Are your Christmas lights slowing down your broadband?

It has been suggested that the placement of your Christmas lights could be affecting your broadband service no matter which broadband provider you are with.

Whilst Christmas Day may be over households across the UK will still have their Christmas lights up for another week or so as they bring in the New Year and make the most of the last remnants of the festive season. However, many household do not really think about where to place their Christmas lights, and for some this could be causing them problems with their broadband service.

A recent report has suggested that interference from Christmas lights could affect the service of broadband users and this is with any broadband service provider. Consumers have therefore been urged to ensure that if they have experienced interference with their broadband service since their Christmas lights were put up that they ensure the lights have not be put up near to their router.

On its recent blog broadband giant Talk Talk stated: “Although it might sound silly, interference from domestic lighting and wiring is a major problem across the industry and at this time of year Christmas lights tend to aggravate it.” The blog went on to state: “We also recommend people avoid having their lights flashing as in some cases this can interfere with the wireless connection.”

An iPlate is also said to help those experiencing electrical interference when it comes to their broadband. One official stated: “Although the major factor affecting broadband speeds is your distance from the exchange, BT Broadband estimates that having an iPlate fitted can boost some users’ download speeds by up to 4Mb, with an average improvement of 1.5Mb for filtered lines. An iPlate is very easy to fit and you can now buy one for less than £10. However, not all ADSL customers will benefit from an iPlate – or Broadband Accelerator as BT calls it – so you should check with your provider before buying one.”