Understanding Broadband

Because they’re usually constructed in well-connected urban or suburban areas, new homes tend to offer some of the best internet connections in Scotland. Anyone moving from a rural region to one of Cruden Homes’ Central Belt developments may be astonished by the speeds typically achievable in our newly constructed houses and apartments. Yet many people are still unsure how to get broadband in their new home – or even how broadband is defined…

A connected future

New homes tend to be futureproofed in terms of energy efficiency and digital technologies, and most Cruden homes are built with Fibre to the Premises broadband pre-installed. This FTTP network takes one of two main forms – a proprietary full fibre broadband supply, or Openreach cabling. The former ties you into a specific internet service provider (abbreviated to ISP), while an Openreach connection can be used to power your choice of broadband from companies like Sky, BT or TalkTalk.

While pre-cabled connectivity is useful, there may be reasons why you wouldn’t want to use a particular full fibre service. Perhaps you’ve had a bad experience with that company in the past, or maybe you’re keen to keep costs down. After all, the futureproofing we mentioned earlier often sees new homes fitted with fibre cabling capable of sustaining hundreds of megabits of data per second – far more than you’ll need for light internet use. It only takes 3Mbps of connectivity to watch Netflix in standard definition or make an HD Zoom call, for instance, so a 500Mbps line could be surplus to requirements.

As broad as it’s long?

This might be an opportune moment to clarify what we actually mean by broadband. While 

America’s Federal Communications Commission reckons internet connections slower than 25Mbps aren’t worthy of the term ‘broadband’, UK consumers would typically regard anything faster than an ADSL connection (10-12Mbps) as qualifying. ADSL connections are being phased out in favour of fibre connections – either to your nearest pavement exchange (Fibre to the Cabinet) with slower cables completing data’s journey into your home, or Fibre to the Premises. This is the fastest form of domestic connection, capable of 1Gbps speeds.

Fastest, certainly, but not the only way to get high-speed internet into your new home. Other options include satellite broadband, and mobile networks which already transmit 4G and 5G data to wireless devices like smartphones. Using a MiFi router or a plug-in USB dongle to connect to a particular mobile network can give light internet users all the connectivity they need. They’re also a great option for short-term connectivity while you wait for a fibre broadband router to arrive.

Seeing the bigger picture

We mentioned above that mobile internet may be useful while waiting for a hardwired broadband connection to be set up, but you might decide not to bother. Many ISPs look to tie new customers into a two-year contracts and line speeds may be far in excess of what’s required for watching YouTube and browsing social media. Always consider whether a broadband deal represents good value before signing up, since exiting a contract early may be expensive and difficult in equal measure.

Also beware of bundle deals incorporating things you might not need (SIM cards, landlines or TV packages), which might duplicate existing contracts or simply not get used. Research the customer service reputation of shortlisted ISPs before signing up to avoid issues with billing or connectivity may be. We’d also recommend speaking to your neighbours to find out about positive experiences in the area.

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