UK's Gigaclear Launches 5 Gbps Fiber Broadband Service (networkworld.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Broadband service provider Gigaclear announced it will offer 5 Gbps internet service beginning next year. Most homes would be hard-pressed to consume data at this rate today, but these speeds will become necessary when over-the-top television services like Netflix and HBO GO become commonplace, television pixel densities grow to 8K (7680p X 4320p) at 60 to 120 fps, and the IoT connects every other home device to the internet. “We’re offering customers the chance to access absolutely phenomenal broadband speeds,” Gigaclear CEO Matthew Hare said in an official announcement. “To be clear, this is a premium service that gives the fastest Internet speeds in the country to those of our customers who want the best connection that they can get.”

Comments

Re:A joke?

[AmiMoJo]

It's actually 5Gb shared between a number of customers. If no-one else is using it then you get 5Gb/sec, otherwise it will be less. On a line that fast you can support many households and businesses simultaneously.

I've had experience of similar offerings in Japan. You can either have a 1Gb/sec line shared between 3-4 households, or for a bit more you can have 1Gb/sec all to yourself. It works as advertised. Sure, you rarely use all that bandwidth, but you don't have to think about sending large files while someone else is trying to watch Netflix in 4k etc. It's like a proper hot water system - you turn on the tap without worrying if anyone else is taking a shower.