How fast is your connection?

Last Modified: 29 Apr 2008
By: Benjamin Cohen

New figures warn that the internet is slowing down because of the huge demand for online video and and music. Are you affected? Email us at news@channel4.com

New research provided to this programme shows that most of us don't get the broadband speeds we think we've paid for.

Customers who are promised 'up to 8 megabits' by 18 different internet providers in fact get on average less than half that.

And, the British Chambers of Commerce has warned that Britain's broadband system is facing gridlock as more of us download music and video from the net.

So why's it slowing down and what's the solution?

How's your speed?

If you if you've experienced a broadband slowdown, or indeed if you're actually getting what you paid for?

Have you signed up to a 16Mbps deal and are you getting it? Or perhaps you work for an ISP and you have another viewpoint on this?

We'd love to hear from you - let us know your stories and email us at news@channel4.com

A surge in demand for online video is slowing down the internet and presenting "substantial harm" to the British economy, business leaders warned today.

Soaring visitor numbers to video websites such as Youtube and BBC iPlayer are clogging up the internet and pushing it towards gridlock, says the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

It has called on government and internet service providers (ISPs) - such as BT and Virgin - to stump up the cash for an overhaul.

David Frost, director general of BCC, said: "It's quite clear from our research that the internet is slowing down and that's harming British business - it needs to be resolved.

"The system needs to be upgraded; whether that is by the service providers or government, to ensure economic growth.

"The money has got to be found for improvements, if not the harm to the economy will be very substantial indeed.

"It is clear that the internet is currently slowing down because of increased demand."

Checking your connection

There are many companies that offer online speed checks to test your connection speed. Here are three that we've used:

speedtest.net
zdnet.co.uk/speedtest
broadband-expert.co.uk/broadband/speedtest

They will typically give you an upload and a download connection speed result.

Note: 1,000 kb/s, Kilobits per second = 1 Mb/s, Megabit per second.

Internet monitoring firm Broadband Expert provided figures today claiming that some ISPs were supplying customers with as little as 40 per cent of advertised download speeds, such is the internet slow-down.

It claims that in many instances customers are only getting 50 per cent of the speeds they signed up for.

Experts say the biggest risk of an internet meltdown emerges from the copper wires which link customers' and businesses to the main networks.

These wires were only ever intended for voice calls, and provide the key link to the main exchange.

Dr Ian Waldon, professor of Information and Communications Law at Queen Mary, University of London, said: "The internet is a network of networks owned by lots of different telephone companies throughout the world.

"When you think about networks you need to distinguish between the core network and the access network.

"We get onto the internet through access networks - and there's a possibility that the capacity of those networks will be exceeded soon.

"Certain applications won't work, and certain services won't be functioning as their providers initially intended them to."

He said that net neutrality - the idea the internet is equal to all users - will become a thing of the past as customers are forced to pay extra for the web capacity they take up.