Broadband News

Sky boosts broadband capacity

Friday 02 December, 2011

By Kelvin Goodson

The provider makes its internet service “faster, more consistent and more reliable” by using technology that is unique in the UK.

Sky has boosted its broadband capacity using technology that is the first of its kind in the UK.

The provider has installed the country’s first (deep breath) 100Gb dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology.

But what does it do? Over to Trevor Legg, Sky’s network implementation director: “It’s quite a difficult thing to explain without getting really, really complex, but essentially it condenses everything down using colours and light”.

The DWDM - installed between London and Birmingham - will give Sky’s fibre optic network greater capacity, making data transfer of 7Tb (or 7,000Gb) possible - ten times faster than most networks at the moment.

While this doesn’t mean the company’s broadband customers will see their speeds shoot up, according to Sky the installation will futureproof its internet service, making it “faster, more consistent and more reliable” as more people join its network.

Sky has made the upgrade - with five more installations planned over the next 12 months - due to strong demand for its broadband and because internet users are doing more data-hungry activities online, such as watching television and streaming movies.

According to Sky, the data use of each of its broadband customers rose by an average of 60% in the 12 months up to September, and it is anticipating that this will double by June next year.

In theory, the DWDM technology will mean that Sky’s network could cope with 4.6 million users watching a streamed high-definition (HD) movie at the same time, giving it scope to cope with future growth of the company’s Anytime+ video on-demand service.

Jon Blumberg, commercial director at Sky Broadband & Talk, said: “Sky Broadband really was built with entertainment in mind and the network innovations we’re announcing today will make sure we’re in good shape to continue to satisfy the demands of our customers.”

Speaking about Sky’s ambitions as a broadband provider going forward Blumberg said: “We’ve got a very clear vision - we just want to be number one.”