Telewest announce 10Mb broadband speed

[Richard M]

The second largest cableco in the UK today announced a 10Mb broadband service, but what is interesting about this announcement is that it will be rolled out from next month unlike NTL who will roll out by the end of Q4 2005.

NTL announced a 10Mb base speed earlier this week.

The Press Release from Telewest follows:

Telewest Broadband to continue breaking speed limits
10Mb service will lead new wave of faster cable access

Telewest Broadband has today announced plans to shake-up its blueyonder
internet services - with the most significant speed boosts seen yet - and
outlined its capability to go much faster in the future.

The cable company will roll-out speed upgrades from next month, on a
region-by-region basis and at no extra cost to existing or new customers.
Completion is scheduled for early next year, with the following tiers on
offer:

blueyonder broadband
Currently 512Kbp/s (kilobits per second), the entry-level service will
become 2Mbp/s (megabits per second), for the same price of £17.99 per month

blueyonder broadband complete
The standard 1Mb service will become a super-fast 4Mbp/s service, still at
£25 per month

blueyonder broadband elite
The current 2Mb and 4Mb options will be replaced by a flagship 10Mb service,
costing only £35 per month

Upstream speeds will also be increased to 256Kbp/s for the 2Mb service and
to 384Kbp/s for the complete and elite services.

All the tiers will remain free of usage limitations, following research*
showing consumers' confusion over bandwidth caps. The company believes its
unlimited policy continues to give customers peace of mind and the ability
to get the most out of rich media content.

Unlike faster services touted by ADSL providers, where the maximum speed of
internet access is dictated by distance from a phone exchange, the new cable
services will be available to every home with access to the company's
broadband-enabled network.

Eric Tveter, president and chief operating officer of Telewest Broadband,
said: "There have been a few ISPs making a fuss about 2Mb services recently,
but that often represents the maximum speed they can offer at the moment.
We're making 2Mb our minimum speed and we'll also be offering a choice of
affordable 4Mb and 10Mb services for more demanding internet users.

"What's more, our customers will be able to make full use of this extra
bandwidth because we won't be introducing caps and all the new speeds will
be available across the network. With blueyonder services you actually get
what you pay for."

Today's announcement is part of the cable company's aggressive programme to
maintain superiority over competitors. In 2006, with the deployment of LLU
(local loop unbundling), the general increase in internet access speeds is
likely to continue.

Telewest Broadband's advanced fibre optic network is poised to respond
rapidly to developing consumer demands and competitive moves in the event of
a speed-based arms race.

The bandwidth upgrades planned for September will meet the requirements of
most consumers and the applications and content currently available online.
But plans are already in place to accommodate further speed increases beyond
10Mb next year, should the market dictate. And with the advent of DOCSIS 3
or ethernet to the home, cable services of up to 50Mbp/s could be possible
in 2007.
.
Tveter added: "Cable is built for speed and, with the advent of the digital
home, we are capable of satisfying even the most bandwidth-hungry family."

Details of the speed upgrades can be found at
www.blueyonder.co.uk/evenfaster and consumers can find out more about
Telewest Broadband's bundle of digital TV, broadband internet and telephone
services at www.telewest.co.uk.

A proper news article will be posted later but please use this thread for discussion.

[danielf]

GREAT! I was waiting for this. That's a four-fold increase for me

Good move Telewest!!!!

[MovedGoalPosts]

Absolutely stunning. I find it very odd how Telewest can implement such improvements so quickly compared to ntl. There is clearly a much more dynamic management structure in place at Telewest. Yes ntl have a bigger network, but TW say they will be rolling out upgrades from next month, whilst, as I understand it ntl will still be planning their upgrades.

One wonders whether such postive practices will get absorbed into ntl or smothered if (when) the merger takes place.

And best of all, no caps

[danielf]

Originally Posted by Rob C

Absolutely stunning. I find it very odd how Telewest can implement such improvements so quickly compared to ntl. There is clearly a much more dynamic management structure in place at Telewest. Yes ntl have a bigger network, but TW say they will be rolling out upgrades from next month, whilst, as I understand it ntl will still be planning their upgrades.

One wonders whether such postive practices will get absorbed into ntl or smothered if (when) the merger takes place.

And best of all, no caps

Also note how complete the press release is. Complete info on price, speed, upload speed and caps. No uncertainties there...

[Neil]

Originally Posted by TW

All the tiers will remain free of usage limitations, following research*
showing consumers' confusion over bandwidth caps. The company believes its
unlimited policy continues to give customers peace of mind and the ability
to get the most out of rich media content.

Way to go TW-are you listening ntl?

[Jules]

And yet again TW takes the lead in bringing new things in

[Hans Gruber]

Unlimited 10mbit for £35? Bargaintastic!

Looks like us NTLers will be last to see any kind of speed update... again.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Telewest

The cable company will roll-out speed upgrades from next month, on a
region-by-region basis and at no extra cost to existing or new customers.
Completion is scheduled for early next year.

Originally Posted by ntl

By the end of 2006, the roll out of this new product portfolio will be complete. There are no plans to change monthly prices.

Quite some difference there....

Originally Posted by ntl

However, some customers will need to upgrade their modem. Further details will be announced at launch

Hmmm-no mention of that from Telewest....

[Ben]

Upstream speeds will also be increased to 256Kbp/s for the 2Mb service and
to 384Kbp/s for the complete and elite services.

Nice a whole 384Kbp/s up and 10Mbit down. Lovely

[Ignition]

Originally Posted by Rob C

Absolutely stunning. I find it very odd how Telewest can implement such improvements so quickly compared to ntl. There is clearly a much more dynamic management structure in place at Telewest. Yes ntl have a bigger network, but TW say they will be rolling out upgrades from next month, whilst, as I understand it ntl will still be planning their upgrades.

One wonders whether such postive practices will get absorbed into ntl or smothered if (when) the merger takes place.

And best of all, no caps

We've been upgrading network since the beginning of the year Rob. Think you'll find upgrades start happening a bit earlier than you appear to believe.

I'm hugely cynical as to Telewest's ability to deliver 10Mbit unlimited services without extensive contention. Infact at the prices they are describing I'm struggling big stylie to see how this is going to work. We'll see

[eTa]

Telewest take the lead once again, increased transparency = better customer satisfaction... Now let the REAL broadband era begin!

p.s. I sure hope Telewest take over the broadband division when this NTelewest merger takes place.

[MovedGoalPosts]

Anyone else noticed though how the gap in relative terms between upload and download speeds is getting wider?

[Ben]

Originally Posted by Rob C

Anyone else noticed though how the gap in relative terms between upload and download speeds is getting wider?

Yes. and tbh they should stick to the 10% rule. downloading at full speed might well use 30K upload at least! wow great on BY - expected more from them tbh.

[Ignition]

Originally Posted by Neil

Quite some difference there....

Can't see where it says rollout of higher speeds will take that time just comments on product portfolio.

Hmmm-no mention of that from Telewest....

Nah TW don't replace CPE they just let their customers deal with it, customers with STBs only capable of 1Mbit just didn't get their last set of upgrades.

[MovedGoalPosts]

Originally Posted by Ignition

We've been upgrading network since the beginning of the year Rob. Think you'll find upgrades start happening a bit earlier than you appear to believe.

I hope you are right, yet I'm basing my comments on the public statements issued by both companies for implementation.

I'm hugely cynical as to Telewest's ability to deliver 10Mbit unlimited services without extensive contention. Infact at the prices they are describing I'm struggling big stylie to see how this is going to work. We'll see

Again that is the insider knowledge you have. But then as for pricing, ntl are saying they will not be changing either, so surely both cablecos are in a similar boat re funding. Bottom line they are in competition with the ADSL LLU bods who were in danger of undercutting on price and speeds, until these announcements. The difficulty for any ISP is the ever evolving pace of technology makes today's plans obsolete by tommorrow.