Who needs Superfast Connections ?

Broadband has become increasingly more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single day that depend 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 everyday.

Waterhead 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 need to avoid.

 

 

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

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of about 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 more than most broadband users.

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

How does super-fast broadband work ?

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

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

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used 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 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 internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by getting 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 thanks to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of up to 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 reside in a city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of around 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast connectivity product is the fastest?

Among the UK’s fastest 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 because its superfast fibre broadband 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 network and feature headline speeds according to 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 fibre optic broadband ?

Your 1st step is to decide which high speed internet services are available in your area . Check which service are available.

 

Advantages of super fast internet

Super-fast internet can let you utilise all the music streaming available on the net. You will manage to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you demand it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for big downloads.

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

Reduced latency means better response times delivered by high speed connectivity means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of high speed internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Even when fibre broadband is available in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is super-fast internet  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people listening to music, video and watching TV online means that there is no more 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 service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super-fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly as a resulted of slower traditional internet connectivity products . This can seriously ruin your gaming pleasure.

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

Waterhead – Other Areas

Tabley

Graig Penllyn

Dangerous Corner

Hirael

Chalkshire

Burstallhill

Old Belses

Burnham-on-Sea

Hightown Hill

Trenoon