Who needs Superfast Connectivity ?

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

Freathy Broadband Deals For October 2025

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 we all would like to avoid.

 

 

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

What is high speed broadband?

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

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

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

How does fibre internet operate?

Unlike many of UK broadband 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper cables used by standard DSL broadband .

BT also offers an as high as 76Mb fibre-optic service called BT Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK homes in in the near future .

 

 

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

However, fast broadband is not exclusively available 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 services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but as a result of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as high as 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you inhabit a city or built up location 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 internet product is the best?

Among the UK’s fastest 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 thanks to its superfast 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 accordance 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get super-fast connectivity?

Your 1st step is to see which super-fast broadband services are available in your area . Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of super-fast internet

High speed internet lets you take advantage of all the entertainment services on offer on-line. You’ll have the opportunity to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for huge downloads.

Fans of on-demand show will love their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , including rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .

Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by super fast broadband means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Although fibre broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher annual cost .

Who is super-fast internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people downloading music , downloading video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super fast internet connectivity.

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 connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower traditionalbroadband 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 select a traditional ADSL deal .

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