UK broadband market hits new speed highs

Broadband speeds are set to reach new highs with the launch of two new super-fast products.

Telewest has announced that it will be boosting the speed of its blueyonder elite broadband package to up to 10Mbps for customers in some parts of Scotland.

Telewest will also be raising speeds for customers in Castlecary, Dumbarton, Motherwell and Uddingston, with 40,000 customers north of the border expected to get more bandwidth.

The cable firm also has bandwidth boosting plans for the capital, with an additional 100,000 customers in London getting higher speeds from the end of this month. The company expects to have all Scottish subscribers upgraded by the end of the year.

Telewest won't be charging its subscribers any extra, the company said.

While Scottish users can now expect some 10Mbps, one ISP is touting an even higher speed for UK users.

ISP Be announced this morning the unveiling of its first commercial offering at that speed. The company had been trialling the up-to-24Mbps DSL-based service earlier this year in London.

The up-to-24Mbps service is available for £24 per month, with the first customer using the service experiencing a speed of around 18.5Mbps - a UK record, Be claims.

Ian Fogg, analyst at JupiterResearch, said the recent stellar increases in broadband speeds are being done to benefit ISPs rather than bandwidth-hungry end users.

He said: "The reason these companies are launching high-speed broadband is firstly because they can - the technology has enabled it. Secondly, it's harder for ISPs to differentiate on price so when they have an opportunity to differentiate themselves with speed products, it's great.

"This is supply side driven, not really customer driven."