Speeds throughout the building
The headline speed associated with your ASK4 account is your Internet package speed.
Your Internet package speed is the capacity available for the shared use of all your devices within your building. The top speed any one device will achieve will vary depending on its limitations and how it is connected to the Internet (e.g., wired or wireless).
Understanding advertised speeds
Advertised broadband speeds (such as 1Gb/s) are provided as an indication of the maximum capacity available at the building or network level, rather than a guaranteed speed to any single device. In practice, achieving the full 1Gb/s requires multiple devices across multiple locations using the connection simultaneously. Individual wired devices typically achieve a maximum of around 940Mb/s due to network overheads, and 1Gb/s speeds are not achievable to any single device over a wireless connection. Wireless performance can vary significantly depending on factors such as device capability, user location within the building, network congestion, interference from other devices (including resident IoT devices), and physical factors such as building materials and furniture placement.
How to talk about speed
When referencing speed in marketing materials, ASK4 refers to broadband or Internet speeds, not WiFi speeds, as wireless performance is inherently variable as referenced above. To ensure clarity and regulatory compliance, ASK4 follows Ofcom’s recognised terminology: standard broadband refers to download speeds below 30Mbps, superfast broadband refers to download speeds between 30Mbps and 300Mbps, and ultrafast broadband refers to download speeds above 300Mbps.
General
The aggregate speeds you experience across your devices can be lower than your headline package speed. Speeds may be affected by things we cannot control – like the device you are using, and the number of users online accessing a particular website. High usage, such as during major sporting events, my also cause congestion at peak times.
However, we aim to ensure that average attainable speeds at peak times will be displayed when you sign up as it depends on the packages available at each site.
The average attainable speed is the speed available for at least 50% of the customer base across all our sites on the same package at peak time (8-10pm).
Test your speed using the ASK4 Diagnostics app
For the most accurate results, we recommend using the ASK4 Diagnostics app when testing your Internet speed. Unlike generic speed tests, our bespoke diagnostics app captures additional technical information about your connection including signal quality, device performance and network behaviour. This gives our support teams far greater visibility, helping us identify and resolve issues faster and more effectively.
The app is free to download and available on both Apple iOS and Google Android.