Kent PC users are first in the world!
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by Alan McGuinness
Kent PC users have become the
first in the world to trial a new internet super-dooper
highway!
Ashford families are the pioneers on this planet to surf the
internet at a world record speed of 200Mb.
While the rest of us make do with speeds
hovering around the 3Mb level, around 100 homes in Ashford are
testing a Virgin Media service to identify potential uses for
ultrafast broadband.
What the super-fast service means is users can
download the Star Wars trilogies in less than five minutes!
What's more, the entire back catalogue of Take
That can be on their computer in a mere 15 seconds.
The
ISP
says the Ashford residents
selected to test the connection will be providing insight into
potential future uses an ultrafast service may deliver.
Audio: Dale Barnes, head
of advanced technology at Virgin Media
Those could include TV and broadband content
in High Definition and 3D, advanced IT support and devices
such as video conferencing and home surveillance.
The super-fast broadband will require new
technology. As yet there are no wireless routers able to deliver
throughput of speeds as high as 200MB, and computers require very
high specification in order to be able handle data at such a high
rate.
Jonathan Leggett, staff writer at Top 10 Broadband, said
comparing the new service with Virgin’s pilot was like comparing
the Concorde with the Wright brothers' first plane.
Audio: Hear Jonathan
Leggett discuss the price of the new broadband
Virgin claims its pilot is light years ahead
of countries such as Japan and the United States, which have top
speeds of 160Mb and 101Mb respectively. The tests in Ashford are
expected to last between six and 12 months.
Dale Barnes, head of advanced technology at
Virgin Media, said everything was going well so far. “So far so
good, we’ve got some pilot customers up and running and they’re
getting the full 200Mb as we were hoping so it’s all going good,”
he said.
Wednesday, May 06 2009
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