Rural Broadband
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What is Rural Broadband?
Rural broadband refers to any broadband connection in a remote location that’s not in a town or city. Whether you live on a farm out in the country, on a remote island off the north of Scotland or overlooking a rural beach, your broadband connection is likely to be considered rural. Some rural locations may have access to fibre broadband and others may even have full fibre broadband.
Just remember with rural broadband, speeds often tend to be lower than those in more populated urban areas.
What is Rural Broadband?
Rural broadband refers to any broadband connection in a remote location that’s not in a town or city. Whether you live on a farm out in the country, on a remote island off the north of Scotland or overlooking a rural beach, your broadband connection is likely to be considered rural. Some rural locations may have access to fibre broadband and others may even have full fibre broadband.
Just remember with rural broadband, speeds often tend to be lower than those in more populated urban areas.
Types of broadband available
The type of broadband available to you depends on where you live. We have three options at TalkTalk.
Fibre broadband: Also called fibre to the cabinet, fibre broadband uses fibre optic cables to connect to the cabinet on the street. Copper cables then connect to your home. TalkTalk fibre broadband has average download speeds of up to 67 Mb/s and is suitable for 5+ devices. You also get a Wi-Fi hub included, and the set up is simple.
Full fibre broadband: Our fastest broadband yet, full fibre has average download speeds of up to 944 Mb/s. It’s 24x faster than standard broadband and can handle up to 75 devices. Full fibre uses fibre optic cables to connect directly to your home for enhanced speed and reliability. More and more homes in the UK now have access to full fibre broadband, although this is more likely in urban areas than rural.
Fast broadband: Fast broadband caters to homes where fibre broadband isn’t yet available. It has speeds of up to 10 Mb/s and is ideal for up to 2 devices. You’ll get access to our powerful Wi-Fi Hub router, as well as a landline with free calls between TalkTalk customers.
Types of broadband available
The type of broadband available to you depends on where you live. We have three options at TalkTalk.
Fibre broadband: Also called fibre to the cabinet, fibre broadband uses fibre optic cables to connect to the cabinet on the street. Copper cables then connect to your home. TalkTalk fibre broadband has average download speeds of up to 67 Mb/s and is suitable for 5+ devices. You also get a Wi-Fi hub included, and the set up is simple.
Full fibre broadband: Our fastest broadband yet, full fibre has average download speeds of up to 944 Mb/s. It’s 24x faster than standard broadband and can handle up to 75 devices. Full fibre uses fibre optic cables to connect directly to your home for enhanced speed and reliability. More and more homes in the UK now have access to full fibre broadband, although this is more likely in urban areas than rural.
Fast broadband: Fast broadband caters to homes where fibre broadband isn’t yet available. It has speeds of up to 10 Mb/s and is ideal for up to 2 devices. You’ll get access to our powerful Wi-Fi Hub router, as well as a landline with free calls between TalkTalk customers.
Can rural areas get full fibre broadband?
Full fibre broadband continues to be rolled out right across the UK, with more and more homes able to access superfast speeds. Currently most of the rollout has focused on cities and urban areas, so full fibre may not yet be available where you are if you live in a rural area.
Whether or not full fibre is available in rural areas is often on a case by case basis, as the rollout continues and more locations get access. You can find out if full fibre is available where you are with our helpful availability checker. If full fibre isn’t available, you’ll be able to find out the TalkTalk broadband packages that are available for your home
Can rural areas get full fibre broadband?
Full fibre broadband continues to be rolled out right across the UK, with more and more homes able to access superfast speeds. Currently most of the rollout has focused on cities and urban areas, so full fibre may not yet be available where you are if you live in a rural area.
Whether or not full fibre is available in rural areas is often on a case by case basis, as the rollout continues and more locations get access. You can find out if full fibre is available where you are with our helpful availability checker. If full fibre isn’t available, you’ll be able to find out the TalkTalk broadband packages that are available for your home
WHY CAN RURAL BROADBAND BE SLOWER?
Often rural broadband is slower than broadband in urban areas due to the infrastructure in place. Fibre broadband is delivered through fibre optic cables to the cabinet on the street, then copper wires to your home. Often, the further it has to travel from the cabinet to your home the slower the potential speeds. In rural areas, the distance between the cabinet and your home may be much further than in urban locations. This can affect the potential speeds in your home.
You can test your current broadband speed using ourspeed checker.
With TalkTalk, 96% of the UK can get fibre broadband with speeds between 35 Mb/s and 65 Mb/s. This means you may be able to access fibre broadband in your rural location. On the other hand, it’s less likely that you’ll have access to full fibre broadband in rural areas until it gets further rolled out across the country.
WHY CAN RURAL BROADBAND BE SLOWER?
Often rural broadband is slower than broadband in urban areas due to the infrastructure in place. Fibre broadband is delivered through fibre optic cables to the cabinet on the street, then copper wires to your home. Often, the further it has to travel from the cabinet to your home the slower the potential speeds. In rural areas, the distance between the cabinet and your home may be much further than in urban locations. This can affect the potential speeds in your home.
You can test your current broadband speed using ourspeed checker.
With TalkTalk, 96% of the UK can get fibre broadband with speeds between 35 Mb/s and 65 Mb/s. This means you may be able to access fibre broadband in your rural location. On the other hand, it’s less likely that you’ll have access to full fibre broadband in rural areas until it gets further rolled out across the country.
How to improve broadband speed
There are a few things you can do to improve your broadband speed, including:
Switching providers: The internet infrastructure may have improved in your rural area since you signed up for your existing deal. This means you may get better speeds if you switch providers. You can check the availability of TalkTalk broadband in your area with our simple availability checker.
Change your router location: Putting your router in a central location in your home can help distribute the signal throughout all rooms.
Use a Wi-Fi extender: This can boost your signal by extending its range and improving its strength.
Upgrade your router: Older routers can’t always handle the latest technology. Upgrading it may improve speed and signal strength.
Limit the number of connected devices: Too many devices connected to your Wi-Fi at the same time can slow down your signal. You’ll improve performance by reducing the number of devices.
How to improve broadband speed
There are a few things you can do to improve your broadband speed, including:
Switching providers: The internet infrastructure may have improved in your rural area since you signed up for your existing deal. This means you may get better speeds if you switch providers. You can check the availability of TalkTalk broadband in your area with our simple availability checker.
Change your router location: Putting your router in a central location in your home can help distribute the signal throughout all rooms.
Use a Wi-Fi extender: This can boost your signal by extending its range and improving its strength.
Upgrade your router: Older routers can’t always handle the latest technology. Upgrading it may improve speed and signal strength.
Limit the number of connected devices: Too many devices connected to your Wi-Fi at the same time can slow down your signal. You’ll improve performance by reducing the number of devices.
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