Is Galaxus customers’ internet too fast?
Most households would probably get by fine with a slower internet connection. And yet, nearly three quarters of Galaxus Internet customers are surfing on the high-speed fibre-optic network. This is likely down to the fact that users are unlikely to change providers once they’ve settled on a plan.
How fast should your home internet connection be? This question was explored by our editor Martin Jud. Put very simply: It depends, but you probably don’t need a super-fast fibre-optic connection. At least that’s the theory.
In practice, however, most people just don’t seem to care. Three in four customers are on the fibre-optic network and have gone with the fastest Galaxus Internet plan available (with up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbit/s) for uploads and downloads). Interestingly, only about two thirds of the population in Switzerland even have access to fibre so far. Not to mention that only a minority is likely to benefit from these high speeds.
The first hurdle is often customers’ home setups. How fast your internet actually is depends heavily on your devices and the wiring in your home. What’s more, you can basically never reach the maximum speed over Wi-Fi. On mobile phones and laptops, the download speed rarely exceeds a few hundred megabits. But even when you’re connected via cable, most computers and TVs cap out at one gigabit per second because their ports can’t handle higher speeds. If you really wanted to take full advantage of the 10 Gbit/s, you’d need expensive specialised hardware, such as 10-gigabit network cards, compatible switches and cables.
Martin points out that even a 200 Mbit/s cable plan easily meets the everyday needs of a two- to three-person household. Providing there’s no network congestion during internet rush hour that is. After all, using a cable network you’re sharing the bandwidth with your neighbours, which is why speeds can drop during peak hours. Although the fibre-optic service isn’t completely exclusive, fluctuations are significantly less pronounced.
A bond for life
The fact that Martin and I are breaking down these facts is unlikely to prompt many people to change their internet plan with Galaxus or one of its competitors. Downgrading from fibre back to the slower, more affordable cable network is a rare occurrence. Over the past 18 months, only two in every thousand Galaxus Internet customers switched to a slower plan.
Our cable network customers are also quite loyal, especially in view of the fact that two in three of them would have access to a fibre-optic connection. Although seven times as many customers switch from cable to fibre than the other way around, it’s still the exception at a rate of 1.4 per cent.
This is likely due not only to lacking motivation, but to a lack of urgency. Despite the slower download speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s and upload speeds of 100 Mbit/s, this still covers most people’s everyday browsing, streaming and working requirements.
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