Be Broadband steps up to the challenge, trial doubles 24Mbps service to near-match Virgin Media

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Not to be outdone by Virgin Media’s 50Mbps broadband announcement yesterday, Be Broadband has completed its trials of speed-doubling technology which would take the current 24Mbps broadband up to 48Mbps – almost the same as Virgin Media’s theoretical top speed.

The trial ran at the London Paddington exchange, with Be customers reporting real download speeds of between 30-45Mbps.

Be is keen to point out that its service will run through standard BT phone lines…

Virgin Media 50Mbps broadband: it's official

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Virgin Media has finally announced the official rollout of its super-fast 50Mbps broadband service to over 12 million homes in the UK.

By the end of the year, around 40% of its network will have been upgraded to the new DOCSIS 3.0 network, with all 12.6 million subscribers expected to be able to access the new service by Summer 2009. The new service could eventually see maximum speeds of up to 200Mbps.

Existing Virgin Media customers can subscribe to the 50Mbps broadband service for £35 per month (assuming they already have an £11pm Virgin Media phone line). Alternatively, broadband on its own will cost £51 per month…

RUMOUR: Virgin Media 50Mbps cable in a few weeks?

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ThinkBroadband are reporting that a poster to their forums has leaked some info regarding a 50Mbps product from Virgin Media on their cable broadband network. The rollout is apparently due to start in “two weeks”, and should be completed by April 2009.

Price-wise the service won’t be cheap, with 50Mbps setting you back £52 a month. It’s purported to be a mandatory 12 month contract too, meaning you’ll be dropping £624 over the year on your extra-fast broadband, before any setup or connection fees…

NOT CES 2008: Exclusive video of what WON'T be in Las Vegas this year

Hey everyone. What with all the talk of this “CES” thing that’s going on at the moment, I thought I’d give you an EXCLUSIVE look at a few of the products that won’t be on the show floor this year.

I’ll be revealing a two-year-old TV with NO HDMI sockets on it whatsoever, a six-year-old games console and a literally ancient digital cable box that’s definitely NOT rocking the crowds at the Vegas Convention Centre right now.

You won’t see these anywhere else! (apart from maybe at a dump or really poor friend’s house).