Broadband service in North Ireland criticised

When the broadband service in a particular area is slow, the residents and business establishments in the area suffer. That’s not just some random statement or conclusion either, because there have been facts and reports that support that point from both sides of the coin.

The faster the broadband connection, the more things that users can do in a shorter span of time. Of course, there are many factors that contribute to a person’s productivity. Broadband connection speed is merely one of them, but when that is taken out of the equation, then upper management can work on improving their personnel’s performance based on those other factors.

Bucks Business First chairman, Alex Pratt, recently made some comments on the negative effect that slow broadband speeds had on businesses, stating: “For those rural pockets that currently rely on slow broadband or dial-up access, it must feel like, while everyone else is powering along the internet superhighway, they are stuck in the 30mph zone, with no hope of ever getting in the fast lane.” On the other hand, earlier findings of a study conducted by Ericsson on member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stated that doubling broadband speeds would result in an almost-guaranteed increase in a country’s GDP.

It was recently reported in Akamai’s State of the Internet report that internet services in the UK were just average, ranking 27th in terms of average connection speeds which was recorded at 5 Mbps. No UK towns or cities were also able to make it into the list of the top 100 areas for global performance when it came to broadband speeds.

Now it has been reported that the broadband speeds in Northern Ireland are among the lowest in the entire UK. The area has also been found to have the highest percentage of households that are running on low-speed broadband connections. The speeds varied from town to town, as it was found out that broadband users located in Belfast were able to access faster broadband speeds rather than those who resided in Fermanagh or Down counties.

The University of Usher has called on mobile phone and broadband users in Northern Ireland to participate in a survey about the status of their current broadband connections and their satisfaction on such services.

The professor of telecommunications engineering, Gerard Parr, stated: “The purpose of this survey is to identify the areas that are losing out, by gathering direct feedback and evidence from consumers through an internet-based survey. We want to determine the broadband access rates and mobile phone signal coverage situation across the Province.”

Parr also added: “We want to capture observations and feedback on the quality of the broadband or mobile service consumers are receiving and the impact this is having on their quality of life, for example: leisure, entertainment, daily work, job creation, accessing new markets, rural support or children’s education.”