- Community Fibre has installed an 8.5Gbps line in London
- It's the fastest broadband connection in the UK
- You get 8,200Mbps for both downloads and uploads, but it's pricey at £300 per month
A London homeowner has become the first person in the UK to have an 8.5Gbps residential broadband connection courtesy of Community Fibre.
Community Fibre previously offered a 5Gbps full fibre connection, but has upped the ante with a 70% speed boost on that with the new 8.5Gbps plan, which is getting very close to a full 10Gbps.
The 8.5Gbps line – which offers a speed of 8,200Mbps for both downloading and uploading – was installed yesterday (September 16) in a house in Beckton, Newham, just east of Charing Cross.
Peter Rampling, who is the Chief Commercial Officer at Community Fibre, observed that this "demonstrates what's possible when world-class infrastructure is paired with relentless innovation and long-term investment".
Community Fibre has its own full fibre network that's within reach of some 1.4 million homes in and around London, currently with over 450,000 customers.
Full fibre is distinct from fibre-to-the-cabinet (or FTTC) in that the cable goes directly into the home. With FTTC, the fibre goes to a (roadside) cabinet and the last stretch of the connection to the house remains copper (telephone) wire (constraining speeds to a theoretical maximum of 80Mbps – I get just over 60Mbps on average).
Ultrafast, faster and fastest
As well as the new 8.5Gbps full fibre plan, Community Fibre sells a 5Gbps line, as mentioned, and a 2.5Gbps product (among other lesser offerings).
How much will an 8.5Gbps broadband connection set you back? £300 per month on a 24-month contract, which is a huge jump on the cost of the 5Gbps line that's £56.70 per month.
You can expect to pay a considerable premium to be on the cutting edge of broadband (or any tech), but this really is a hike and a half, and it's difficult to see why you'd pay so much more compared to the 5Gbps plan. The vast majority of consumers will find the latter caters for all their online needs with ease, anyway – let's face it. This is more about bragging rights than anything else for now.
For 2.5Gbps broadband, you'll fork out £38.70 per month, which seems very reasonable. In fact, I paid a touch more than that for my FTTC connection at one point, briefly, until that latest price hike spurred me to change provider – it's always worth keeping an eye on pricing when your contract runs out.
8.5Gbps broadband is in London now – in serviced areas – if you want it, though, providing your wallet can cope with the monthly outlay.
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