TelstraClear launches Warpspeed

TelstraClear launched its Warpspeed broadband service today. It is the fastest residential broadband service clocking in at 25 Mbits/s downstream and 2Mbits/s upstream.

25 Mbits/s may not sound that much better than the 24 Mbits/s offered by ADSL2+ based services. But it is! And here’s why:

• TelstraClear’s network is based on HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coax) technology. Sometimes we call this “HFC cable” or just “cable”;
• While ADSL2+ speed performance is highly distance dependent (distance from the exchange), HFC is not;
• The theoretical ADSL2+ maximum speed is approximately 15Mbits/s when averaged for subscribers 0-4 kilometers from the exchange;
• The practical ADSL2+ maximum speed is approximately 10Mbits/s when averaged for subscribers 0-4 kilometers from the exchange;
• The HFC maximum speed is 25 Mbits/s regardless of distance.

In other words, Warpspeed is actually 66-150% faster than ADSL2+ based services (when averaged for subscribers 0-4 kilometers from the exchange).

The upstream is also superior at 2Mbits/s. The ADSL2+ upstream speed peaks at about 1Mbits/s, and again it is distance dependent.