Optimising Home Broadband

To facilitate a CCC ICT helpdesk investigation into a network connection issue, the following guidelines should be followed to eliminate any home broadband connection issues.

1. Check broadband speed.

Carry out a few tests over several days and vary the times you carry out the test.

2. Check what is available in your area.

3. Talk to your provider/ISP.

If you have a problem with your connection, we suggest contacting your provider in the first instance. They should be able to help you work out what the cause is and how you might be able to fix it or you may need an upgraded router.

If you are receiving maximum speeds that are available to you, ways to improve speeds are checking the placement of the router.

4. Visit the CCC digital connectivity page.

5. Multi connections to the same broadband

During this time there could be several individuals within the household utilising the same broadband connection. Understanding the requirements of users and the applications utilised could provide an understanding of the household broadband demands.

6. Interference / Distance from hub:

Halogen lamps, electrical dimmer switches, stereo or computer speakers, fairy lights, TVs and monitors and AC power cords have all been known to affect routers. Keep your router as far away as possible from other electrical devices as well as those which emit wireless signals such as cordless phones, baby monitors etc. Try to place your router on a table or shelf rather than on the floor and keep it switched on.

7. Wired rather than WiFi.

Use an Ethernet cable to connect your computer directly to your router rather than using WiFi. An Ethernet cable is a computer networking cable which should give you a faster, more reliable connection.