BT has launched its first super-fast fibre-optic broadband package, claiming it offers better value than rival fibre optic broadband services including Virgin Media’s XXL Broadband package.
For £19.99 per month, BT Infinity Option 1 offers broadband download speeds of up to 40Mbps – £7.47 cheaper than Virgin Media’s XXL broadband package which has up to 50Mbps download speeds.
BT customers must pay a £50 connection fee to take up the £19.99 broadband package, which offers upload speeds of 2Mbps. The package also has a 20 GB usage cap.
Speedier Option 2 package offers 10Mbps upload speeds and unlimited downloads. It costs £25 per month and comes with free installation.
Virgin Media’s XXL broadband package offers an up to 50 Mbps download speed and a slower 1.5 Mbps upload speeds. Rumours abound however that Virgin Media will soon increase the upload speed to match BT Infinity.
The big difference currently however is availability. Virgin Media’s fibre-optic XXL Broadband package is available to about 50% of UK homes today.
BT has not released details of current availability, but it is clear that BT Infinity is currently available in a very limited number of postcodes (31 exchanges by the end of February), though it will roll out to 4 million homes and businesses by the end of the year and 10 million by summer 2012.
When you take into account the cost of line rental, the Virgin Media XXL package costs £39 per month, while the BT packages will work out at £31.53 and £36.53 per month with a BT line included.
So what’s all the super-fast broadband fuss about? For the uninitiated, super-fast fibre-optic broadband really does transform your internet use, just as Sky+ transforms TV watching.
Downloading a one hour episode of TopGear from iPlayer currently takes 42 minutes via an 8Mbps broadband service. However, this will reduce to just six minutes with an up to 40 mbps broadband connection. Similarly
uploading a 20-second video clip to YouTube takes 12mins on 8Mbps, but this will come down to 2min 30. And online gaming is also up to 30% faster.
But perhaps the biggest advantage is that it allows families to connect to the web to carry out multiple tasks at the same time, putting an end to freezing and crashing. It also future-proofs you as more and more household devices become broadband enabled (such as broadband enabled digital TVs) and more content is consumed in high definition (HDTV).
A caveat though is that both Virgin Media and BT are using a fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) fibre-optic broadband network which relies on copper or cable for the last yards from the street cabinet to the home. As a result the broadband speed you receive still depends on how far you are from the exchange or street cabinet.
If you would like help to compare fibre optic broadband packages, why not speak to our impartial broadband experts on 0800 466 1047 to discuss the best broadband deals available in your area.