Who needs High Speed FTTC Internet?

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

Barngates 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 signed on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the opportunity to do what they want online– all simultaneously– with no annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of around 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 internet connection is around 12Mbps (2014), super-fast internet products deliver speeds of right up to 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks which includes Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does fibre internet operate?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest internet 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 pipes used by standard DSL broadband .

BT also offers an up to 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 near future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband products of their own.

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

ADSL2+

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

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

Which high speed connectivity product is the best?

Among the UK’s quickest internet 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 super-fast fibre connectivity network.

BT’s Infinity package offers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the aforementioned 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 broadband ?

Your first step is to decide which fast broadband services are available in your area . Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of high speed broadband connections

Fast internet connectivity empowers you to utilise all the music streaming available online. You will have the capacity to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for astronomical downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of fibre broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Regardless of whether super-fast broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher annual price.

Who is  high speed broadband  for?

The massive growth in the range of people streaming music , video and watching TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super fast 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 high speed connectivity deal – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

Super fast internet is also ideal for fans of online console usage. Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  triggered by slower DSL internet connectivity services . 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 decide on a traditional ADSL service .

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