BE Broadband

THANKS FOR THE BLOGS – CAN WE HAVE SOME MORE?

2012-02-10T12:34:00.002Z

Last week we asked you to send us links to your blogs so that we can feature them in a brand new blogroll we’ll soon be putting live.

We’ve seen an awesome response so far, so thank you to everyone who has submitted their blog. They’ve been added to our Google Reader for now, so if you want to take a look at what we’ve got so far just click here.

The list includes sites about tech, design, Zen thoughts and even a blog post about couch surfing. But we’d still like to keep adding more.

So, if you have an interesting personal blog and wouldn’t mind it being added to the public list, then post a link in the comments below.

Ask the MD

2012-02-03T14:33:00.003Z

Would you like to chat to Chris, the MD of BE? He’ll be jumping into the forum next Monday at 6pm – 7.30pm for the latest ‘Ask the MD’ session. So if you have any burning questions – we’re pretty sure you do – then save the date and bookmark the link.

To join the session, all you have to do is head over to the forum here: http://bit.ly/thebeforum and login with your BE username and password. Look out for the thread named ‘Ask the MD’ and then do what it says on the tin.

See you there.

Moar blogs please

2012-02-03T10:27:00.000Z

The majority of people read the morning newspaper, but at BE house we are literally plugged into ~~the Matrix~~ the internet, so blogs are more our cup of tea.

But the blog fix isn’t enough, we need more. So we’re asking you to share your blogs with us (post a link in the comments below) so that we can check out what you’re into, and maybe even add you to the blogroll we’ll be ‘rolling’ out soon.

So whatever you’re into – web design, coding, gaming or even knitting – let us know about it. Share a link to your blog and a description of what you write about in the comments below.

We’re looking forward to the new reads.

THE BEST OF CES 2012

2012-01-19T09:58:00.000Z

Image source: TechRepublic

CES (the International Consumer Electronics Show) was the hottest place for tech fanatics to be last week - and not just because it is held in Vegas.

If your tech company has a new product to launch, CES is the place to do it. Each year the hottest gadgets are announced and 2012 did not disappoint.

Take a look at the tech we’ve been most excited about from this year’s show.

Big, smart and beautiful TVs

Television may have been around for nearly a century, but they’ve never been as smart as they are now. TVs improved over the years of course; first colour, then widescreen, flat screen, high definition – but now they’ve hit their peak... until CES 2013 of that is. Now we can access the internet of TV and use apps to view content in different ways. Better yet, we no longer need to sit in front of a measly 37” screen; big and beautiful TVs were a major attraction this year, with OLED screens taking high definition to a new level.

A key highlight on the TV front has to be the Sharp 85-inch display with 7680x4320. Check out more about the TVs announced at CES 2012 in PC World’s blog post here.

Ultrabooks

As expected, Ultrabooks are taking over the industry in 2012. Netbooks are not powerful enough, yet most laptops are large and heavy so they don’t make good travel companions. The ultrabook on the other hand, is lightweight, portable and extremely fast. Credit must go to Apple for kickstarting the trend with the Air, but looking at the latest ultrabooks from CES - they’ll have a fight on their hands.

We’re itching to get our hands on the Acer Aspire S5 (world’s thinnest laptop) and the super small Dell XPS with its edge to edge screen. Take a look at SlashGear’s in-depth post for each of these ultrabooks and others.

Intelligent cars

Cars at CES may seem somewhat out of place, but wait until you see the technology the automotive industry has been creating. Heads up display may be something you’re quite used to in video games; but it isn’t exactly a feature of the school run or drive to work. Judging from the cars at CES, this shan’t be true for long. Road range appears to be on the out too, after Kia announced they’ll soon be adding technology to detect the driver’s mood and will even hint that a break might be a good idea if it thinks you’re tired.

Have a read of this Huffington Post article for more analysis on what the latest announcements from car manufacturers mean for the automotive industry.

What do you think of the announcements at CES? Let us know in the comments below.

STREAMING OFF TO A GOOD START IN 2012

2012-01-11T09:39:00.000Z

Last month we posted about the best ways to get internet TV content onto your living room screen (thanks for your comments too). Already this year there has been some big news that shows streaming of content from the internet is going to grow more popular in 2012.

Recently two major players in the movie and TV streaming market have been battling it out to become the UK’s number one service. Netflix has just launched in the UK, meaning you can now access hundreds of thousands of films and TV shows on various devices hooked up to the net. LoveFilm has responded by making sure it gets exclusive partners, including the BBC and ITV.

This means you’ll have a tricky choice on your hands if you were thinking of signing up to a streaming service – and it isn’t just LoveFilm or Netflix, read our previous post to see an even wider range of options. Then again, do you really have to sign up to one service that packages it altogether nicely?

Each terrestrial channel now offers a catch up TV service; BBC’s iPlayer, the ITV Player, 4OD and Demand 5. So if it is just TV you are after then maybe all you need is to hook your laptop up to a TV and enjoy these free services that are readily available to you.

Plenty of people are doing this already; over Christmas for example the BBC broke its peak usage levels with the new series of Sherlock reaching 4.3m on iPlayer the day after being aired. With such high usage, it seems the UK is taking streaming to a new level in 2012.

BE'S TOP TECH FOR 2012

2011-12-26T10:57:00.000Z

Technology continues to advance with great speed. 2011 brought us a wide range of tablet PCs and the influx of high powered ultrabooks. Let’s take a look at what we think will happen in 2012.

1. RENTING CONTENT

Spotify, LoveFilm, Steam... digital content is no longer owned, we rent it. In 2012 this will only grow, especially with major services becoming available on mainstream platforms - such as Spotify for Facebook and LoveFilm on Xbox 360 and PS3. Maybe 2013 will be the year we take up owning content again.

2. TELEVISION MARKET DISRUPTED

Last week we wrote about how the Apple TV isn't going to be anything major compared to what is already available. But you can bet your bottom five pound note that – if it comes to be – it will still have a major impact within the TV industry and people will forget that Smart TVs were around in 2011.

3. NEW TABLETS

This year we’ve seen plenty of new tablets that seemed a little rushed to the market, just to compete with the iPad. 2012 will bring us new tablets that are more considered, providing a real alternative to the dominating device – starting with the Kindle Fire becoming available in the UK.

4. PC VS MAC… AGAIN

This year Apple release Mac OS X Lion - a (sort of) hybrid between OS X and iOS. Next year Microsoft will release Windows 8 - an OS that is compatible with both desktop and mobile devices. With both offering similar concepts, it will be interesting to see where the market share goes.

5. UBUNTU TABLETS FOR XMAS 2012?

This year Canonical announced their drive to make a user friendly Ubuntu experience on tablets, mobiles and even TVs. We’re glad to hear it, as there are some fans of the new Unity desktop here at BE. We don’t expect an iOS killer but neither do we want one – just give us open, more hackable computing on the go please!

6. BATTLE OF THE MOBILE OS

Blackberry where art thou? Beaten in the UK riots and left for dead by the likes of WhatsApp, that’s where. It is now Android and iOS running the show, but with Windows Phone and the newly open source Web OS ready to step up the game, we're unsure who will win.

7. BYE BYE NETBOOKS

Why buy a 9 or 10 inch netbook with all the power of a worn out bumble bee when you can buy a 12 inch super fast ultrabook that is as powerful as many top of the range laptops? Dell have killed their netbook range already, we think many more will follow.

8. GOOGLE+ MAKE OR BREAK

At the moment Google+ seems to be doing quite well, with plenty of new users and stronger uptake than Twitter or Facebook ever saw. But ask yourself honestly, who do you really know on the site? That’s exactly what Google Buzz and Google Wave have in common with Google+.

9. NEW GAMING CONSOLES

Every 6 years there has been a new PlayStation. This isn’t much of a pattern considering there have only been three, but we can still hope, as it would mean a new console in 2012. But with services such as On Live and Steam, is a console really needed in 2012?

10. OVER TO YOU

You’ve heard ours, now we’d like to know what your predictions are for tech in 2012. Let us know in the comments below.

What’s the best way to watch the internet on your telly?

2011-12-16T09:30:00.000Z

We're coming up to the season of over-eating and over-drinking, which in turn makes the sofa in front the TV a very appealing place to park yourself - even if there is a Home Alone marathon on.

Today we’re no longer limited to 5 terrestrial channels, there’s a whole world of content online and on demand via the internet. We know from expreience that BE members are a smart bunch so you’ll probably already have some way of connecting your living room TV to the internet in some way.

Almost certainly not what Apple’s integrated TV will look like

You know the market for connected devices will be lucrative when the Apple rumour mill starts, and many of the stories after Steve Jobs’ biography was published concerned the Cupertino-based company finally “cracking” the concept for a TV product. We thought we’d take a look over the options already available and see what your current favourites are.

Smart TVs

There are plenty of TVs available now that are internet ready. Most are even 3D which is a great bonus. Sony’s range for example include apps such as YouTube, iPlayer, Demand5 and LoveFilm. The Apple TV will probably be something similar, but do you really want to be tied into one service provider?

Set-top boxes (eg Boxee Box, WD Live, Apple TV)

These connected media devices help turn any ordinary TV into a smart TV, connecting it to a wide range of video on demand and move streaming services through apps and a media browser for local files on USB or your home network. If you’ve only just bought a decent HDTV then this may be the option for you.

Your games console

The PS3 and Xbox 360 both have access to LoveFilm, as well as the ability to store quite a lot of downloaded content too. Both consoles also have apps, with the iPlayer, 4OD and ITV Player on the PS3 (not to mention the PlayTV option for pause and rewind Freeview) and Sky Go, 4OD and the iPlayer coming in 2012 for the Xbox 360. Each console has an ace up its sleeve too – a 3D Bluray player with the PS3 (yes – even the first generation of PS3s) and the ability to control your Xbox with Kinect – who needs a controller?

Computers

With so many streaming websites online, possibly the best way to get an interactive TV is to hook it up to your PC or laptop. Blockbuster, LoveFilm and even HMV all have movie streaming services, while software such as XBMC, Boxee and Plex mean computer can become *the* media hub for your home.

These are just a few of the options available. How do you access movies and video on demand through your TV? Let us know in the comments below.

BE FIBRE TRIAL – FIRST CONNECTION IS LIVE

2011-12-02T18:33:00.000Z

Our fibre trial took a big old step in the right direction this week. The first BE member was connected to the trial exchange (Barking) and we're pleased to say the process went very smootly.

Let's dive in with the best bit - here's a screenshot of the first fibre speedtest - 37.5 downstream and 8.1 upstream. That's just the beginning as well, as we'll be watching these connections closely to see what optimisations we can make.

Next up is the kit combo we're using to trial the service - an Openreach VDSL2 modem hooked up to a BE Box.

Here's the Openreach engineer at the local cabinet. His name was Mark, so thanks Mark!

Finally, the fibre trial needs a new faceplate to separate out the broadband and telephone lines. You just can't imagine what that would look like? Oh go on then - here's a snap.

We know how much anticipation you have for fibre, so we’re trying not get too carried away. That said... we're over the moon that the first trial connection went in so smoothly.

This is just one step along a big project, and we've got a way to go - but we're moving fast in the right direction.

BE SOCIAL (LONDON) A ROYAL SUCCESS

2011-11-25T15:48:00.001Z

Last night we headed over to the Royal George in Soho for another London edition of the BE Social. We run BE Socials across the UK as a an opportunity for some informal chat and drinks between members and staff at BE, to hear what you’re thinking about both tech and more general topics – as well as answer any burning questions you have.

We really enjoyed meeting everyone that came. There were plenty of conversations going on, ranging from broadband, the latest tablets, to all out action adventures in Sweden with our resident airsoft pro.

Another topic that came up was that of movie streaming and with HMV's announcement that they'll be joining this area we’re planning to compare the options, much like our recent music and online storage posts.

If you attended last night then feel free to share in the comments below and link us to any photos of the evening.

We’re putting the finishing touches on the first social of 2012, and we’ll have more information on when and where in due course. See you there?

Google turns it up to 11 and other online music news

2011-11-18T18:25:00.001Z

This week Google finally launched their music service, Google Music, in the US, meaning Android users now have a comparable service to compete with iTunes on iPhones and iPods. We're jumping the gun slightly because it's not available in the UK yet, but it made us think about our current online music favourites and we'd like to hear about yours too.

What's Google Music?

It's being called iTunes for Android - you'll be able to purchase music from their marketplace app on the phone and the web, and it will sync over your different devices. One interesting idea that we've not seen before is that you'll be able to share what you buy on Google+ and your friends will be able to listen to them in full for free - but only one play per song.

What is out there for UK music fans today?

- Spotify is a favourite of many of us here at BE. We like the Premium package, which lets you listen to tracks offline on the phone as well as unlimited streaming on the desktop and other apps (they recently launched an app for the Boxee Box which is a cool way to get music onto your home stereo).

- Grooveshark is similar to Spotify in that you can stream a lot of music from their library, with the difference being Grooveshark one is totally free. There are also mobile apps available.

- Apple continues to innovate and iTunes in the cloud is the same sort of thing that Google are doing with their music package. Great if you're a mac devotee but maybe not the most flexible route for open source fans.

- Blackberry have also announced a music service this week – BBM Music. It’s a bit cheaper than Spotify’s mobile-friendly version at £4.99 a month and the 60 day trial seems like a no-brainer for anyone currently using a Blackberry device.

- Soundcloud is worthy of a shoutout - it's not the same type of service as iTunes or Google Music, but it's becoming the modern day equivalent of MySpace for independent and alternative music producers to get their work out. The ability to follow and comment on music is very handy once you've found someone you like to hear from.

- If you're more into gigs, Songkick is a perfect complement to your favourite music player. Sync it with iTunes or Last.fm (which we still love, and connects to Spotify) and it will tell you when bands you listen to are playing in your area. Makes finding gigs from people you like a doddle.

These are some of our favourites - what technology do you use to enjoy your music? We're interested in anything - hardware, apps or online services. Tell us in the comments.

Line Bonding has returned

2011-11-04T14:24:00.001Z

Line bonding is back onsale at our website, so we thought it would be useful to members new and old to explain a bit more about this surprisingly popular service.

Line bonding is a technique for increasing the speed of your broadband access using the same technology as your current connection - with a twist. After purchasing and getting setup with Line bonding, upside of that is that Line bonding is available today to anyone with access to the nationwide BE network. but it will actually be powered by two connections running on two separate lines. The router does the hard work of merging the two connections, so you can plug it straight into your existing network at home or the office.

Line bonding is not the same as fibre, which uses different infrastructure. Line bonding uses more traditional technology but the upside is that Line bonding is available today to anyone with access to the nationwide BE network. A side benefit that's popular with businesses and people who run servers is that the two lines are independent, which can improve redundancy.

It’s not just for speed freaks either – Line bonding effectively doubles your current broadband speed so could be a good option for anyone who wants more speed but is limited by their distance from the exchange.

Prices reflect the higher speeds and won't be everyone's cup of tea - but for people who need an unlimited, reliable, high speed connection recognise it's a good alternative to things like leased lines and SDSL. Line bonding comes with the same unlimited, unthrottled experience that we provide across all our products.

If this sounds like something you could use, read more about the Line bonding on the product page.

Come join us at our next BE social

2011-10-28T17:27:00.003+01:00

We’ve taken a bit of a break in our BE socials recently, so we're kicking them off again with a meetup next month in London. Our next BE social will be at The Royal George in Soho on Thursday 24th November. We've got the private room booked out so it’s going to be a great BE-friendly atmosphere, with a few rounds of beer to boot!

Sign up to join us here

We've been running BE socials for a few years now and have a great time at each one. We really enjoy meeting you all in person to talk broadband, tech or even stuff that has nothing to do with all that. If you’ve never been to one of our social, then take a look at 2010’s highlights here.

So make sure you free up your diary on 24^th November to come join us for a drink or two (or three, four, five...). We’ll be there from 7 o’clock – see you there!

BE’s pick of 2011 blockbuster games

2011-10-21T15:09:00.000+01:00

This time of year is great for those of us who are gamers. It is nearing the Christmas season, so the biggest titles of the year suddenly appear on everyone’s radar. This year is no exception and judging by the line up, it will be one of the best years yet.

We spend so much time on online multiplayer games that purely offline games (like Deus Ex) are more a novelty than the norm. We’ve been reading about the most anticipated games and wanted to find out which games you are all looking forward to. So enjoy the previews below and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Call of Duty: MW3 full preview on IGN

“Because the changes in multiplayer don't appear to elevate Modern Warfare 3 to a new level, I believe that Survival mode is the game's ace in the hole ... for a series that thrives on polish over drastic overhauls in standard multiplayer, this new mode is a breath of fresh air.”

Batman Arkham City full review on Now Gamer

“It’s hard to imagine much improvement over Arkham Asylum but somehow Rocksteady has squeezed Arkham City for every drop of epicness. The rhythm-action-like combat is as simple yet skilled as before, but battles are often several times bigger with an enhanced sense of Batman’s strength and ability.”

Battlefield 3 full preview on Games Radar

“Battlefield 3 is looking ready to go toe to toe with one of the biggest franchises in gaming history. While the single player component is trying to beat Modern Warfare at its own game, the multiplayer remains very Battlefield, minimizing the focus on twitch skills in favor of tactics and teamwork. And that’s a point in their favor, even if it’s skewing more in the direction of Bad Company 2 rather than Battlefield 2.”

Assassins Creed: Revelations full preview on EuroGamer

“[Revelations is] in keeping with the tone of an more mature and more responsible Ezio, a man who's now shouldering the burden of the secret war between the rival factions. He's fronting a game that's more mature and certainly a little wiser than its forebears too. Assassin's Creed may well be reaching saturation point with its recent annual releases, but when they're as smart and polished as this we'll be sad when they're gone.”

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception full preview on The Sixth Axis

“It’s the sense of unpredictability and chaos that makes Uncharted 3 such a good game, and as the level progresses and Drake and Sully (who’s still a brilliant asset to the series) get into ever mode ridiculously dangerous situations ... Drake’s Deception surely looks set to showcase what the PS3 is capable of like nothing else – the visuals are lovely, the animation sublime, the gameplay (QTEs aside) nigh on perfect.”

Which games are you looking forward to this gaming season? And how will you be playing – PC, console or streaming now that OnLive is here?

Your How-To Tips: Part Two

2011-10-17T15:38:00.000+01:00

We recently posted a whole bunch of tips and tricks submitted by you guys after asking for a little advice in our last newsletter. These tips went down really well and have been helpful to a lot of BE customers.

There was so much advice sent our way that we had to split up the post, so here is part two of the how-to tips series, which is hopefully as useful as the last.

Channel hopper Sufi suggests:

Check what channel you are on using metageeks insider or similar software to see other wireless networks in your area. If you are using a channel others are using, switch to a channel that no one else is.

Andy offers another way to compete with neighbouring networks:

A basic scan gives you a list of over 10 different networks and most of these have a relatively high signal level. A solution to this is to switch to 5GHz technology, which most people are not using.

Julius adds to this tip with an Android app suggestion:

There is also a handy app for android phones called ‘wifi analyzer’ which is very handy for doing the same but in a more detailed fashion.

Homeplug fan Ross suggests:

Use homeplugs to easily distribute your broadband throughout your house, with a network switch for the living room kit and a homeplug wireless repeater to get your broadband in the garden.

Rhys gives the golden rule:

If you plug the BeBox router directly into the master phone socket rather than an extension or secondary socket it can improve your speeds. Made a 30% increase for me!

Some sound advice from Dominic:

Don't try to talk your computer illiterate mother through installing Flash Player at 10pm after drinking 2 pints of beer - it just won't happen!

Another cheeky tip submitted by Shaun:

When setting up a computer for your non-tech folks, I've heard lots of excuses about why they won't touch chrome and prefer IE. So, you install chrome, and change the icon to the IE icon. Haven't had a problem since.

Here’s another browser tips from time-saver Richard:

Ctrl+Click is your friend. When browsing the web I will Ctrl+Click links to open them up in background tabs. A bit later, when I've finished reading the current page I can switch to those opened tabs and find them already open and loaded.

And the last tip, offered by Jamie, is a classic:

Wired is always quicker than wireless - if you can connect with an ethernet cable then do so.

Thanks again for everyone who submitted their helpful tips and tricks, you can still send us your advice here: broadbandhowto@bethere.co.uk.

Changes we’re making to BE’s Network

2011-10-06T15:13:00.000+01:00

For some time now, we’ve been working on a major project to overhaul BE’s ‘core’ network (the bit that we own, as opposed to the part we rent from BT), principally to enable the introduction of more advanced services, increase the bandwidth (across the core part of our network) and help prepare us for transition to IPV6. It will also increase the resiliency of our network, helping to minimise the number of customers affected when, from time to time, we experience service outages.

As we are effectively building a new ‘core’ network, we’ll need to migrate everyone across from the existing network, the result being a small amount of downtime to the Broadband service, and a change to everyone’s IP addresses. We realise this is an inconvenience, and so will be doing our utmost to minimise any impact this could have on service.

We’ll be kicking off this project early next year, and over the course of the following six to seven months everyone will be migrated to the new network, with both dynamic and static IP addresses also changing during this time. However, to make things as straightforward as possible, as the migration takes place we’ll be supporting both new and ‘old’ static IP addresses for 30 days, allowing everyone plenty of time to make the move when their turn comes.

We’ll also be changing the way we provide static IP addresses, bringing us in line with industry best practice and helping those customers who choose to source and configure their own routers (for static IP address-holders with our own BE Box, however, we’ll be deploying a firmware upgrade.).

Following the completion of the project, anyone ordering a single or multiple static IP address as part of their BE broadband package will be assigned with blocks conforming to the correct subnet size, accessed through the WAN IP on their router, and in blocks of one, six and 14 addresses.

There’ll be no change to our current pricing, however, with an allocation of six being priced the same as the current four, and 14 the same price as the existing block of 16; those customers currently using either four or eight addresses will have their allocation changed to six and for those using 16 the allocation will be reduced to 14.

All BE members will be receiving emails regarding this over the coming months, detailing how it will affect them and what action they need to take.

An update on fibre

2011-09-28T13:18:00.000+01:00

Since Chris last posted about fibre, thousands have pre-registered to let us know where the demand is. We learned that there’s demand across the whole country rather than a small number of city-centre hotspots.

Our priority has been to work with a partner that has an existing fibre network, as this would be quicker and better value for our customers than starting from scratch to lay down a new network. Frustratingly, for both us and for you, it’s taking us longer than we originally thought to find a solution that meets the expectations of BE and our customers.

To reiterate, we believe an unthrottled and unlimited broadband experience across all our products will offer customers the best possible experience, and it is this approach that we want to bring to market through working with the right partner.

Chris explained that we’d like to launch our fibre service this year but it’s now likely to be longer than hoped. For this reason, we are looking to trial a solution where we create more of the network for BE by installing more of our own equipment into the local exchange. Although it’s more complex it could work better in the long run. This will be a single-exchange trial to start with, using BE staff as guinea pigs.

We know how much you guys are after a BE fibre service. We’re putting lots of effort into making it happen and we’re sorry that our initial goal of fibre products this year might not be possible. We read all of your comments even if we can’t reply to them all and we appreciate your loyalty to BE through the journey so far.

Is this how you use the internet?

2011-09-23T17:31:00.000+01:00

Tick tock, tick tock goes the clock as you waste away your life doing ‘other’ on the internet.

Or at least that is what the result of a survey by Experian Hitwise shows. In some recent research they found the average person in the UK spends their time on the internet like this:

So, according to the chart above, Joe Bloggs spend twice as much time on ‘adult’ stuff than he does ‘travel’. But he’d rather check Facebook over anything else any day. Also quite notably, Mr. Bloggs spends a lot of his time on ‘other’, which, as it stands, sounds like a slight waste of time.

The chart is interesting, but it would be interesting to see how the average BE member stacks up to this. So if you fancy telling us, we’d like to know how you spend your time and whether it matches the chart above.

We understand if you’d rather analyse your own activity yourselves. If you want to do that, we’ve found a productivity tool for Windows PCs called Chrometa which monitors activity on your computer. It is completely private and can be paused at any time, but is great for self-evaluation and checking to see where you can become more efficient and less of a time waster.

How do you spend your time on the web? Is it just on your PC or is it mostly on Xbox LIVE? Are you on your PC mostly or spending more time on a portable device? We’re not checking up on you, we’re just data geeks. Leave a comment to let us know.

Your How-To tips: Part One

2011-09-16T15:30:00.000+01:00

We asked you, in the recent newsletter, to submit your best broadband related tips to help your fellow members make the most of their BE connection. We had a great response and noticed a tonne of awesome tips, some we’d heard of and some that were completely new to us. There were too many for just one post, so look out for more BE member How-To tips coming soon.

Here’s the first bunch:

Wired BE member John advises:

Check your house wiring, remove sockets and wiring that you no longer use, and make sure your connections are properly made and secure. Check for any short circuits inside sockets. Always connect your router to your master socket. If necessary ask BT, or an approved contractor, to move your master socket. The cheap extension socket kits sold on the high street are often of poor quality, so source your wiring from a specialist electrical shop and choose high quality branded accessories. For only a few pounds more you will get a noticeably better, faster and more reliable broadband connection.

Efficient advice from BE member Axel :

Remove any start up apps or automatic updates from your computer – unless needed. These things use bandwidth for no reason if you do not need them. For example: webcam software, any toolbars, etc. But there are exceptions, such as Windows update, firewalls and antivirus software.

Port savvy advice from BE member Richard:

Use port forwarding if your router allows it. This helps a lot with traffic management to your various connected devices. For example, it lets you host a game on one machine, but leave the other for daily tasks.

Sound advice from BE member Ross:

Visit the forum for advice on your line and whether you can improve it.

BE member Stephen lists his favourite tools for checking his connection:

'192' added as a search option in Chrome and Launchy to point to http://192.168.1.254/cgi/b/dsl/dt/?be=0&l0=1&l1=0, so I can quickly see if there is something basic amiss.
DMT (http://192.168.1.254/cgi/b/dsl/dt/?be=0&l0=1&l1=0) to check more details of the connection.
f8lure (http://192.168.1.254/cgi/b/dsl/dt/?be=0&l0=1&l1=0) to monitor if my connection has oddities.
Tone (http://adsl.tin2tin.net) for more details and logging than DMT, and for quick access to f8lure graphs.
NetLimiter (free version http://www.netlimiter.com/download.php) to check net speeds and traffic volumes of different programs.
Inssider (http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/) to sort out any wireless network issues.
DNSBench (http://www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm) to check out which nameservers are best for me.
Launchy (www.launchy.net). not specifically for broadband, but this is the one I use almost all the time ...to make it easier to access all those programs above, and all other programs and websites as well.

BE member Colin says:

For my Be broadband connection I have a static IP address. This is a free option with BE and really something that you may want to consider. It gives me an extremely useful advantage. The static IP address means that I can route traffic through my firewall and serve content stored locally out to the internet.

Parenting advice from BE member Ken:

Manage who uses the (wonderfully high) bandwidth with custom firmware - DD-WRT – in a Linksys router. As well as giving more control and features, one of the best options are Access profiles and QOS. Access profiles allow a parent to restrict the time their little angels teenagers spend online. While QOS allows parents to restrict the bandwidth their little angels teenagers have - it puts them off downloading too many things they shouldn't.

Hot advice from BE member Steve:

Keep your modem upside-down so it doesn't overheat!

What do you think of these BE members’ advice? Anything to add? Keep submitting your tips to broadbandhowto@bethere.co.uk.

BE’s favourite gadgets at IFA 2011

2011-09-08T15:01:00.001+01:00

IFA Berlin is one of Europe’s largest consumer electronics trade shows and this year’s has really impressed us here at BE towers. Whilst no one offered to fly us over for the show, we’ve been catching up on various blogs and YouTube channels, drooling over some of the new gadgets coming to the market – and hopefully to the UK, fingers crossed. Let’s take a look at our favourite gadgets...

Spiderphone
A phone with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor and 4.5-inch screen with 1280 x 800 resolution is impressive enough on its own. But that’s not really why we like it so much. The biggest feature of the Spiderphone is what it becomes; a handheld gaming device, a tablet PC and even a laptop. If Optimus Prime had a phone, this would be it.

The phone plugs into 3 different accessories to make this a reality. The gaming accessory (obviously the least impressive but still quite useful) adds physical buttons to the phone making it a more traditional gaming device. Then there is a large tablet PC screen which the phone plugs into. On its own the larger screen is useless, but with the phone neatly slotted in the device turns into a powerful Android tablet like any other. But our favourite accessory is the laptop shell, which also packs a battery – so not to suck all the power out of the phone. This turns the phone into a laptop with full qwerty keyboard and touchpad – which is the phone itself. Awesome.

Sony Tablet P and Samsung Tablet S
These new tablet PCs running Android Honeycomb look really cool. While the Tablet S has the sleeker design, it is the Tablet P that actually has the more interesting function, offering a dual screen display in a clamshell (yes, that old fad) design. Both are compatible with other Sony devices, so in theory they should work as remote controls for your Sony TV as well as offering the ability to ‘flick’ images directly to the TV.

The Tablet P’s killer feature is the 2 screens, which can run as one screen or split into two functions, such as email on the top screen with a keyboard on the bottom screen. The Tablet S’s main feature is the wedge shape design which aims to make watching or reading from the device easier and without the need to hold the device.

Sony Personal HD & 3D Viewer
The device everyone expected us to be wearing in the year 2000 is finally here. Headset visor gaming and movie watching is going to be possible with the Sony Personal HD & 3D Viewer – they must focus on the tech rather than catchy names. The device was first shown at CES with the warning it will not be coming to market, however after a few tweaks it is now going to be available for anyone with $800 to spend.

This device wraps around your head and displays a different image to each eye, hence the ability to display 3D. It packs earphones with 5.1 simulated surround sound and offers four modes; cinema, game, pure AV and standard. This is going to be the ultimate display for first person shooters, seriously can’t wait.

Duck-Shaped TV
Okay, this one we were not as excited about. But it had to make the list, mainly because it is amazing someone, somewhere decided it would be a good idea to make a TV shaped as a duck. Kudos to the product designer who had the gumption to suggest the idea, shame on the bosses for being convinced. Then again, us guys might not be the target audience on this one...

Did any other devices catch your attention?

Nominated, recommended and feeling good

2011-08-31T17:58:00.001+01:00

Broadband awards are like Sony tablet computers - you're not really expecting them in the first place, then two arrive at once.

Not really. But we have just found out we've been recognised in two separate broadband awards: BE has been nominated in PC Pro’s Excellence Awards 2011 as Best ISP Provider, and we've been recognised by Which? in their list of Recommended Broadband Providers.

For the PC Pro awards 2011 we’ve been shortlisted in the broadband category. Thanks for voting for us and we’ll keep watch for the results at the end of September.

Also, thanks to everyone who recommended BE in the Which? survey of 10k people - we really appreciate it. Our rating rose by 6% to 81% and we hope to improve it again next year.

Cheers from everyone @ BE

Choosing a photo hosting solution

2011-07-27T14:02:00.000+01:00

A few of us at the BE house are really enthusiastic about photography. We are not experts and we don’t use amazing technology – but this doesn’t stop the enthusiasm. Photography is very mainstream, with entire social networks, such as Flickr dedicated to photography. Putting your photos online is the best way to both showcase and backup your snaps. This requires a pretty decent internet connection.

Even if you are not using a DSLR camera, you’re still taking high quality images on a smartphone, and when using online photo storage a broadband connection like BE seems pretty essential. You could of course use a big hard drive, but keeping photos online means, in theory, that photos are securely backed up, available anywhere in the world and open freely for others to view and share (depending on what privacy settings you put in place).

There are a number of photo hosting solutions available, the most popular of which is Flickr (although if you counted Facebook this would actually be bigger). This is a great service for finding creative commons photos, as well as advanced tagging functionality. But with the introduction of Google+, which has already reached 20 million users, it seems Picasa could potentially become the top photo hosting service.

It is not just Google that is strengthening its photo offering. Twitter recently aligned with Photobucket to become the default host for photos uploaded to official Twitter apps. Apple are soon to introduce the Photo Stream, part of its iCloud offering which will back up all photos taken on an iOS device from the past 30 days, along with the 1,000 most recent photos.

With all these new developments and upcoming services, we have taken a snapshot of the current options available for you:

Service	Free storage	Cost to go pro	Best for...
Flickr	300MB per month, 2 videos per month	$25 per year	Social
Photobucket	10GB	$25 per year	Free storage
iCloud Photo Stream – coming this autumn	1,000 most recent photos, all photos from past 30 days	Not announced	Sync
Snapfish	Unlimited, so long as there is ‘active participation’	N/A, but prints are from 5p each	Printing
Picasa	1GB	From $5 per year	All rounder

Which photo hosting service do you use? Are there any other options you think people should consider?

Share the unlimited broadband joy

2011-07-13T17:32:00.000+01:00

BE isn’t just any broadband company. Your friends might not know this. You may go to parties and Kim’s wife Dave is going on about his £1 a month connection which ‘does the job’ and besides, he doesn’t like YouTube.

But you know he does, and you know BE does things differently and (we think) better. We’re not willing to cut corners to make cheap broadband, so we guarantee that all our products are unlimited and we don’t use traffic management to throttle your speeds.

So tell him. Tell Dave about BE. Kim will be chuffed – she’ll finally get to catch up on Peter Andre: The Next Chapter. And both you and Dave will get £15.

With our member-get-member system we give you £15 in credit each time you get a friend to sign up – and they’ll get the same amount too. Do it six times and you’ll get a bonus £15 credit extra too.

So what are you waiting for? Help share the unlimited broadband joy now.

Thanks for crossing your fingers - we won another ISPA award

2011-07-08T16:27:00.000+01:00

BE has been recognised again at the ISPA Awards 2011, retaining the "best consumer broadband" award for a second year.

We just connect the pipes together, so we'd like to dedicate this award to all of our members for believing in unlimited, unthrottled broadband and for making the internet a more awesome place one byte at a time.

Thanks
Everyone @ BE

BE fibre pre-registration now live

2011-07-05T11:00:00.000+01:00

Earlier this week, Chris posted about our plans for fibre. Thanks for all of the comments, it helps us to know that there’s a lot of you interested in fibre.

In the post Chris said that we would use a pre-registration scheme to work out which areas the product would be most popular in at this initial stage. We’ve been working to get this ready as soon as possible and it’s now ready to take your details.

Pre-register your interest in fibre broadband from BE now

MD of BE Broadband Chris Stening talks about BE & fibre

2011-06-28T11:10:00.001+01:00

There’s a lot of work going on at BE around our plans for fibre, so I thought it was time I gave you an update.

There’s terrific demand for a fibre service and I hear all your feedback online and by phone. We’re determined to offer a fibre product with all the things you love about BE – great service, award winning support and super fast speeds, no matter how much you download.

Fibre’s big promise is faster potential speeds than ADSL, and the arms-race for speed gets a lot of headlines. We launched the UK’s first ADSL2+ network which just shows we’ve always been speed freaks here at BE too.

BE members know that speed is affected by much more than the materials of the cabling that runs into the cabinet though. In practice that means an unlimited, unthrottled connection from BE could be faster for downloading films than a fibre connection with traffic management.

So our plans for fibre have to be something unlimited and unshaped too, otherwise it simply defeats the object of having greater speed. It’s great to be told you could get speeds up to some high level, but with traffic management it is unlikely you’ll get it for long. We are unlikely to be the cheapest in the market but we are determined to be the best.

Practically, we’d really like to launch our service later this year. We’re crunching the numbers on a variety of different routes that would allow us to deliver our vision of fibre. We think a pre-registration programme will help us work out where there is demand from our existing members.

I know this has been a long time coming but we want to get it right and make sure we deliver a service you expect – hopefully you’ll feel it was worth the wait.

More will follow here on the blog, so keep an eye out or signup on Facebook / Twitter to get alerts. I will be on the Forum from 6-8pm next Monday (4th July) although am unlikely to be able to share much more information at that time.

Chris