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Here in the UK, widely available fast internet access still feels fairly recent. I've had a 80/20 FTTC connection (~£23/m) for 5 years or so, but before that i

Here in the UK, widely available fast internet access still feels fairly recent. I've had a 80/20 FTTC connection (~£23/m) for 5 years or so, but before that it was ADSL, starting really crappy and ending up at something like 8/1 IIRC, and it took forever to get that - people were complaining for decades about BT and OpenReach's slow rollout of ADSL, and then FTTC. All the time I was painfully aware that people elsewhere had 100 or even 1000mbit connections (e.g. South Korea, various Nordic countries). Now, widely available and inexpensive FTTH is the next goal here, although I'd say the availability of FTTC is "enough" for the vast majority of people to be happy with it. Which is just as well, as I'd guess we're 20 years aware from seeing FTTH. I realise 5g is starting to become a thing, but it's unlikely to ever be ubiquitous outside of major cities, and is bound to suffer once contention becomes an issue. * FTTC: fibre to the cabinet * FTTH: fibre to the home

walshemj 7y ago
I would agree Fiber to the CAB is really all that home users need. A lot of the whining in places like Faringdon Central London is one or two business wanting to do freeload off consumer BB. I helped my last company move at super short notice < 2 weeks and we got Last mile ethernet 70Meg as a stop gap before our 100 Meg line was delivered a month early
- GordonS 7y ago
  Yes, I do think it's enough for most homes, even myself who is an "IT professional" and "power user". I have 80/20 FTTC, and the only thing bandwidth has ever been an issue for is first-time cloud backups, where I'm uploading 1-2TB of data. I'd still like it to be cheaper though. I'd also like it to be faster, but perhaps part of that is just because I know it can be, and has been for decades in other parts of the world.
fyfy18 7y ago
Props to the engineers at BT/OpenReach for making the most of a pair of copper wires. Even at my parents place, built in the 80s, and a mile and a half from the local exchange/cabinet they can get 50mbit down with VDSL2. However I feel BT as a company needs big changes. They are a monopoly because most people (especially older people) don't realise how easy it is to change. Their prices are consistently higher than competitors, and they get a lot of government incentives. I now live in Lithuania where most households within city limits can get 1000/1000 FTTH, and even in remote areas you can get decent 4G speeds (50mbit+), and it's costs less than half of what BT charge for the cheapest BT Infinity package. This has all been rolled out in the last few years, and I can't see BT doing anything like that anytime soon in the UK.
00deadbeef 7y ago
Fast internet has been available to at least half the country for some time now. Virgin Media launched 50Mbps in 2008, and for most households that would still be enough today.
- GordonS 7y ago
  Afraid not, Virgin Media offers cable internet - cable is only available in large cities/towns in the UK. It might well be half of the population of England, but it's nowhere near half the area of the UK. As an example, I just checked a postcode in the city centre of Aberdeen (Scotland) - no availability.

walshemj 7y ago

I would agree Fiber to the CAB is really all that home users need. A lot of the whining in places like Faringdon Central London is one or two business wanting to do freeload off consumer BB. I helped my last company move at super short notice < 2 weeks and we got Last mile ethernet 70Meg as a stop gap before our 100 Meg line was delivered a month early

GordonS 7y ago
Yes, I do think it's enough for most homes, even myself who is an "IT professional" and "power user". I have 80/20 FTTC, and the only thing bandwidth has ever been an issue for is first-time cloud backups, where I'm uploading 1-2TB of data. I'd still like it to be cheaper though. I'd also like it to be faster, but perhaps part of that is just because I know it can be, and has been for decades in other parts of the world.

fyfy18 7y ago

Props to the engineers at BT/OpenReach for making the most of a pair of copper wires. Even at my parents place, built in the 80s, and a mile and a half from the local exchange/cabinet they can get 50mbit down with VDSL2. However I feel BT as a company needs big changes. They are a monopoly because most people (especially older people) don't realise how easy it is to change. Their prices are consistently higher than competitors, and they get a lot of government incentives. I now live in Lithuania where most households within city limits can get 1000/1000 FTTH, and even in remote areas you can get decent 4G speeds (50mbit+), and it's costs less than half of what BT charge for the cheapest BT Infinity package. This has all been rolled out in the last few years, and I can't see BT doing anything like that anytime soon in the UK.

00deadbeef 7y ago

Fast internet has been available to at least half the country for some time now. Virgin Media launched 50Mbps in 2008, and for most households that would still be enough today.

GordonS 7y ago
Afraid not, Virgin Media offers cable internet - cable is only available in large cities/towns in the UK. It might well be half of the population of England, but it's nowhere near half the area of the UK. As an example, I just checked a postcode in the city centre of Aberdeen (Scotland) - no availability.