two broadband accounts in one home? possible?

[DLH1999]

Me and my flatmate currently live in a place where NowTV is the only stable wifi in the area. We do not have access to fibre so we have the basic package.
It is currently at the point that we cannot both use the wifi at the same time on our devices, as we both operate our own PCs and if we both try to use them simultaneously, then we cannot do anything at all.

We are curious as to if I paid for the current broadband service (it is already in my name) and then she purchased a second broadband deal also, would we be able to then technically have two separate routers with their own broadband package, and therefore have a more stable connection from us both only using 'our own' wifi, even if they are both operating in the same home.
We have 2 DSL connections so that will not be an issuing factor into this.

I know this is a strange theory. I am not sure if it is possible or allowed by the company, nor do I know if it would improve our connectivity issues, but we are desperate to have a more stable network, and are not willing to pay extra for bare minimum broadband from any other provider.

[RoyB]

@DLH1999 

What do you mean by ‘2 DSL connections’? That you already have two separate BT Master Sockets in the property, and both are wired back to the cabinet?

Next, we need to debate ‘only stable WiFi in the area’. I don’t know how big an area you are talking about, but just about any other ISP, apart from Virgin, should be able to give you a comparable service, as it’s all the same cabling, back as far as the exchange. It may be that only Sky has the LLU (local loop unbundling) in the local exchange though.

Then - basic package? So you have Brilliant Broadband? And when you say ‘no access to fibre’ do you mean to your property, or not even to the local cabinet? So if you tried to take Fab Fibre or Super Fibre, or the equivalent from any other ISP, you couldn’t get it, and you are limited by your location to 11 Mbps or worse ADSL?

You might want to use a broadband availability checker, USwitch or Openreach, to see what you could actually get.

But if all this is true, then yes, I guess your second line in would bring another 11 Mbps. And with a different SSID on each one, you could keep your usages separate, on a line each.

But before going this route, can you try a couple of things?

Run up one PC, and measure the speed you get over WiFi using the free internet site fast.com from a browser on the PC.

Then wire that PC directly into the router with an Ethernet cable and measure again. If it’s significantly faster, you can consider keeping that arrangement; if there are practical difficulties with running a cable, you could use a pair of PowerLine Adaptors, which use your existing mains wiring for that purpose.

But for the moment, leave PC1 on WiFi, and for the next test, run up the second PC and have it used as it normally would be, making use of the internet. Now see what speeds fast.com shows on the first PC, which will tell you the amount of bandwidth PC2 is consuming. And we can assume PC1 will use about the same….

Come back and post what the numbers are, and we can go from there with our recommendations.

[Jayach]

As @RoyB says there are a lot of unknowns here.

I wouldn't mind betting that the poor Now router is the where most of the problems stem from.

The first thing to know is just what Openreach can offer at your location, so take a look here:

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL, if the number checker doesn't work, use the address checker instead.

If it doesn't make much sense to you, paste a copy here (obscure any private information) and we can see what your options are.