Bournemouth is the unlikely host of what will be the U.K.’s first 100Mbps broadband service which will be provided by H2O Networks. Bournemouth will become the U.K.’s first fibre-optic network broadband city using the unique delivery system used by H2O networks. In essence the underground sewer system will be used to incorporate fibre-optic cabling throughout the city and tests will begin later this year using 30 Bournemouth homes as “guinea pigs”.
Since the venture was announced in March 2008 over 5000 residents and businesses have signed up for the service which will initially be free. The free period will end as soon as H2O engineers complete the network and leave Bournemouth although there is speculation that the cost of the service will be in the region of £400 a year!
This is the largest ongoing fibre-optic project in Europe and while initially the £400 a year cost
would seem a little on the high side, it will offer the fastest broadband speeds in the UK and Europe and open the door for such Web-based services as IPTV. In simple terms IPTV is a delivery system whereby TV pictures can be broadcast over the Internet with no loss in sound of vision quality. So far the service has had a number of “false starts” but there are high hopes that at broadband speeds such as those planned for Bournemouth will increase the rollout of this potentially groundbreaking technology.