Case Study
Somerset
June 2022

Slow broadband makes it impossible to work from home: 'I would never use my home broadband for a Zoom call'

Marcus Prouse and his partner live together in Taunton and like most, have been working from home since the pandemic. However, they struggled with slow broadband speeds, making it almost impossible for them both to work remotely.

With fibre unavailable, they had to turn to National Broadband's 4G services to transform their broadband speeds and make working from home a possibility.

Due to broadband speeds of just 10Mbps, Marcus, who works in local government, was frequently forced to go into the office to work and especially for important Zoom meetings.

Latest research conducted by National Broadband shows Marcus was not alone, joining many other 'Zoom Commuters' across the UK. The research reveals that 1 in 3 of those who can work from home in the UK are forced to travel into the office for important Zoom meetings solely because of poor broadband speeds at home.

Marcus enquired about getting a fibre-based service installed but the local provider was not open to deploying fibre around his residential area. He had to go online to look for an alternative.

This is where he came across National Broadband, who were able to solve his slow connectivity issues with their 4G service. This transformed his broadband speeds from 10Mbps to 26Mbps, allowing Marcus and his partner to both work from home at the same time, each now being able to access the remote office-based systems required for their respective jobs with ease.

Marcus commented: "With us both working remotely, we used to really struggle due to our slow internet connection. I would frequently have to go into the office and would never take the risk of using my home broadband for important Zoom meetings. Personally and professionally, the service from National Broadband and having reliable broadband has had a hugely positive impact on our daily lives. From responding to the initial enquiry, to the installation and aftercare, National Broadband has been great all the way".

According to a recent Ofcom report, over 650,000 UK home and business properties still have no access to decent broadband via a fixed or landline connection and so struggle to carry out normal day-to-day tasks that others simply take for granted, such as working from home.

David Hennell, Business Development Director, National Broadband said: "Sadly, reliable broadband is simply not accessible to all, leaving people struggling to get online to perform day-to-day tasks and work from home. As we see with Marcus and his partner, in today's world, working from home has become a norm and therefore having access to good quality connectivity at home is a priority".

He continued: "There are far too many people having a to deal with a lack of reliable internet. As a priority, the Government needs to implement better broadband solutions for all and fully commit to its 'Levelling Up' agenda, connecting the United Kingdom by improving digital connectivity in all locations. This is particularly true for those in rural areas, who are invariably the most in need".

See this story on the Somerset County Gazette website.