GO has started deploying higher-speed fibre broadband internet technology in a number of localities, as well as providing speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps).
The company said this was part of its €100 million investment plan in next generation networks for the next five years.
In July, GO announced it was investing €100 million over a six-year period starting from this year as part of its technology roadmap which woud see it launching next generation networks such as fibre-to-the-home, mobile network upgrades and investments in its TV infrastructure to cover new services and applications.
It said it was now the first communications provider in Malta to be offering 100 Mbps fibre connectivity as part of commercial trials at Portomaso and Forth Mansions in Ta’ Xbiex.
The plan, it said, was to offer similar speeds in more areas of Malta and Gozo once fibre was made more widely available, subject to upcoming government policy and regulatory decisions.
“Over the past years, GO has already been offering fibre to numerous businesses and corporations that require higher speeds and increased resiliency. Now, thanks to the investment in the new technologies, we are successfully deploying fibre to the homes and, in specific areas in Malta, we can already provide speeds of up to 100 Mbps – thanks to our ongoing commercial trials,” said Duncan Howard, GO’s Chief Commercial Officer.
He said that GO was upgrading its infrastructure to offer higher speeds to households, as fibre technology and customers could benefit from increased speeds of up to 20 Mbps. Numerous areas in Malta and Gozo were already benefiting from these higher speeds, he added.
“Our aim is to provide faster speeds, better quality and reliability via a future-proof technology which is fibre, which will allow bandwidth-hungry applications to run on it smoothly thanks to smarter devices. The aim is to extend fibre to reach directly customers’ households and therefore provide significantly higher speeds,” Mr Howard said.
“We will be looking at applications whereby one will have a converged experience of internet and tv content via a tv set-top box, allowing customers to view their favourite content and applications on their tv.”
Last month, Malta has been ranked sixth in the global annual study of the quality of broadband internet connections around the world, beating countries such as the United States the UK and Germany. Malta significantly improved its ranking over the last three years, from 19th to 10th and now to sixth place.
The study was conducted by a team of MBA students from the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford and the University of Oviedo’s Department of Applied Economics, and sponsored by Cisco