Do you already have to fall for a 1 Gbps internet connection?

Thanks to the constant deployment of fibre, since Tuesday 20 April, some VOO customers who so wish can now surf at the speed of 1 gigabit per second, that is to say at 1,000 megabits per second ( 1,000 Mbps).

Indeed, the Walloon cable operator has just launched its new very high speed internet offer: the Gigaboost.

For example, with such a speed, downloading a 1.6 GB movie takes only 13 seconds, which among other things allows simultaneous viewing on several screens of video streaming in 4K, according to estimates provided by Telenet.

By way of comparison, with a connection of up to 100 Mbps, it takes well over two minutes to download the same film.

Read also | Here's how fiber will boost your internet connection

In practice

Currently, Gigaboost is only accessible to VOO customers, who have a Max, Tatoo or Pro pack, but above all who live in Liège (i.e. Liège center, Seraing, Bressoux, etc.).

1

Gbps

Surfing at a speed of 1 gigabit per second is equivalent to surfing at 1,000 megabits per second (or 1,000 Mbps).

“Other cities and areas will be gradually added each quarter during 2021,” explains Serge François, Docsis & Wifi Engineering Manager at VOO. In this regard, an online module allows you to check the availability of Gigaboost.

It is also possible, for those who are already in the eligible area, to test the offer free of charge for three months and without obligation. Then, for the convinced, it will be necessary to pay an additional 15 euros / month to take advantage of such a download speed (download).

Note that the upload speed, i.e. the speed with which a user sends data over the network - for example, to store files on a cloud, to put a video on YouTube or to make a videoconference session - nevertheless remains limited to 20 Mbps.

Who is broadband for?

But do you really need such speed at home? It all depends on the configuration of your household (or your roommate for example).

If your internet connection is fast at all times, you clearly don't need to pay extra.

If today your internet is fast at all times and for each member of the household, you clearly do not need to pay this monthly supplement of 15 euros.

On the other hand, if your experience of speed and fluidity is not optimal when several members of the household are surfing at the same time, then it might be time to consider a little boost for your internet connection.

Read also | What is the point of having a super fast internet connection?

But this can also be done by changing contract or operator. Basically, VOO allows its customers to surf at a speed of up to 125 Mbps (Relax offers).

For those who need more, just subscribe to the Max offers (which are necessarily a little more expensive) but which allow you to surf at speeds of up to 400 Mbps, which is already more than enough to cover large bandwidth needs. passing.

And going back to the example of the download speed of a 1.6GB movie, it takes 1 minute and 27 seconds for a connection up to 150 Mbps and about 43 seconds for a connection up to 300 Mbps .

Read also | How to change telecom operator

Competetion

The situation is almost equivalent at Orange. Basically, its Internet subscribers have a connection speed of up to 125 Mbps in download and 5 Mbps in upload.

But, again for an additional 15 euros/month here, they can boost their connection - thanks to the Internet Boost option - up to 400 Mbps and 20 or 40 Mbps respectively (the upload speed varies depending on whether Orange uses to the cable networks of Voo or Telenet in your municipality, editor's note).

Note that regardless of carrier, this is always a theoretical maximum download or upload speed. Indeed, it can be influenced by the amount of traffic on the network as well as other technical factors.

Need more?

What about those who already want more like the maximum speed now available in Liège via VOO?

If you have the possibility of subscribing to Telenet, this operator allows since September 2019 to all its customers (whether they are in Flanders, Brussels or in the boot of Hainaut) to surf up to 1 Gbps instead of 300 Mbps , via a subscription to its Giga Speedboost option which also costs 15 euros/month. For this price, the upload speed is 40 Mbps.

The speed of 1 Gbps is already accessible for Telenet customers and part of Proximus customers.

This download speed is also already accessible to some Proximus customers (notably in the cities of Brussels, Charleroi, Namur and Liège).

In fact, a large part of the operator's network is already equipped with fiber optics, but the last section, between the street and the majority of existing buildings, is still made up of copper cables.

On the other hand, Proximus does better in terms of upload speed: up to 100 Mbps.

100Mbps

Uploading

Thanks to fibre, Proximus promises the fastest upload speed on the market.

Like VOO, an online module makes it possible to test the eligibility of an address. If it can already be connected to fiber and you are interested in this option, the installation is free for any activation of a Flex Fiber or Epic Combo Fiber pack.

On the other hand, if you opt for another solution, such as Internet Fiber alone, installation costs of 59 euros will be invoiced in the event of a new installation.

Be careful, you will also have to pay a supplement to obtain a speed of 1 Gbps in download and 100 Mbps in upload. For example, the Proximus Fiber Maxi internet connection (at 55.99 euros/month) has speed limits of 350 and 30 Mbps respectively. Therefore, if you need more, you will have to activate the Fiber Boost 1 GIGA option at 15 euros/month.

Finally, note that Edpnet (which uses the Proximus network) also offers a fiber offer. For 44.95 euros/month (and a free connection to the network), you can have a download speed of up to 500 Mbps and 100 Mbps for uploading.

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