Author: Acacia Henry

Coventry Gamers Poised for Pole Position in National E-Gaming Championship

An online gaming community in Coventry is poised for success thanks to a new partnership with Coventry’s number one, ultrafast broadband provider, the award-winning Gigabit Networks – the Midlands’ Best ISP. 

The Coventry Crosshairs – an online community of gamers with links to Coventry College’s new E-Sports and Digital specialisms – was created by husband-and-wife gamers, Greg and Shoubna Naika Taylor.  Each week, the online group battles with other gaming groups from around the UK in the British E-Sports Student Championships, ahead of the national final, which will be held in June 2023.   

Shoubna Naika Taylor, co-founder of Coventry Crosshairs and Curriculum Manager at Coventry College, comments; “As every gamer knows, a stable, ultrafast and reliable broadband connection can be the difference between winning and losing in a quick-witted competitive environment like the E-sports Student Championships.  It’s why the Coventry Crosshairs team is officially backing Gigabit Networks, as they introduce their gigabit-fast connection to us, delivering speeds of up to 20x faster than normal internet connections.   

We all know there is a lot of tech power needed in computing – especially when running games online and competing in different cities – but also from a communications perspective internally, between team members.  Anything less than a lightning-fast connection can create delay and barriers at a time when cross-party communication is critical.  It can, literally, be the difference between success and failure, which is why we’re excited about the massively enhanced competitive edge that Gigabit Networks gives our gamers.”  

Gigabit Networks – recently voted Best Internet Service Provider in the Midlands – and partner, CityFibre, have invested over £70million in infrastructure in Coventry with the ambition of destroying the digital divide in the city. 

This next-generation internet infrastructure is not only more cost effective and eco-friendly, but also more reliable, promising a target 99.9% uptime and a cloud-ready service, opening up unlimited opportunities and capability for, not only the Coventry Crosshairs, but the wider city of Coventry, too. 

Co-founder of Gigabit Networks, David Yates comments; “The Digital and Gaming Economy is enormously important in Coventry.  Gigabit Networks is dedicated to providing gamers like the Coventry Crosshairs with a virtually limitless capacity when it comes to online gaming, streaming video, immersive media, and VR, as well as improved capabilities when working from home, cloud-based storage, and support.” 

He continues; “The people of Coventry, and the Midlands as a whole, deserve to be on an equal footing with other areas of the country.  As the ISP of the Midlands, we’re excited about our partnership with the Coventry Crosshairs, and hope that our new gigafast connection can help enhance their gaming prowess and promote them to pole position in the E-Sports championships and beyond.” 

Find out more about Gigabit Networks Business broadband services and sign up today at gigabitnetworks.co.uk/coventrygigafast! 

About Gigabit Networks 

Gigabit Networks was founded to disrupt the broadband market and bridge the digital divide by empowering the Midlands with faster, future-proofed, ultra-reliable internet connectivity.  

The dynamic start-up has been named Gigabit Fibre Internet Champion for the Midlands and aside from providing the Midlands with economy-boosting speeds, they also exclusively hire in the Midlands, helping to nurture talent and bring more opportunities and growth to businesses and communities in the area. 

Full-Fibre gives you the freedom to really work from home. But how?

Remote work is now more common than ever, with millions around the world joining zoom calls, sharing files and co-creating on the cloud every single day. 

And with 65% of Homeworkers saying they would feel more productive in a home office than a normal office but the average home broadband speed in the UK being 64Mbps, it’s obvious that productivity isn’t always possible.

With full-fibre broadband (FTTP), users can expect 10 to 15 times faster speeds than other service types with speeds up to 1Gb whereas standard fibre broadband speeds average at around 67Mbps (download).

But how much speed do homeworkers really need?

*https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/how-much-internet-speed-to-work-from-home

With full-fibre speeds (1000Mbps up, 1000Mbps down), no download or upload will take longer than two minutes. With 100Mbps download speeds (higher than the national average) downloads can be relatively fast but uploads can take over two hours – which is hardly efficient.

When working from home, for peak productivity, home-workers want to be able to download, upload, join calls, co-create and more with the same speeds that they would expect in an office. At home this is only achievable with full-fibre as large office buildings typically use dedicated ethernet services which can deliver speeds of up to 10Gbps.

What can GigaFast Broadband do for homeworkers?

Make homeworking work for you with our tailored packages. 

GigaFast Home offers download speeds up to 900Mbps and upload speeds up to 100Mbps at a lower price, still allowing users to have 100+ devices connected and work from home efficiently. 

GigaFast Pro is our premium product which offers 900Mbps download AND upload speeds, for those bandwidth hungry households that need the fastest speeds available. This product means you can do everything you would with gigafast home, with an extra boost on your upload speeds – which is perfect for livestreaming or calls and conferences.

If you’re a homeworker looking to boost your productivity, an entrepreneur looking to start your own business or a small business owner that works from home – GigaFast broadband is the perfect fit for you. Check your availability today.

You may have heard of geocaching recently. But what is it?

Also referred to by geocaching.com as ‘the world’s largest treasure hunt’, geocaching is an exciting outdoor activity that can provide a sense of adventure for the entire family. 

Adventurers will be provided with GPS coordinates to a hidden treasure box meaning they can trek around the amazing British countryside before finding a cache that could contain any type of treasure.

With over 3 million geocaches currently hidden, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever be very far from a geocache so why not get involved in this new way of getting out and adventuring.

How do I get started?

It’s simple…

First you must download the official app on your mobile phone and create an account – this is completely free!

Next, choose a geocache. They can be in all sorts of areas with ranging levels of difficulty so ensure you research and prepare properly – especially for the more difficult caches.

Once you’ve chosen your target use the app or a handheld GPS to find your way to the given coordinates, once you’re there you must search for the geocache box. They are usually small metal boxes but may be made of other weatherproof materials such as plastic.

Once you’ve found your cache you may find treasure in the form of small trinkets, coins or even jewellery. It’s best to replace this treasure, if you take any, with something of equal or greater value.

You’ll probably find a logbook or sheet which allows you to record your visit as well. After this, put the geocache back where you found it, then you can begin planning your next adventure!

Geocaching in the Midlands

As a Midlands based business, striving for digital transformation, it’s only right we pinpoint some of the Midlands’ best geocaching spots.

The Geocaching website has it’s own list of spots in the West Midlands that you can find by clicking here. Linked here you can also find a list of upcoming geocaching events, many being in and around the Midlands.

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As an internet provider all about the Midlands, we love sharing news that can help to benefit and enrich the Midlands whether that be for businesses or residents.

For information about our GigaFast internet services and products click over to our homepage.

September is here and as we move further away from the summer holidays, a lot of us are looking for new interests to pursue till the year comes to an end.

We’re not thinking about new year’s resolutions just yet so there’s no need to worry about screen time! So, why not throw yourself into some new games?

A GigaFast connection is crucial to download these games as fast as possible without needing to sacrifice the connection quality on any of your other devices.

And of course, if you’re gaming online you can lose the lag that sets you back with our 900Mbps home broadband packages.

So without further ado, the three new games of this month to #GameWithGiga, are:

The Last of Us Part 1

The original ‘The Last of Us’ game, released in 2013, was well known for its post-apocalyptic, survival-esque nature and high-quality storytelling which is why the third rendition of this game is being well received so far.

This game can be played on the PS5 and PC, available to buy as a download or physical copy.

Having been released on September 2nd, The Last of Us Part 1 has already seen raving reviews rolling in – such as this great review by IGN.

FIFA 23

The final FIFA game to be developed by EA is here and its better than ever.

This new version of FIFA, set to be released on September 30th will include a lot of exciting new changes. The most notable being women’s club teams (a FIFA first). Players can also expect cross-play, the World Cup and of cours the Women’s World Cup.

FIFA 23 will be available for you to play on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Nintendo Switch and Stadia

To find out more, see this Official Matchday Experience Deep Dive Trailer posted by EA sports.

NBA 2K23

Another one for the sports-mad gamers. Set to be released on September 9th on PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, NBA 2K23 

This new NBA game will feature new game modes such as triple threat online co op and clutch time single player mode. Players will also benefit from the removal of contracts from the MyTEAM ecosystem.

The official first-look trailer gives a glimpse into some exciting graphics and crowd reactions.

After introducing these games, it is fair to say that September will be a good month for gamers. 

And just to make things better – our services are now available in Nottingham, Wolverhampton and Leicester so even more Midlands residents can #GameWithGiga.

Check your availability now.

Designed by Gamers, for Gamers.

Award-winning internet supplier Gigabit Networks is taking the Midlands by storm, offering thousands of homes and businesses access to a new full-fibre internet network. Wolverhampton is the most recent city to be offered their services, thanks to a multi-million pound investment that will help to bridge the digital divide in the city.

After successfully launching their digital revolution in neighbouring cities of Coventry and Derby, Gigabit Networks is bringing their near-limitless speeds of up to 900Mbps to Wolverhampton – a marked improvement on the city’s current average speeds of 87Mbps.

Residents and businesses in nine postcode areas – WV1, WV2, WV3, WV6, WV8, WV11, WV12, WV13 and WV14 – are able to make the most of this ultrafast technology to seamlessly stream HD TV, download large files and participate in video calls more quickly and reliably than ever before.

Local resident Shiv Passap is one of the first to have the new service live in his home. “I recently had GigaFast Pro installed into my home in Wolverhampton,” said Shiv. “Since being connected, I have experienced exceptional performance in speed and reliability. As a homeworker, it is paramount that I can access data instantly, make landline calls away from home and stream effortlessly throughout the day – all of which is now possible and more with the help of Gigabit Networks.”

Recently voted best Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the Midlands, Gigabit Networks is on a mission to empower the Midlands with faster internet connectivity. This new dependable, full-fibre, GigaFast speed internet service, which is up to 20x quicker than the average speed in the UK, is set to open unlimited opportunities for the city.

Co-founder David Yates said, “The turbulent nature of the last two years has proven the need for reliable internet connection and speed – we continue to seek entertainment, social connection and education online. Now, the cost-of-living crisis is showing that people need more room to innovate and generate multiple streams of income – the best way to do this is through the internet. Wolverhampton is now in an exciting position where they can leverage these exclusive speeds to generate more opportunities for their city.”

The new network uses sustainable fibre-optic cabling, which is more efficient and faster than traditional copper infrastructure. The cabling is laid by a Gigabit Networks’ partner, CityFibre, who are on track to bring full fibre internet to 8 million homes by 2025.

Each full fibre connection is exclusive to your property and capable of delivering up to 930 Megabits per second speeds both ways.

Recent research has suggested that by 2023, the average UK household will have 50 smart devices online and competing for precious bandwidth,* putting a strain on household broadband – and relationships.  In March 2021, the median average download speed of UK home broadband connections was a mere 50.4 Mbit/s.** In practise, upgrading Gigabit speeds allow customers to download a full-length HD movie in 12 seconds, or get their hands on Call of Duty: Warzone in less than 5 minutes.

Residents in Wolverhampton can switch to the Gigabit Networks’ service now, with prices from £49 per month. Houses and businesses in WV1, WV2, WV3, WV6, WV8, WV11, WV12, WV13 and WV14 can get started today at gigabitnetworks.co.uk

In such a technologically advanced society, it’s almost impossible to remain untouched by the realm of superfast internet connectivity.

Very quickly, home broadband started to hold more and more importance to UK households, much like water, gas and electricity. 

As we move further into 2022 and forward after the pandemic, priority and the expectations of most of the population has changed surrounding the internet, Wi-Fi access, and broadband speed. 

After lockdown it was clear that hybrid working was here to stay for most of us as well as hybrid learning. On top of this, increased use of streaming services, new online leisure activities and all of the other innovations that we’ve seen in the past few years have repositioned most people’s thinking on the internet. It is clear that it should be accessible to all.

Paid TV service subscribers have reduced and shifted to streaming services. Netflix, Amazon prime, Hulu and various other regional OTT platforms offer high quality content that must be accessed with broadband. According to Statista, the number of households with Amazon prime in the UK has grown to 13.35 M in the 1^st quarter of 2022 and Netflix with 17 M. 

The number of tenants aged between 18-35 years has also increased. This demographic are known for a high usage of internet and are less accustomed to slow speeds or being offline and often need more bandwidth. 

Online meetings and the ability to speak to friends and family over a Zoom call or video call has also reduced the issue of social isolation for older people or those who can’t leave their homes. 

So clearly there are plenty of ways that internet keeps us connected as a society and in 2022 it is almost impossible to be productive without it – do you think internet connectivity could be classed as the 4th utility, or is it simply a luxury?

Gigabit Networks can deliver full fibre internet access with at up to 930MBPS speed which is up to 20X faster than the standard home broadband connection in the Midlands. Check if it’s is available in your area by clicking here.

The cost of living has spiked this year and is expected to grow more in the coming years. For this reason, five UK internet service providers (ISPs) have created an alliance with the sole aim of fighting this issue and promoting good internet as a necessity rather than a luxury.  

We’re proud to say that Gigabit Networks is one of the founding members of this alliance.  

All of the Rebel Alliance members provide full-fibre broadband, moving to fulfil the industry goals to expand full-fibre connection in the UK by 2030. 

The idea behind the rebel alliance is to onboard broadband infrastructure suppliers like Openreach and Virgin Media O2 to financially contribute so that internet pricing can be more affordable for more people. 

Our co-founder and one of the founding members of the Rebel Alliance David Yates said: “The ability to connect to the Internet is no longer a luxury but a necessity, simply because so many essential services, including applying for Universal Credit itself, take place online.” 

“Despite this, it seems like our industry still views being able to access fast and reliable internet as a consumer choice, with the quality of the internet you receive connected to your willingness and ability to pay. At a time of rising household costs across the board, we in the Rebel Alliance think that this is totally unacceptable and it is incumbent on the entire industry, which includes the infrastructure firms, to work together to increase internet affordability and make social tariffs readily available across the board to those who are eligible for them”, he further added. 

The five founding ISPs, namely HighNet, Triangle Networks, Air Broadband, Trunk Networks and Gigabit Networks are fighting for a good cause.  

With the economy constantly edging towards higher costs, we hope to set a new trend in the market by being considerate of the struggles that most working-class households face.