BT has announced new ultrafast fiber internet connection packages that extend the maximum speed of the internet connection from 84 Mbps to 314 Mbps and guarantee a speed always above 100 Mbps.
Ultrafast Fiber 1 will give you a speed that peaks at 314 Mbps for £59.99 per month and Ultafast Fiber 2 will give you a connection ceiling of 152 Mbps for £54.99. BT is saying that it wants to guarantee speeds in this region even at peak times. To show how serious they are, BT says that it will give you £20 back if ever the speed falls below 100 Mbps.
With this new fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband deal, BT is including a new Smart Hub from Thomson and Sagem. The Smart Hub has seven WiFi antennas, offers dual-band WiFi, uses USB 3.0, supports Wave 2 802.11ac WiFi, and has four ethernet ports for wired internet connection too.
As impressive as these speeds are to most customers, there is something to take into consideration. Firstly, you might not be able to jump onto the ultra-speed bandwagon today with BT as less than one percent of UK households are currently connected to the Ultrafast Fiber network. It is very likely that if you don"t live in one of BT"s preferred areas it might be some time before you can enjoy these kinds of speeds. Additionally, when it comes to claims from BT, let"s not forget the promises that BT made to the data deprived people of Templeton; who after years of unfulfilled promises and speeds burned an effigy of a BT van for Guy Fawkes last year.
Offering such a fast package is impressive but it does raise the question of how much data will people consume in years to come. With the integration of our homes and home appliances into the IoT, the development of 8K video quality monitors, and the rise of VR; connection speeds of 300 Mbps might seem like something standard in the future.