NEWS: Super-fast Internet, Sir?

Who would have thought that Dundee would one day be leading the way in the world of technology? Well, that could be the case soon, if a new firm gets its way to lay its fibre cables for super-fast broadband in the city.

Dundee, Bournemouth and Northampton are currently vying for favouritism and the title of the UK's first 'fibre town' thanks to company H2O. Speeds of up to 100Mbps could be just around the corner...

Capable of offering speeds of up to 100Mbps, the news comes as the UK threatens to slip down the Internet speed league table compared to other European countries. These super-fast connections would hopefully herald much higher quality downloadable content, including high definition TV, films and games.

The fibre connections offered by H2O have already been installed in local council buildings in Bournemouth, Northampton and Dundee, and will then be rolled out across the whole of the chosen town from September. The process is expected to take around 18 months, with the company aiming to add the service to another 14 towns over the next five years.

Another bonus is that laying the cables doesn't require digging up the roads – hurrah! – as the fibre takes advantage of existing ducting in... our sewers. This should mean the process of delivering these high-speed connections is cheaper and faster. The service itself is delivered to homes using a four-inch box that attaches to the house.

BT plans to trial its own fibre connections in Ebbsfleet in Kent, while also promising to connect all newly built housing estates in the UK – see more on this at BT's website here.

Technorati Tags: BT, fibre, H2O, internet, super-fast

Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is Content Director for T3 and What Hi-Fi?, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for more than 15 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).