Who needs Super-fast Fibre Connections?

Broadband has become much more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single day that rely upon broadband connectivity seems to increase. The quantity of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that everyone has in their homes, seems to increase each day.

Sheeplane Broadband Deals For April 2024

Connection Type	Availablity
FTTC / Fibre / Superfast Broadband	Yes
Cable / Virgin Media	Some Areas
ADSL / Broadband	Yes
4G	Yes

Working from home is commonplace as it saves people being stuck in commuter traffic, something that all of us would like to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to handle the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances logged on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the opportunity to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of as high as 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively higher than most internet users.

While the current average UK internet connection is around 12Mbps (2014), super-fast internet products deliver speeds of about 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks especially Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does superfast broadband operate?

Unlike the majority of UK internet connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest broadband product – the 100Mbps service from Virgin Media (it’s 200Mbps in some areas) – is delivered by a cable, or fibre-optic, broadband network. These cables are made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper cables used by traditional DSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers a more than 76Mb fibre service called Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK residence in in the future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have piggybacked on BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super-fast cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast internet is not exclusively available to people in a fibre-optic broadband area . Fast broadband is not exclusively on offer to people in a fibre-optic broadband area. If you live within a certain distant of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connectivity uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but as a result of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of about 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as much as 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you inhabit a city or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of as much as 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast broadband product is the fastest?

Among the UK’s quickest connectivity products is Virgin Media’s 152Mbps service. Virgin Media, which also offers 50Mbps broadband products as a bare minimum, is able to deliver such fast connections because of its super-fast fibre connectivity network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the previously mentioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre network and feature headline speeds in line with BT.

 

 

Broadband products offering an up to 16Mbps (or thereabouts) connection are available from most providers. The arrival of these speeds has been facilitated by an upgrade of BT’s network with ADSL2+ technology, enabling the existing cabling to carry more data.

How do I get super-fast broadband ?

Your initial step is to see which high speed broadband services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of high bandwidth broadband connections

High speed broadband can let you take advantage of all the entertainment services on offer on-line. You’ll have the ability to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you demand it , and getting rid of the hanging around for very large downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, and also rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by super-fast internet means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of fibre connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Wherever fibre broadband is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  FTTC internet  for?

The massive growth in the range of people listening to music, downloading video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of high speed internet .

If you are a heavy downloader or are one of the increasing number of consumers who prefer to catch up with TV programmes online, it makes sense to sign up for a super fast internet connectivity product – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super-fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . Due to the fact a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower ADSL internet products. This can seriously ruin your gaming experience .

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to select a traditional ADSL deal .

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