Connect Ten: Why an UltraSpeed Fibre Broadband is the way to go

Imagine you’re watching a Netflix movie in your living room on Saturday morning. 

That’s normal enough, except that you’re also uploading a hefty work folder to the cloud and scrolling through social media, all while your family members are streaming 4K or even 8K resolution videos in their rooms. 

Despite the immense strain on your WiFi network, your movie miraculously remains crystal-clear and lag-free, and it’s all thanks to your new UltraSpeed Broadband.

Is a super-fast broadband that important?

Well, if you don’t appreciate long download screens, laggy games and choppy livestreams, then yes.

UltraSpeed offers up to 10 times the speed and bandwidth of the average broadband connection here in Singapore, which currently sits at around 1Gbps. From pictures of adorable cats on social media to 10-minute dinner recipes on YouTube, let it first be known that we digital natives will never be remembered for our patience, but our lack thereof where the Internet is concerned. 

We want all our information to be available the very instant we need it, and though your regular 1Gbps plans are generally sufficient for day-to-day usage, they tend to buckle when multiple high-intensity requests roll in simultaneously, especially if heavy content uploads are involved.  

Yet, as with many of life’s other problems, the best solution is often the easiest one. If there isn’t enough bandwidth and speed, then we just get more, and UltraSpeed has both of those in spades. Optimally, you’ll want to have a wired connection ready for it too, so make sure you’ve got a Category 6a, 6 or 5e Ethernet cable as well as a device configured with 10Gb ports.

What’s the tech behind it?

Needless to say, the technology that supports 10Gbps speeds didn’t come about just because someone punched another “0” into the existing 1Gbps bundles. 

Fundamentally, such bundles make use of what the industry refers to as the Gigabit-capable Symmetric Passive Optical Network, or XGS-PON standard for short. 

Now, there’s a whole lot of technical jargon to go through if you need the full explanation, but it’s essentially a benchmark for fibre optics-based transmission technology. 

Having the XGS-PON accreditation means that a given piece of technology can support high-speed data transfers of up to 10Gbps in both upward and downward directions, hence the term “symmetrical”.

For context, previous technical standards only allowed download speeds to cap out at 10Gbps while uploads peaked far lower at 2.5Gbps, so it’s great that the playing field has finally been evened out.  

In simpler terms, this means your (wired) connection will be blisteringly fast and capable of tanking extremely intense loads at the same time – something the average broadband tends to struggle with. Uploads that might have taken several minutes before now complete in seconds, while still letting you enjoy your favourite entertainment content lag-free regardless of what else the WiFi is being used for.

Is it worth the investment? 

From a purely practical standpoint, if you currently (and often) find yourself jostling for bandwidth with the other folks at home, then there’s already a strong case for you to hop on the UltraSpeed train. Everyone stands to benefit from the increased bandwidth and speed, and on a more amusing note, there will presumably be fewer fights over Internet lag because of it!

Even if your household is on the smaller side, broadband speed and bandwidth count among those things that you never really mind having more of, and you’ll probably enjoy the benefits as much as someone with a larger household. 

Naturally, that goes double if your work requires you to upload or download hefty files from multiple devices on a regular basis, like a content creator might.  

All things considered, you could go ahead and pick it up just for the increased quality of life and as a way of future-proofing your home for next-generation devices. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting your home WiFi to be as speedy and smooth as possible in the first place, so if your budget can comfortably accommodate an UltraSpeed broadband, why not give it some thought?