The UK’s broadband finally appears to be picking up pace with more homes now able to connect to ultra fast speeds. In fact, new stats from regulator Ofcom have revealed that the number of British homes now able to access gigabit-capable broadband has increased to 25.9 million. For those not up to speed with the latest tech jargon, gigabit internet is over 10 times faster than standard copper connections.
With that technology beamed into homes, full HD movies can be download in under a minute – that’s compared to almost 10 minutes via standard 70Mbps connections.
Of course, you won’t instantly be upgraded, and not all streets have full fibre. But it is worth checking to see what providers have arrived in your local location – don’t forget it’s not just BT, Sky and Virgin that offer speedy downloads with plenty of smaller so-called “altnets” also popping up all over the country.
To help, Ofcom has a dedicated website that lets you type in your postcode and see what speeds you can get and which providers are available.
YOU CAN CHECK YOUR POSTCODE HERE
Before you get too excited about gigabit speeds, it is worth considering if you really need it.
Like most things in life, the more premium the service, the more you will pay.
For example, standard 70Mbps speeds can cost as little as £25 per month. Sign up for ultra-fast downloads and you may face a bill of over £40. As a quick guide, a home with a two people that simply surf the web, stream the odd movie and send some emails shouldn’t need anything faster than 100Mbps.
Very busy homes that are constantly streaming, downloading games and working remotely might want to switch things up to at least 500Mbps. Only true power users should think about making the jump to gigabit technology.
News of this broadband boost comes as BT’s Openreach has also just confirmed that it is about to stop selling old copper services in over 160 locations.
This basically means new customers – or those updating their deals – will need to take out improved full fibre plans rather than relying on ageing copper connectivity.
As Openreach explains, “Stop Sell is triggered when a majority (75%) of premises connected to a particular exchange can get ultrafast Full Fibre. Customers who then want to switch, upgrade or re-grade their broadband or phone service will have to take a new digital service over our new Full Fibre network.”
You can see the full list of locations being switched off here.