Your broadband connection could be about to be supercharged when streaming your favourite sports, boxsets, and blockbusters, thanks to a clever new technology being trialled by BT and EE.
It's all thanks to a partnership with a company called MainStreaming, which could bolster streaming quality across the UK without a change to download speeds. Working with MainStreaming, BT hopes to provide a smoother "and more resilient streaming experience" for millions of Britons.
This means you'll enjoy fewer interruptions when watching your favourite shows on platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, ITVX, or BBC iPlayer. BT and EE customers will be the first in the UK to experience trials of a new MAUD (Multicast-Assisted Unicast Delivery) system to make live streaming smoother too.
BT Chief Network Architect Chris Bramley stated: "We are continually enhancing our networks to ensure our customers enjoy the best possible streaming experience. Bringing a leading Content Delivery Network provider like MainStreaming into our network enables us to drive efficiency of video content delivery and provide outstanding viewing experiences to our shared customers."
The UK currently has some of the worst average broadband speeds in Europe
| BROADBAND GENIE PRESSAccording to the announcement, the partnership plans to positively boost your overall experience, make your streaming service more reliable, and help reduce costs for network providers. However, there is no set timeline for when you'll be able to take advantage of this new service.
On its website, MainStreaming, which also works with brands like DAZN, T-Mobile, and Sky, describes itself as a "leading provider of advanced infrastructure solutions for video streaming services and applications." We'd expect to see some clever caching solutions, but BT, EE and MainStreaming haven't announced publicly exactly what will be happening behind-the-scenes to ease the streaming experience.
A buffer-free broadband experience is sure to please millions of Britons on BT and EE. The UK had some of the worst average broadband speeds in Europe, triggering a multi-billion upgrade project, known as Project Gigabit, earlier this decade. Thankfully, the UK Government is now comfortably on track to reach its goal of 85% gigabit coverage by the end of 2025 and full coverage across the UK by 2030.
The fastest full-fibre broadband uses fibre-optic cables in every part of the connection, while older connections still rely on ageing copper cables in part of the link between your Wi-Fi router and the exchange run by BT, TalkTalk, EE, Sky, or whoever handles your internet connection | OPENREACH PRESS OFFICE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- Update your WhatsApp! 'Sophisticated attack' targets iPhone owners
- Apple teases blockbuster new iPhone launch with two-word clue
- Best VPN deals
- YouTube is using AI to edit videos without telling anyone
- Best mattress toppers
If you're not familiar, gigabit coverage refers to a type of broadband with speeds of at least one gigabit per second (Gbps). When it comes to streaming your shows, Netflix recommends a minimum speed of 3Mbps or higher to watch in 720p HD, while video call applications like Zoom can function with as little as 0.6Mbps, but need much more for a smoother experience, especially when sharing a screen, broadcasting and viewing in HD quality, or juggling multiple callers.
In busy households, with multiple people downloading software updates, backing up their photos and data online, making video calls, or streaming on-demand shows from BBC iPlayer, ITVX, or Netflix... a download speed of 10Mbps will soon collapse under the pressure.
Switch to EE's fastest full-fibre broadband and you'll be sent a Wi-Fi router
Switch to EE's fastest full-fibre broadband and be sent a Wi-Fi 7 router at no extra costEE says its blistering-fast Wi-Fi 7 router unlocks 2x faster speeds than Wi-Fi 6 technology, which is the standard used by most other UK broadband suppliers. If the BT-owned firm fails to deliver a minimum speed of 100Mbps in every room of your house — you'll get £100 back. Its speediest 1.6Gbps plan comes with WiFi Enhancer service at no extra cost too
EE Wi-Fi 7
$60.69
Switch to Plusnet for full-fibre broadband and get a £140 in reward credit
Switch to Plusnet's fastest full-fibre broadband deal and be rewarded with a £140 Gift Card. This generous giveaway takes the form of a pre-paid Mastercard debit card which can be used anywhere that accepts Mastercard... in other words, pretty much anywhere. You could even use it to pay your Plusnet bills!
Full Fibre 900
$25.99
If you're unsure about the exact broadband speed you need in your home, we've put together the average download speeds for an hour-long television show episode in Standard Definition (SD), roughly 450MB in size.
- 69Mbps, the average broadband speed in the UK: 56 seconds
- 150Mbps, the lowest speed available with most full-fibre packages: 24 seconds
- 500Mbps, widely available from all full-fibre providers: 7 seconds
- 1Gbps (or 1,000Mbps) is not available from all broadband companies: 4 seconds
Of course, the speed coming into your home via the full-fibre connection makes a huge difference, but software developments — like this partnership with MainStreaming — could also dramatically improve the experience for those struggling to watch Squid Game on Netflix.
More From GB News