Today many Internet users cannot imagine how it was at all possible to live with "slow" Web, when one or another page was opening within several minutes – and then one had to wait a few more minutes before the picture appeared. Forget about watching videos or downloading large files.

Everything changed 19 years ago, when the first ever fiber optic Internet appeared in Lithuania. It basically changed the idea about quality, speed and connectivity. Data was now being transmitted via optical cables using light, instead of electrical pulses. For this reason, the Internet speed has increased tenfold, and users no longer need to be patient enough if they wish to listen to music, watch high-quality videos or download large amounts of data.

"On October 28, the first Lithuania‘s fiber-optic Skynet network celebrates its 19th anniversary. This is not only the Skynet birthday, but also of the fiber-optic Internet - that is why everyone is welcome to celebrate the emergence of high-speed Internet, which radically changed our approach to the speed and convenience of the "World Wide Web," says Povilas Keburis, manager of Skynet.

Five years ago, users of Skynet got the then highest (1 Gbps) Internet speed in Lithuania – and this year Skynet just had tested 10 Gbps already!

"Computers can‘t process the data at this speed yet, and even the fastest disks are unable to record it, but someday in the future even such speed will surprise no one, because all technologies tend to improve", Mr. Keburis believes.

According to him, the demand for high-speed Internet in Lithuania is growing. Over the past five years, the number of customers using the 1 Gb/s Internet, increased by an average of 5 times annually. Only in the 1st half of 2017, the number of subscribers who ordered high-speed Internet, increased 10 times compared to the same period in 2016.

Such a speed, which can be achieved using fiber optics, is not possible with other technologies. "The fiber optic outperforms all other methods of data transmission, even from the physical point of view, since the data is transmitted through a light signal (its frequency is many times higher than that of the radio waves – and, the higher the frequency, the more data can be transmitted", says Keburis. – The usual radio waves propagate in the megahertz (MHz) band, and for mobile 4G communication and Wi-Fi, the gigahertz (GHz) band is used (for example, Wi-Fi operates in the range from 2.4 to 5 GHz). As for the light waves, it involves the terahertz (for example, a red light of 400 THz) range, so you many times more data can be transmitted.

Skynet History: Key Facts

1996: JSC Penki kontinentai first offered Vilnius residents with Internet services, including web design and support, and e-mail hosting.

1998: On October 28, Penkių kontinentų komunikacijų centras introduced the first Lithuania‘s Skynet fiber optic network.

2001: On February 14, for the first time in Lithuania, live Internet broadcast of the Techno Valentino music festival from the Vilnius Palace of Culture of Trade Unions took place using the IPTV technology.

2005: The Skynet fiber optic network was awarded the "Product of the Year" silver medal by the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists.

2006: The IPTV service became available to all users of the Skynet network.

2007 and 2012: The Skynet IPTV was awarded the "Product of the Year" gold medals by the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists.

2012: The IPTV.iQ TV interface reached final of the Connected Content Technology Awards international competition.

2012: The Skynet customers were offered 1 Gbps Internet connection speed.

2017: In March, the 1 Gbps speeed became available in both Lithuanian and external Internet networks.

2017: In July, Skynet for the first time in Lithuania tested the 10 Gbps speed.