You may have heard a lot in the news recently about Full Fibre Broadband…
There have been quite a few stories in the news recently about the Government’s push for Full Fibre Broadband, and the aim to get most of the country on a fibre optic internet connection by 2025, but what exactly is it, and how does it benefit your business?
The UK now has more than 95% coverage for “superfast broadband” with speeds of 24Mbs (megabits per second) or higher. However, most “superfast” connections still depend on copper telephone wires, which are limited in the speeds they can support. The maximum speed you can get on a copper-based broadband connection is 80Mbs, however with a fibre optic based broadband line you can go up to 1000Mbs. So, if your business requires faster and more reliable broadband, capable of delivering gigabit speeds, then a full fibre connection is required.
One gigabit is the same as 1000Mbs (1,000 megabits) – so it’s a big leap forward in connection speeds that could benefit you and your business into the future. Full fibre also supports symmetrical connections – meaning your upload and download speeds are exactly the same. There are huge benefits to business, as this means your external internet connection is as fast as your internal network. You can run more computers in remote locations, take advantage of more cloud services, and even download or upload files much more quickly.
What you may not realise is that the full fibre broadband rollout has been going on for quite some time now, and the main telecoms providers have been supplying this kind of technology for a number of years. Its only recently that prices have come down to make it more viable for more businesses to use as their main connection to the internet.
In order to help businesses utilise this technology, the Government Gigabit Voucher scheme is a grant to cover the installation costs associated with installing a fibre optic cable into the premises. UK Small and Medium sized businesses can apply for the grant of up to £2500 through one of their approved suppliers. Nxcoms is an approved supplier of the scheme and can help businesses to apply and obtain the grant as well as installing the line and equipment needed.