Remote working-

when working from home and connection to a Business server/internal network there will potentially slower speed caused by external conditions that are not manages by us such as home internet service providers (ISP) limiting the amount of bandwidth that can be used through a VPN connection. this is due to the amount of people working from home at this time. Gigabair's private networks bandwidth is not being restricted and I can assure you the network is running on full power.

VPN- 

using a VPN can cause the connection to slow down depending on a number of variables such as:

Business server- limiting speeds when old hardware is used or not capable of gigabit speeds

DNS servers- limiting the speed when retrieving files and pages

Home ISP- limiting amount of bandwidth you can use while connected to a VPN 

Working Wireless-

On most routers deployed there is a 2/2.4ghz network name you can connect to and a 5ghz version.

connecting to the right one when working wirelessly can increase the speed you are getting from the service.

2.4ghz frequency are best used when the router is in a different part of the building and isn't nearby/ free of obstacles such as walls as it will have a better signal through obstacles that the 5ghz but at a slightly reduced speed which will me more reliable.

5ghz frequency is best used when next to/close to the router as it provides higher bandwidth wireless but is affected by walls and interference more severely and can cause low speeds if used at a distance 

Best way to run a speed test-

the best way to run a speed test is to use the Peplink Broadband Speed Test Tool which will download a set size file from a server such as apple or Microsoft and monitor the rate at which the traffic is being received 

accurate results come from opening the tool multiple times and running multiple streams from one or more computers to show a real time speed of downloading a file

(note that the files downloaded by the tool are purely test files and will not remain on the device. also, when running multiple streams adding the bandwidth from each stream is equal to the total speed.)

this is more reliable at the moment that tests such as fast.com / Ookla speed test as these are seeing increased use and heavy traffic on their servers which is causing false reports of speeds

With the new restrictions in place with COVID-19 Gigabair has been working hard to support all customers by implementing faster and bigger bandwidth links into the most vulnerable areas. Work will continue today and sporadic outages will occur from the following areas:

1. Birstall 
2. New Parks 
3. Ridge Farm 
4. Charley 
5. Troon Industrial Estate 
6. Hayhill 

Reduced Staff 

In line with government guidelines we have reduced our staff structure to a skeleton crew. External visits are available for emergency issues only. Please use the ticket support system for all enquiries. 

Service Levels 

All users of our legacy 5Ghz system may experience bandwidth reduction due to the increase use and of frequency, all Gigabit customers will have full bandwidth availability. Our support team will be posting some articles today to help you increase or maintain their services. 

Please note remote users connecting into their offices may experience bandwidth issue which may relate to their own home service provider as we are aware of bandwidth restrictions from main ISP, we would like to request your support in limiting service tickets so we can concentrate on the vulnerable areas of customers services.   

Networks Team 

We are currently working on links connected to ridge farm and swapping customers over to the faster and more stable link.

There may be short outages during this time.

Sorry for any inconvenience 

Temporary fix due to bad wind damage yesterday to our gigabit link has worsened today with further wind damage. All customers are now on the 100Mbps links and engineers will be attending site this morning. Health and safety will be assessed on access via cherry picker and repairs may cause disruption. 

Regards 

Networks Team 

We are still working on the Birstall masts to repair the main Gigabit link, service remain on the slower link and service maybe effected duing the repairs

Network Services Team 

Please note our main Gigabit link is down and all services are reduced. Service work will begin at 6:30am tomorrow morning subject to health and safety. Service delivery issue are Matters beyond Reasonable Control due to bad weather and storm damage.  No estimated time of of resolve is available at present. 

Regards 

Network Services Team 

Dear Customers

We would like to inform you that there is currently a network outage affecting all Ridge Farm Customers. We have identified there has been a powercut at the mainsite where the main radio link for Ridgefarm is hosted. We will update you as soon as possible when we are provided a time scale of when they can get the power up and running. 

Kind Regards 

Gigabair Support

We currently aligning the main radio on Troon estate, service has been backed up to our back low speed link, further updates to follow.

Due to Storm Ciara we have experienced unprecedented damage to areas of the network and customer sites. 

Updates

South Side of St Georges Tower covering all areas south to Leicester Tigers

Complete framework destroyed due to high winds. Clearing up has commenced Sunday but we are restricted due to continued winds. Estimated service recovery 24-48hours.

Troon Industrial Estate 

All 5Ghz back up services are down 72hr fix 

Ridge Farm & Bawdon Lodge 

Back up links down 72 hour fix 

In Danger Installs 

Any customers with ground mount’s or installs that are in danger, life threatening please whats app 07737471029 and put an urgent ticket in, assessments will be made and engineers dispatched. 

Please do not call in for non-essential service calls as we can only respond to wind damage services. Where we appreciate customers maybe without Internet, the service outages are acts of god and we will work to repair main services as quickly as we can. Please do not contact engineers direct.

Dear Customers

I am just writing to let you know that if you ever have any issues can you please put in a ticket rather than the live chat or directly calling an engineer. This helps us keep a record of any issues that you have previously had and are able to correct any future issues if such problems occur. The engineers are working at heights and it is dangerous for them to be answering phone calls mid way through their jobs. If you write a ticket with your issues and specific requests that are needed someoen will get back to you and try to resolve the issues as quickly as possible. 

Kind Regards

Gigabair Support

Dear Customers 

You may have been experiencing drop outs with your network connection. We have just been informed that the building next door to where we host our equipment and network links is currently on fire. The power has been moved over to a temporary connection so there maybe more drops outs until around 6pm today.

Kind Regards

Gigabair Support 

Dear Customers 

We would like you to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from us all at Gigabair! Over the christmas break we will have skeleton staff in place to answer any questions via the ticket system and montitoring of the network. Our office opening times are as follows:

24th December (Christmas Eve) 8:30am - 12pm

25th December (Christmas Day) Closed

26th December (Boxing Day) Closed

27th December  8:30am - 5:30pm

30th December 8:30am - 5:30pm

31st December (New Years Eve) 8:30am - 5:30pm

1st January (New Years Day) Closed

2nd January Open as usual

Dear Customers,

 This sunday (8th december) there was be a power cut at St Gerorges Tower between the hours of 2:30am -5:30 am, this will result in a lose of internet connectivty for customer connected via the St Gerogoes tower (Leicester City Centre, Narborough Wood Park, Narborough, Ridge Farm) .  We will have engineer's on standby to get anyones connection back up and running if they remain offline once the power has been turned back on.  We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause but this power outage is out of our hands.

Kind Regards

Gigabair Support Team

Dear Customers,

Today you may experience drop outs or lower speeds with your broadband connection, this is due to the heavy rain affecting the radio links. We are trying our best to make ajustments to the links to give you a more stable service whilst the weather is currently like this, hopefully your speeds will be back to normal soon.

Kind Regards

Gigabair Support

Dear Customers,

This morning customers at Ridgefarm area will be experiencing a network outage. This is due to a power issue at the mast, we currently have engineers carrying out work and are aiming to the get everything back up and running in the next 30 minutes. We apoogise for the inconveinence caused by this network outage and aimed to have it resolved as quickly as possible.

Kind Regards

Gigabair Support

Dear Customers

This afternoon customers may experience some issues with their broadband connection in the Ridgefarm Area, This is due to a cable repair that will take place. The system should go into back up mode so speed might be slower than usual. We apologise for any inconveinece this may cause and hope to have this fixed between 30 minutes to 1 hour. 

Kind Regards 

Gigabair Support 

Gigabair today has launched a new and improved support portal with interactive chat. Customer will be registered with a confirmation email over the next 24 hours. If you don't receive an email please register directly to gain access to updates and tickets.