroundings
  • Operator choice

There are apps and websites that can help with this such as Mastdata.com and Cellmapper.net. The Opensignal app could also be of use.

Did you know that operators also have sharing agreements with each other? Just to make things a little more complicated. For example, there is a sharing agreement between Vodafone and O2 as well as between EE and Three. What does this mean? Well it means that a mast could be serving more than one operator. 

How do I use signal strength information to position my external antenna?’ 

If you are able to gain an understanding of signal strength in a few different measurements, then you are more likely to position your antenna correctly. 

Signal strength is measured in quite a few different ways, so we’re going to just focus on a few that you are most likely to encounter. These are:

  • Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)
  • Reference Signals Received Power (RSRP)
  • Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ)

These measurements are given by a negative dBm (decibel milliWatts) value. In this situation, negative values are actually good (most of the time). They are negative because they represent tiny yet positive numbers on a logarithmic scale, making them easier to consume. For example, -100dBm would be 0.0000000001 mW.

What is a good RSSI signal? Essentially, the closer to 0 dBm, the better the RSSI signal (although it does get more complicated past a certain point with diminishing returns of data speed). An example of excellent 4G RSSI signal would be -65 dBm. A poor RSSI signal would be -85 dBm. 

RSRP works on a similar scale to RSSI, where an excellent 4G RSRP signal would be -80 dBm.  

RSRQ operates on a very different scale, which means that an excellent signal is anything from around -10 dB (not dBm) and a poor signal would be -20 db.

Interestingly, most mobile modems are able to maintain a pretty fast data connection using a poor signal. Problems may arise however in more rural areas where speeds are slower and stability poorer due to the distance from a mast. 

What factors are most likely to affect signal strength? 

  • Distance to mast
  • Interference from competing signals
  • Router band switching
  • Physical obstacles in the environment like buildings, tall trees etc
  • The weather

Of course, these factors are not in your control, but you need to bear them in mind when positioning your antenna in order to get the best signal possible. 

Feeling confident about choosing and installing your external antenna?

If you are about to choose and install an external antenna to improve your 3G, 4G or 5G mobile broadband signal, then hopefully this blog has given you some of the basic information you need to make your decisions. 

If you’re still feeling a bit daunted, then why not get in touch with one of our Wi-Fi experts? We’ve been installing mobile broadband for clients in and around Hampshire, Cardiff and London for a while and can help identify which antenna solution would best suit your needs. Get in touch today! 

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