TalkTalk to launch 80Mb broadband

TalkTalk is set to offer an 80Mb/sec broadband service from April, doubling the firm’s previous fastest fibre-based broadband maximum of 40Mb/sec.

TalkTalk users will need to find an extra £5 a month for the 80Mb downstream and 20Mb upstream bandwidth service over the £10 a month 40Mb service. The firm is already taking pre-registration for the upgrade.

Now an extra fiver a month probably fits into the ‘why not’ category for many but it’s it’s hard to quite fathom what applications might be measurably improved by such bandwidth. Of course that didn’t stop TalkTalk from trying to make some up.

"The faster speed will also improve online gaming experiences which require quick response times," TalkTalk said, adding that "the whole family" could be connected at the same time without slowing the connection down.

One could note that businesses with hundreds of staff manage the same feat with less bandwidth and far be it for us to suggest that gamers are unlikely to see any measurable drop in latency, to put it mildly.

Nevertheless, TalkTalk say they expect the new Superfast Fibre Optic Broadband service to be "very popular". TalkTalk also mentioned Internet TV as a benefit of the high-speed service with the launch scheduled shortly before the YouView IPTV service.

In an earlier content delivery draft technical document, YouView said "It is anticipated that content bitrates could range from around 700 kbps up to 10 Mbps for future HD content."

Naturally such well-heeled consumers that opt for the pricier 80Mb service will not concern themselves with standard definition TV at the bottom end of the stated YouView bitrates. If they did over a hundred of them could stream at the same time.

Surely we can all agree that delivering ‘future HD content’ from YouView to each member of a family of eight simultaneously is a worthwhile achievement for Broadband Britain and an absolute bargain for an extra fiver a month.