Who needs Superfast Connectivity ?

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

Lower Blandford St Mary 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 we all 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 signed on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business 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 relates to broadband connections of right up to 300Mbps in the UK.

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

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

How does high speed connectivity work ?

Unlike most of UK internet connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional DSL internet .

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 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 likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connection uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but because of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of as high as 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “about 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 town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of up to 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast connectivity product is the quickest ?

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 due to its superfast fibre broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package offers 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 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 high speed broadband ?

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

 

Advantages of super-fast internet

Super-fast broadband can let you utilise all the entertainment on offer on the net. You’ll manage to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for enormous downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of FTTC connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Even though super-fast broadband is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher price .

Who is  FTTC internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the amount 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 super fast broadband service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super-fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  brought on by slower ADSL broadband services . This can seriously ruin your online gaming pleasure.

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

Lower Blandford St Mary – Other Areas

Upper Farringdon

Wawne

Samuels Corner

Goathurst Common

Green Street

Skye of Curr

Whitehouse

Thorngrafton

Eryrys

Lowestoft