~ PlusNet offers advice to stay connected over the festive period ~

Customers of all UK ISPs may find broadband speeds slower than expected this Christmas, according to PlusNet.

While day-to-day performance varies between broadband providers, there are less well-known contributors to dips in service quality which can affect any home at any time. Based on calls to its UK-based support centre, PlusNet has identified some of the issues which can combine to make the festive period a performance blackspot:

1. Christmas tree/house lights – most people put up tree lights without ever thinking that they could contribute to communications issues. Once they are switched on Christmas tree lights increase the amount of electrical interference in the home. This can lead to slower broadband speeds or unstable connections.

2. White goods - washing machines, dishwashers and even microwaves are all contributing factors to high electricity use. Given the amount of cooking and entertaining which happens over the festive period, interference can increase, which could again lead to slower speeds or unstable connections.

3. Street lights – as the nights draw in, ‘light-up’ time gets earlier, so we spend more time under the glow of street lights. When the street lights come on the noise and interference on a telephone line can increase and cause problems with broadband speed and stability.

4. Bad weather – every Christmas may not be white, but you can usually guarantee some adverse weather conditions in late December. Poor weather conditions can damage telephone lines and significantly impact broadband performance

“While we expect home Internet use to be widespread over Christmas, customers could possibly see some issues if several of these factors converge,” said Neil Armstrong, Products and Marketing Director at PlusNet.

“The broadband connection does not stand alone and is inextricably linked to other elements in and around the home. That’s why any Internet user, regardless of their service provider, may experience disruption due to uncontrollable factors. We feel it’s important to let customers know what these factors are and what they can do to minimise the negative impact they have.”

Advice on this issue can be found on PlusNet community site, at http://community.plus.net/comms/2007/12/12/festive-faults/