Who needs Speedy Connectivity ?

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

Come-to-Good 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that most of us would like to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to deal with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances turned on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business has the ability to do what they want online– all all at once– with no annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of more than 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to surf the internet, stream music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively above most broadband users.

While the current average UK broadband connection is around 12Mbps (2014), superfast broadband products deliver speeds of around 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks including Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does superfast internet work ?

Unlike most of UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest broadband product – the 100Mbps service from Virgin (it’s 200Mbps in some areas) – is delivered by a cable, or fibre-optic, broadband network. These cables are composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional xDSL broadband .

BT also offers a right up to 76Mb fibre-optic service called BT 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 high speed cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only on offer to people in a fibre-optic broadband locations. Fast broadband is not exclusively on offer to people in a fibre-optic broadband area. If you live within a certain range of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by signing up for selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but because of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of almost 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “about 16Mb”.

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

Which super-fast broadband product is the best?

Among the UK’s fastest broadband 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 broadband 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 optic network and feature headline speeds in line with BT.

 

 

Alternatively, 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get fibre optic broadband ?

Your start is to see which high speed internet services are available in your area . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Benefits of high speed broadband

Super-fast broadband can let you utilise all the services available online. You’ll be able to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for big downloads.

Fans of on-demand show can enjoy their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , and even rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by high speed connectivity means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of high speed connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and rely on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Though fibre internet is available in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher cost .

Who is  fibre internet  for?

The massive growth in the number of people downloading music , video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of high speed broadband .

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 service – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

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

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

Come-to-Good – Other Areas

Kingstown Industrial Estate

Hilsea

Jacksdale

Ecklands

Barrow upon Humber

Hill Top

Tresham

Watford Park

Lower Middleton Cheney

Stourport-on-Severn