Millions of BT and Sky users finally get the ultimate upgrade

Millions of BT and Sky customers are in for a treat as they are now eligible for the ultimate broadband upgrade – and you can check your postcode.

Openreach, the infrastructure arm of BT, has announced that almost 14 million properties across the UK can now access superfast fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) internet. This breakthrough in connectivity means users can enjoy superfast downloads and seamless streaming like never before. Openreach also has ambitious plans to extend the service to 30 million homes and businesses by the end of the decade.

“We have built full fiber broadband to almost 14 million premises and are currently building at a rate of 1 million per quarter and will reach 30 million by 2030,” confirmed Georgia Grimes, construction director of Openreach fiber, in a statement to ISPreview. . “We build on time, on budget, safely and sustainably.”

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Although Openreach is a subsidiary of BT, its network is crucial to other providers such as Sky, TalkTalk and EE, meaning the upgrade could benefit millions more customers, the Express reports.

To put things into perspective, older copper wire connections offer speeds of up to 80 Mbps, but with FTTP, speeds can jump to over 1.5 Gbps, or 15 times faster.

With full fibre, downloading a Full HD movie could take as little as 30 seconds, and households with multiple users gaming, streaming or working from home will see a significant improvement as FTTP can handle many devices online simultaneously.

Openreach offers a dedicated fibre broadband speed checker, allowing you to see the speeds available in your area. Check here.

It’s important to note that the faster the speeds you choose, the higher the cost. If you don’t need blazing fast 1Gbps downloads, it’s worth comparing deals and choosing a plan that fits your daily needs.

For a single user who only needs to send a few emails and occasionally stream Netflix shows, a 30Mbps connection should be sufficient. While this is a basic speed, it should be more than enough for low-use properties.

On the other hand, a household full of gadgets and people streaming in 4K, downloading games, and making Zoom calls will require a much faster connection.

An active family that wants to avoid a slow connection should consider upgrading to at least 200 Mbps or higher. Remember, broadband is like a highway: the more traffic, the slower the connections.