The UK Government recently announced the launch of the first stage of a £200 million scheme to help bring the UK’s fastest and most reliable broadband to businesses across the country, by covering the cost of the upgrade required to activate a business speed faster than 100Mbps, and capable of speeds up to 1Gbps.

After leaving the Armed forces, after serving fourteen years, I served three years employed by Metronet (now M247) before moving to Telcom last year. After leaving the Armed forces I was contacted by a close friend (Lee Lawrence - then operations director of M247) who offered me a role within the engineering department at Metronet (now M247).

Though most devices now connect to the internet wirelessly through wifi, 4G, and (in the near future) 5G, most of the internet network actually relies on different types of cables. One of them is fibre optic. Instead of being made of insulated metal wires transmitting electrical signals, fibre optic cables are made of strands of glass transmitting pulses of light.

At Telcom, thinking differently is at the very core of who we are. We're always on the lookout for new ideas and as a crucial part of that, we're always keen to support and inspire the next generation of talented digital innovators.

A long time has passed since we had to choose between connecting to the internet and using the phone. But, though many can still vividly remember that time, things have changed fast. Over the past 15 years, the average download volume has grown 200 times and, though dial-up was only able to transfer at 56 kbps, the fastest available equipment in the world is capable of handling speeds 178,571 times faster than that.

Superfast internet is becoming more widespread for home customers, and not just big business teams.

At Telcom UK, we welcome the Treasury’s intention to announce a dedicated investment to accelerate the adoption of high-speed internet across the country, and are looking forward to the full Autumn Statement tomorrow.

How fast is fibre internet in miles travelled, and how does it fare against Santa, who must reach millions of children in just a few hours? Welcome to the ultimate Christmas showdown.