Download the full media release here     

 

Sure’s top tips getting the most out of your broadband

With more and more of us having to work or study from home, demand on Jersey’s telecoms infrastructure is increasing dramatically.

The additional demand comes alongside the rise in multi-device households, which have become the new norm. Think about how many devices in your home are online now – it’s not just mobiles, laptops and games consoles anymore, but smart home systems and domestic appliances as well.

Add to that the fact that entire families across the island will be spending a lot more time at home together than usual and your usage is certainly going to be above what you might expect it to be.

So what can you do to make the most of your broadband and ensure that you can enjoy the best connection possible?

 

  1. To get the best WiFi signal strength your router needs to be located away from any objects that might cause interference (such as Bluetooth speakers, games consoles and microwaves), preferably somewhere high up in the centre of your home. 

 

  1. Where possible, it helps to connect devices directly to your router via an Ethernet cable. This is a computer networking cable which should give you the fastest speeds possible and free up the WiFi capacity for other devices. 

 

  1. Connecting lots of devices to your router can eat into your WiFi bandwidth and affect the quality of your connection, so turn these off if you’re not using them as devices like tablets and smartphones often work in the background. If everyone is home, you may wish to consider limiting the number of devices in use at any one time.

 

  1. Always password protect your WiFi to prevent unauthorised users from connecting to your network and slowing down your service. 

 

  1. Download or stream videos and TV shows in standard rather than high definition format and avoid large updates for online games until off-peak hours.

 

  1. If you are struggling to get WiFi coverage throughout your home you may benefit from a WiFi extender or Mesh WiFi System – these are available from Sure, and the cost can be spread over 24 months.

 

Sure’s network has the resilience to cope with significantly increased demand, and we have been preparing for the likelihood of more islanders working or studying from home, but your download speed could be affected at peak times due to the demand.

 

If you need any advice on your broadband service, please get in touch with us – by phone on 0808 10 15 247 or by email. We’re working with Digital Jersey, the Government of Jersey and other local providers to increase the speed of all fibre broadband connections by 1Gbit/s at no extra cost so that we can keep our island communities connected at this challenging time.