Why is your UltraBEAM 1000/ Full Fibre 1000 & Full Gig not advertising 1000Mb/s or 1Gb/s download speeds?

Our UltraBEAM 1000/ Full Fibre 1000/ Full Gig services refer to the current highest-speed FTTP full-fibre broadband connection we provide.

Depending on your location we currently use two different full fibre carriers; Openreach & CityFibre. The download speeds are the same for both, but with CityFibre we can offer the same upload rates as download rates.

Why is this not 1Gb/s (1000Mb/s) download? (Simple explanation)

This is due to the way that data is transmitted over data networks and the internet in packets of data.

These packets include various overheads that ensure that the data sent/received knows where to travel to and from, as well as error checking mechanisms.

These overheads take a portion of the space available in a packet such that the effect it appears as though the speed/bandwidth rate is lower than you expect.

The protocols that are used to transmit data over the Internet also slightly contribute to the reduction in capacity. TCP (transmission control protocol) has built-in congestion control and data integrity checks which may lead to a reduction in capacity. As most data transfers including speedtests use TCP, this can have the effect of displaying a lower speed. Whereas other Internet protocols such as UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is a simple connectionless model with minimal protocol mechanisms, and can effectively saturate the link. Therefore UDP transfers will more accurately stress test and prove the underlying capacity.

Giganet is not slowing your connection down

Giganet doesn't slow your connection down to 900Mb/s from 1Gb/s (1,000 Mb/s), but the reduction in data transfer rates is due to these overheads when transmitting.

FAQs

Is there a way I can increase the performance to above 900Mb/s?

If you make a file transfer using the UDP (User Datagram Protocol), then you may find that you can reach higher transfers. However by UDP's design, it is not typically used for data transfers and the more commonly used TCP protocol is used which has various data integrity checks.

Why is the Openreach upload speed not 900Mb/s?

This is an Openreach product decision where they have decided not to offer the higher upload rates on their top Full Fibre to the Premises offering. Giganet is not artificially slowing down the upload rates.

Why is CityFibre offering 900Mb/s upload rates?

This is a CityFibre product decision where they are offering the higher and symmetrical download and upload rates (both are the same).