Guernsey to get faster broadband - thanks to Cable & Wireless

18th March 2010

Cable & Wireless Guernsey is embarking on a major project to deliver faster broadband speeds to the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The project will initially see speeds double for most broadband users across Guernsey, Alderney and Sark.

Cable & Wireless maintains and operates the Bailiwick’s wholesale broadband network. From 1st May customers of all local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) could get up to double the broadband speed for the same price. At the outset, all 2Megabits per second (Mb) residential broadband lines will be enhanced to up to 4Mb. All 4Mb broadband lines will be upgraded to up to 8Mb. The 8Mb broadband service will not be upgraded until the next stage of the programme but the current wholesale price of 8Mb is to be reduced by 37%.

Paul Taylor, Cable & Wireless Guernsey’s Marketing Director, commented:

“This is the next step in our company’s ongoing network upgrade programme that will propel Guernsey broadband toward ADSL2+ technology and an era of faster speeds. Broadband speeds will double on 1st May, but this is just a precursor to further speed increases that we expect to launch later this year.”

“Our priority has been to deliver a quality broadband service, to the maximum number of people, over a strong, resilient network. A higher proportion of our population can receive broadband than in the UK – a fact that we are particularly proud of.”

Possible benefits of the network upgrade include the simultaneous use of many web applications:

C&W last upgraded Guernsey’s broadband network in 2008 from 1Mb to 2Mb and has since been rolling out street boxes (called MSANs) closer to population centres, further enabling higher potential speeds. The pending speed increase makes use of those network improvements.

Some parts of Guernsey will not benefit from the upgrade, where they have not yet got an MSAN in close proximity. C&W has identified those households (about 5% of the total network) and is keeping them abreast of developments. Ongoing investment in the network continues to address these areas and improve the reliability of the service.

Russell Sharman, Cable & Wireless’ Chief Technology Officer, commented:

“Some homes do struggle to get maximum broadband speeds due to the distance from an exchange, or due to the wiring in the house. It’s for these reasons that not all lines will achieve the full headline speed of 4Mb or 8Mb; the service is an ‘Up to’ service, being the maximum speed that the line can achieve. 54% of broadband issues that are reported to us are due to the end-users’ internal wiring. We do everything possible to work with householders to help them improve their speeds.”

The company said that it invests more than £1 million per year in the access network for ongoing network maintenance and upgrades.

The price of broadband for Guernsey users will depend on which ISP they are with.