Fibre optic broadband

[John Loudon - Sponsorship Liaison]

^{BT Infinity for me. 20Mpbs download and 6.5Mbps upload. No problems what so ever and as cheap as my old broadband was}

[Dodgey]

Is that Infinity fibre? I ask because I get BT ADSL 2+ @ 19.2Mb (only 1.2up) - I thought fibre would be faster than that,

[FILFAN]

fibre speed depends how much bandwidth has been allocated to the circuit and the amount of customers sharing it. also as said above if the cables from the streetcab to the house are too long or poor grade you will lose speed there.

while you gan get 20meg on 21c if everyone started using it you wouldnt be getting anything like that. each line card can provide up to 64 customers 20meg. while that sounds good when i tell you that a line card only has a 100meg link going to it and 100 meg devided by 64 dosnt go a long way.

some providers will charge you more to be put on a line card with less lines off it so you can get higher speeds

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman)]

Yeah, I've "had" to go Infinity to get speeds that you'd normally get from a decent ADSL2 type connection. But unfortunately, my line is one shoehorned in to an already maxed out exchange, and not only does it mean its ended up as a tortuously long cable. (Compared even to immediate neighbours) its also, to make matters worse, one of BT's many aluminium lines rather than copper.

[Blatman]

Fibre stops at the cabinet. The "last mile" is still copper phone line and it depends not just on contention but also length, age and condition of that piece of copper. There are also several speed options for Infinty. If the chosen option is roughly the same cost as the original ADSL then I would imagine the service could be rate limited and may have a usage cap, unless there are special deals like loyalty or sign up bonuses to be had.

[Dodgey]

fibre speed depends how much bandwidth has been allocated to the circuit and the amount of customers sharing it. also as said above if the cables from the streetcab to the house are too long or poor grade you will lose speed there.

while you gan get 20meg on 21c if everyone started using it you wouldnt be getting anything like that. each line card can provide up to 64 customers 20meg. while that sounds good when i tell you that a line card only has a 100meg link going to it and 100 meg devided by 64 dosnt go a long way.

some providers will charge you more to be put on a line card with less lines off it so you can get higher speeds

Very interesting (I assume you work in the trade?). Only a 100Mb link going into a 64 port card - ouch. I guess I'm lucky - I live in a street mostly occupied by old duffers so I assume I get a large chunk of the bandwidth to myself. My actual speeds consistently test at 16.5 down and 1 up (link negotiated at 19.5/1.5). I'm in Taunton, Somerset.

Considering that in London with BE I got 24/1 I'm pretty happy with what I have in the country.

I'm currently renegotiating mine with BT (well, they have made an offer to keep my custom and I'm considering it :-) - a massive drop from £45 to £27 a month for unlimited inc line rental)

[SootySport]

Is that Infinity fibre? I ask because I get BT ADSL 2+ @ 19.2Mb (only 1.2up) - I thought fibre would be faster than that,

2 products are available Down 40meg. Up 2meg. & Down 80meg. Up 10meg.

[GreigM]

2 products are available Down 40meg. Up 2meg. & Down 80meg. Up 10meg.

Actually its 40/2, 40/10 or 80/20

[SootySport]

Actually its 40/2, 40/10 or 80/20

Cheeky---------- correcting an expert. You're right of course

[GreigM]

Cheeky---------- correcting an expert. You're right of course

yeah, cos I'm an amateur

[FILFAN]

Got a good result on 4g today

19 download 17 upload.

When I get that at home the phone line is going

[Dodgey]

Got a good result on 4g today

19 download 17 upload.

When I get that at home the phone line is going

I'm totally with you ..... When they lift data caps on 4g.... And that is a whole other story

[Blatman]

I believe the same was true of 3G when it ws launched with lots of folk saying they could ditch the landline and do it all via 3G. I don't think that has come to pass...

[FILFAN]

I believe the same was true of 3G when it ws launched with lots of folk saying they could ditch the landline and do it all via 3G. I don't think that has come to pass...

i get better 3g at home than i do bb its only my usage that stops me moving.

this may be a bit of a premature statement but im sure it will have some truth soon

as i said before i see the future of high speed broadband been in wireless technology. copper as a medium for the home is all but dead. the only reason that we are using it now is because its already there and the development costs of getting every last kbps down it has been alot cheaper than replacing it. with the demand for greater speeds now leading the way rather than bt saying thats all you can have there isnt much option left for the existing copper network.

cable and wireless and vodafone are now one. one of the reasons for this is that vodafone will be offering a wireless netowork that will be mounted on lamp posts and using c&w for the core network

[SootySport]

I believe the same was true of 3G when it ws launched with lots of folk saying they could ditch the landline and do it all via 3G. I don't think that has come to pass...

Very true, 3G speeds seems to have dropped in the last year or so, lucky if you get 2meg. downloads these days. My theory is when a new gen. of broadband comes along the old system is left to slow down or die. All part of a plot to get you interested in new contracts on what is supposed to be the be all and end all New Generation---------until the next idea comes along of course. Fixed line broadband is no exception to my theory either.