Internet and phone provider PlusNet UK has announced the completion of its new broadband network, which consists of four 10Gbps host links, with two more of an equal size on order. At present the ISPs customers are split between three different platforms and will eventually all be migrated to the new one.

PlusNet's Current Network(s)
• 21CN for ADSL2+ and fibre (FTTC) customers which uses 1Gbps hostlinks

• PlusNet's first 20CN network for some Madasafish customers which uses 155Mbps pipes

• PlusNet's second 20CN network for everyone else that uses 622Mbps pipes

PlusNet plans to trial the new network, over the next six weeks, by moving a small number of customers to it. Once the trial period has ended all customers will be moved across to the new network.

The migration of PlusNet's 21CN based customers is relatively simple and most should not notice any problems. However some customers, especially 20CN users, require their realm to be moved too and this could cause a brief disconnection.

The migration of all PlusNet's 20CN customers is expected to take around 4 months, including the initial trial period. PlusNet is aiming to complete the work by mid-April 2011, which will allow it to decommission the old networks.

Four 10Gbps host links gives the new platform plenty of extra capacity, which should help to support PlusNet's new and existing services and allow for more management flexibility. It will be interesting to see whether, come April next year, the change have helped to boost their performance in speedtests too.