Cable broadband packages

Why get cable broadband?

Cable broadband delivers lightning speeds above that achieved by traditional copper wire broadband. Where most providers advertise speeds up to 20Mb, cable broadband providers can deliver up to 50Mb per second. This is because the material it is made from allows for far less signal degradation.

Cable broadband also delivers a more reliable and consistent experience. Where ADSL broadband speeds drop off the further away you live from the telephone exchange, cable broadband speeds remain the same.

Last but not least, cable broadband allows the simultaneous transmission of voice and visual signals – this means you can also get a great value phone and TV bundle from BT or Virgin Media.

Cable broadband providers

Cable broadband is widely available from Virgin Media (www.VirginMedia.com). However, other internet providers are following Virgin Media’s lead and investing heavily in their own fibre optic networks.

Virgin Media offers superfast and reliable broadband, phone and digital TV. And no matter which broadband package you chose, you get unlimited downloads. Visit www.VirginMedia.com to check whether cable broadband is available in your area.

BT Infinity (www.BT.com/Infinity) is the new fibre optic broadband service from BT Broadband. You will be automatically eligible for the up to 40 Mb/s broadband service if you live in an enabled exchange area.

Which provider is best?

If download speeds matter to you, Virgin Media wins hands down: its fastest package delivers speeds up to 50Mb per second - that's 10Mb more than BT Infinity. However, if upload speeds are important to you, then BT Infinity claims it can provide upload speeds up to 10Mb on its Option 2 package.

However, your final decision will also depend on coverage. BT's fibre optic service is brand new, and will gradually be made available to 4 million homes and businesses by the end of December 2010. By the summer of 2012, BT expects to have reached at least 40% of the UK.

At the start of the year, around 12.5 million households already had access to Virgin Media's fibre optic network. Visit www.VirginMedia.com and www.BT.com/Infinity to see if you're covered.

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