Melita today announced the launch of ultra-fast 100 Megabits per second fibre power broadband.

"The launch of fibre power with increased broadband speeds and capabilities will deliver the opportunity to everyone in Malta to benefit from the on-going convergence of voice, video and applications all using and requiring fast and reliable internet connectivity" Melita's CEO, Andrei Torriani, said.

Infrastructure and IT minister Austin Gatt said Malta was the only country in the EU which could deliver 100 megabits per second to every corner of the country. He said that Malta currently had 77% penetration of households with broadband with a minimum speed of 4mbs.

"Convergence has become a way of life, when I wake up in the morning I put on my iPad and read The Times online" Dr Gatt said.

The launch was made at an event held at the Westin Dragonara to mark Melita's 20th anniversary.

The minister said the government was conducting a fibre-to-the-home study which is considering the feasibility of investment in the sector by both the government and the private sector.

Melita said that in order to reach these ultra-fast speeds, it is deploying a new technology developed by global networking giants, CISCO. DOCSIS 3.0 allows internet users to reach very high broadband speeds.

"By adopting this technology, Melita is placing the Maltese Islands ahead of other European countries such as Germany, where the roll-out of DOCSIS 3.0 technology is expected to reach 75% availability by the end of 2012."

Melita's 100 megabits per second broadband is already available throughout Malta and Gozo. Customers subscribing to this new product will have their modem changed without disturbing any existing wiring in the home or office. The new CISCO modems will also have in-built Wi-Fi routers as standard specifications.

"Our investment in broadband is an investment strategy of choice. Owning a fibre-rich, broadband platform enables Melita to provide products and services which converge voice, data and video technologies into entertainment and communications applications" said Mr Torriani.

He also announced two new applications which will be released shortly. One application will allow users to use Facebook on their television sets instead of using a computer and another application uses the mobile phone as a remote control for the Melita NetBox HD.

Mr Torriani said that entertainment patterns worldwide were changing. "Malta is no exception and our clients are telling us that they want to be in control of what they watch and when they watch it on TV. We have the solution to satisfy this demand and this summer, Melita will launch video on-demand services on a nationwide basis".

Describing Melita as a young person full of energy and ambitions, company chairman Joseph A. Gasan said that Melita had shaped the home entertainment and telecommunications landscape ever since it started off from scratch in 1991.

"We grew in sync with the country's progression towards a free, diversified and knowledge-based economy. In many instances, Melita provided the necessary infrastructure to assist and support the Government's strategy for social and economic development" Mr Gasan said.

"Our passion for innovation and our financial investments in the region of 200 million Euros over a 20 year period provide a clear testament of Melita's strong belief in Malta's potential" he added. 

Mr Torriani explained that Melita has registered a 50% increase in bandwidth demand over a one year period and a further 10% increase since Melita upgraded its internet clients for free for a one week period, from 5 and 10 megabits per second to 20 Megabits per second. Last month, the company announced free upgrades to almost 50,000 families as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations.

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