PaulH wrote on Jan 25^th, 2013 at 10:25am:

2MB enough to stop picture freezing?

Streaming at 2Mb is just about ok; 1Mb isn't enough. 3Mb or more is much better as the 'player' reads chunks of data at a time and so has a buffer big enough to last a few seconds.

BUT.. and this is the killer..

The WiMax network (Eurona, Iberbanda, NetPorts) is NOT capable of supporting lots of users all streaming at the same time. It is a limitation of the technology. Remember that there is only a guarantee of 10% of the contracted speed (this is normal for any domestic internet service) so your 1Mb only guarantees you 100Kb. This is ok if the speed drop is short duration but if it lasts for a while then expect your stream to stop and your picture to freeze and it always seems to happen at ........

So, if we are all expecting to jump onto iPlayer/FilmOn/whatever in the summer then don't expect too great a result. Also the quality of these streams is designed for PC screens, not for 47" TV screens. It doesn't scale well so you end up watching a big blur..

If you have an ISDN line (in towns and some villages) then you are ok but the majority of us don't.

I still don't know about Satellite internet users but, if they are ok, then they will need to upgrade their service as the current monthly download limits will soon be used up while streaming.
The satellite internet offers are improving - I currently have one that allows unlimited download after 8pm so there is hope, daytime TV is out though.

I am investigating alternative solutions.