TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT
See map of alternative broadband providers nearby
That broadband map from Thinkbroadband that you wrote about in Issue 704 (page 7) is extremely comprehensive. I’ve spent a lot of time exploring the areas near me in Northamptonshire comparing speeds and coverage.
There are some useful options on the right that change what the map shows. Tick the ‘Speed Test Results’ box and you’ll see some broadband speeds pop up on the map. Click these to see which provider it is. You can also tick the ‘Postcodes with only sub 24 Mbps broadband’ to know which areas to avoid!
But for me the two most useful options are Altnet FTTP ( 1 in our screenshot) and Exchange Locations 2 . Altnets are small, local providers, not those using BT and Virgin networks. In my experience these give you more reliable speeds and better customer support.
On the map they appear as grey circles, while the exchanges appear as blue. Zoom into the latter and you’ll see when Openreach switched them off.
Stephen Painter
Stephen wins a copy of our 2024 Back Issue CDBuy it from us at www.snipca.com/53433