Melita launches ultra-fast 100 Megabits fibre power broadband

Melita are launching a number of new services which include 100 Megabit broadband, video on-demand services to be launched this summer, TV remote control application developed for smart phones and facebook for TV, investing in over €200 million over 20 years.

Melita has launched Malta’s fastest broadband internet connection reaching up to 100 Megabits per second. Melita FibrePower was launched today in the presence of Dr. Austin Gatt, Minister for Communications, Melita’s Chairman Mr. Joseph A. Gasan and Melita’s CEO Mr. Andrei Torriani during an event held at the Westin Dragonara to mark Melita’s 20^th anniversary.

To reach these ultra-fast speeds, Melita 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 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.

Launching the new product to an audience of around 100 guests including members of Government, members of the Opposition, business and civil society leaders, representatives of the regulating bodies and media, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Andrei Torriani said that Melita’s aim is to provide FibrePower speeds and the benefits of convergence to as many people as possible. “The pricing of our 100 Megabits per second service reflects our ambition to make faster broadband speeds available to a larger section of the population” explained Mr. Torriani.

Packages start from as little as €18 per month (promotional price) for the FibrePower 25 Mbps connection (€30 after nine month promotion) or for an additional €10 per month when combined with other services.

Melita has added its computer servers to the global broadband and independent speed testing website http://www.speedtest.netwhich provides internet users with free speed tests to measure upload and download speeds.

Facebook on TV and smart phone remote control for TV sets

“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.

Mr. Torriani 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.

Video on-demand services

Mr. Torriani said that entertainment patterns worldwide are 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”.

Melita invests over Eur200 million in 20 years

Describing Melita as a young person full of energy and ambitions, Chairman Mr. Joseph A. Gasan said that Melita had shaped the home entertainment and telecommunications landscapeever 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.

Bandwidth demand is on the increase

Melita’s special focus on high-speed broadband was kick-started in 2008 when the company started laying its €10 million state-of-the-art submarine fibre optic cable between Malta and Sicily. Following the completion of this international link, Melita addressed the quality of its broadband service by streamlining broadband traffic on its network, doubled upload speeds and has now completed an investment in CISCO DOCSIS 3.0 technology which delivers broadband speeds up to 100 Megabits per second.

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 20^th anniversary celebrations.

http://www.melita.com