14 February 2024 , 07:00
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BT and Sky broadband customers could soon get "turbo-charged" speeds. That's all thanks to a major upgrade from network supplier Openreach who is now ready to unleash much quicker downloads.
It's been confirmed to Mirror Online that two new internet tiers will be launching across the UK from April. These will bring internet access through walls at over 1.7Gbps - that's fast enough to download a full HD movie in less than 30 seconds. The same film via a standard 70Mbps connection will take around 10 minutes.
Openreach has been testing this new tech for a while with the company now saying it's ready to be pushed out across it's entire Full Fibre network. That means 13 million customers could soon be treated to those blisteringly quick speeds.
According to the network firm, the current pilot performed exceptionally well with early adopter EE’s test results showing consistently solid performance - a number of other Communication Providers have also now joined the trials.
Openreach supplies broadband to firms including BT and Sky and although there's no word yet from those providers on when they will launch this service you can already check to see if you're likely to be one of the lucky ones.
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You can use the Openreach fibre checker to see whether ultrafast Full Fibre broadband is available in your street. If it is then the upgrade should be coming to your street soon.
• CHECK YOUR POSTCODE HERE
Speaking about the update, Openreach product manager Matthew Sledge, said: “Demand for high-definition streaming, online gaming, video conferencing, and other bandwidth-intensive applications has spurred a huge increase in how much broadband data we all use – and consumption is rising every single year.
“Our new turbo-charged speed tiers demonstrate how our Full Fibre network is future proofed to meet these ever growing demands. And with the largest Full Fibre footprint in the UK – we’ve made sure these new speeds can provide the biggest benefit and are available to all 13 million homes and businesses that can access our Full Fibre network – whether people are living in a city, town or small remote village.”
Openreach isn't the only provider bringing better speeds to homes. Virgin Media announced the launch of its Gig2 plan last week which offers downloads at a whopping 2Gbps. It's rolling out now and costs £84 per month.