Point, click…
.
.
.
Bang!
You had the shot but your broadband was too slow or ropey to cut it, so you’re dead.
These days having a slow net connection isn’t an option and there really isn’t any excuse from your provider for repeat failures in speed or reliability.
When I was at university I remember having to wait until the house mates were asleep before I could play Counter Strike off a 56K modem.
The pain of trying to play a bunch of Americans when you have a ping of 400ms was unbearable but better than nothing. Aiming a few metres in front of your opponent is quite tricky and detracts from the simulation of war so getting the house mates playing on the LAN was a pressing urgency just to have some chance of landing a kill.
The introduction of broadband changed things considerably.
The speeds weren’t great, and you could argue they’re still not compared to the rest of Europe, but it was a start.
The problem we’re finding now is that everything is listed as ‘up to’ whatever speed the provider can only hope to provide. It’s like a get out clause that allows these corporations to cheat you out of your money just because there’s a vague possibility that if the planets are in perfect alignment you’ll get what you’re paying for.
Fibre optics are also a bit false in what they could offer. They’re great until you pass through an exchange based on the older copper wire technology which then renders the optics useless. Unfortunately, not everyone is clued up enough to realise this and simply buy the most expensive package off the shelf thinking they’re getting a good deal.
Our infrastructure and telephone exchanges are in dire need of upgrading. It is happening but so incredibly slowly that it’s almost embarrassing when you compare us to our European counterparts.
The UK average currently places us 38th for broadband speed in the world according to the Net Index by Ookla.
We’re below Latvia and Romania!
What’s the hold up?
BT have promised upgrades to all the exchanges but there are no dates set for a large number of them.
The government wants us all to be connected so why can’t they pull their fingers out and get this sorted?
UK government plans state that we’ll have the best broadband in Europe by 2015 which, ironically, is too slow. The way in which the modern society dynamic has shifted has made us dependent on having a net connection so the UK government really needs to get a move on.
I’m sure members of the AMOLAG team can wade in on this and praise (or slate in one particular case) their broadband provider. If you’re not sure of what you’re getting get yourself head over to Speedtest.net and see how your connection stacks up.
There are a lucky few who never encounter any problems but most are simply not getting what they are paying for. Just hope you’re not the latter!