Cable player ups its game


27 Jun 2008

UPC announces 20Mbps broadband for €40 a month

UPC is to launch an unprecedented home broadband package with speeds of 20Mbps for €40 a month.

UPC will roll out the new 20Mbps broadband service from 1 July to over 422,000 broadband-enabled homes in areas such as Dublin, Galway, Waterford, Limerick, Cork and all other major cabled towns.

It is by far the fastest broadband package available at that price and according to UPC will improve Ireland’s ranking in the OECD broadband speed table by 15 places, bringing us from 25th position to 10th.

“From July, all new UPC customers who sign up for our €40 service will receive a market-leading downstream of 20Mbps,” said Mark Coan (pictured), marketing and sales director with UPC. “Customers who sign up for our €30 product will get 10Mbps and for €20 will get 3Mbps.

“Our commitment to deliver real broadband isn’t just about downstream speed,” he added. “Our upstream for the 20Mbps tier will be 1.5Mbps and we are removing our download caps on both the 10Mbps and 20Mbps services. This gives the improved UPC broadband offering clear advantages right across the board.

“UPC is committed to using our next-generation cable infrastructure to offer a compelling alternative to DSL providers and deliver speeds comparable to the best in Europe and we are delighted to say this is now a reality in Ireland. In addition, the continuation of our network upgrade means we will be able to expand the availability of these amazing speeds to well over half a million Irish homes by the end of the year.”

UPC, the parent company of Chorus and NTL, is the second-largest consumer broadband provider in Ireland with over 86,000 subscribers. Its customer base has grown by over one third in the last year. It operates across 10 European countries and has over 5.6 million broadband internet subscribers.

By Niall Byrne