Broadband: Increase your broadband speed Super-fast fibre broadband - BT Infinity and Virgin Media
BT and Virgin Media are both advertising super-fast fibre broadband deals, with much higher maximum speeds than traditional broadband.
But what's the truth behind the high-speed internet claims? Is it available to everyone and do you really need super-fast broadband?
Virgin Media offers super-fast broadband of up to 100Mbps
Virgin Media super-fast broadband
Virgin Media now offers up to 30Mbps as its standard cable broadband speed for new customers, 6Mbps more than the headline speed offered as standard by the fastest ADSL providers.
But if you're willing to pay a premium, you can get a maximum speed of up to 50Mbps on Virgin's cable services. And Virgin Media's rolling out an even higher-speed 100Mbps service, though this costs even more and availability is limited.
Virgin Media super-fast broadband availability
Everyone on Virgin Media's cable broadband network, which currently covers around half of UK households, can get Virgin Media's 50Mbps service.
Its 100Mbps service is currently only available in a handful of locations across the UK, but Virgin Media hopes to roll it out to the rest of its network during 2011 and 2012. You can find out when your area is due for an upgrade on the Virgin Media website.
BT Infinity super-fast broadband
BT's Infinity packages offer download speeds of up to 40Mbps, though it says the services have the capacity to be upgraded to up to 60Mbps in the future as technology improves.
BT Infinity availability
BT's Infinity broadband deals are currently available to around eight million premises in the UK - both homes and businesses.
BT plans to expand Infinity's reach to 41 more market towns by spring 2012, serving around 300,000 homes and businesses. It has also announced the locations that won the BT Race to Infinity, which gave local communities that weren't on its upgrade schedule the opportunity to compete to get an upgrade. It hopes to upgrade these areas in early 2012.
BT is rolling out a fibre broadband network across the UK
BT wants to make its 40Mbps broadband network available to two thirds of UK homes by 2015.
Are BT and Virgin Media the only super-fast broadband providers?
Only BT and Virgin Media currently operate fixed line broadband networks across much the UK. Other providers offer high-speed access in specific locations in the UK, but these usually serve very small areas and it's unlikely that any provider will have the finances to build a more widespread network to compete with BT and Virgin Media.
However, broadband regulator Ofcom has said that BT will have to open up its high-speed network to other ISPs who want to access it and offer their own retail services. Some providers, such as Eclipse, already offer fibre broadband via BT's network and it's likely that more will follow soon.
If you feel the need for speed, find out which providers offer superfast broadband in the Which? broadband review.
Will you get the maximum broadband speeds?
Virgin Media's high-speed services are delivered over a 'fibre to the home' (FTTH) network. This means that the broadband signal is carried over high-quality fibre cables through its whole journey.
The benefit of fibre is that - unlike BT's older, copper wire network - the broadband signal doesn't deteriorate over distance. So in theory, you should be able to achieve very close to the maximum advertised speed. However, your speed at a given time may be impacted by factors such as the number of people online, or Virgin Media's traffic management (see Broadband speed explained).
BT's up to 40Mbps Infinity services use 'fibre to the cabinet' (FTTC). This means that BT is replacing the main part of the copper wire network - between the main broadband exchange and your local telephone cabinet - with high-quality fibre. However, the wire between your local cabinet and your home will still be copper, so your broadband signal may still deteriorate over the last part of the journey.
This means that, although you're likely to get closer to the advertised speed since your broadband signal will be partly carried over fibre, it's possible the maximum speed you will be able to get at your address may still be affected by your distance from the local cabinet. However, unlike your main broadband exchange - which is fixed in location - it is possible for BT to install extra local cabinets to keep the length of copper wire used to a minimum.
The government wants to connect 90% of UK homes to super-fast broadband by 2015
What about rural areas?
Even BT's high-speed service is only expected to serve two thirds of UK homes and businesses by 2015, leaving many broadband customers without access.
If demand is high, BT may expand to more parts of the UK. But if not, broadband companies may be unwilling to invest in reaching rural areas due to poor return on investment.
The government plans to address this issue in some areas through public investment in superfast broadband.
Do you need super-fast broadband?
Your need for super-fast broadband depends on how you use the internet. If you just want to browse the web and send email, even speeds as low as 2Mbps should be plenty.
Heavy broadband users - who download lots of big files such as films, or online gamers - are more likely to reap the benefits of super-fast broadband. Multiple-user households might also appreciate the extra speed, especially if lots of people in your house are using the connection at the same time, as each user will only get a share of the capacity.
The best broadband isn't just about broadband speed. Which? survey respondents say a reliable broadband connection is as important as speed.
Customer service levels, usage limits and how well an ISP deals with problems are all key too, so use the full range of Which? advice when choosing a broadband provider.
For more on broadband and the internet, see our book Internet Made Easy for the Over 50s.
