Who needs Superfast FTTC Connectivity ?

Broadband has become increasingly more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day that bank 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.

Shortwood 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 all of us would like 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 simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the chance to do what they want online– all all at once– with no annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns 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), high speed internet products deliver speeds of up to 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks including Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does superfast internet operate?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest internet 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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper pipes used by traditional DSL internet .

BT also offers a 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 used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast internet is not exclusively 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 registering for selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but because of the software and technology 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 cabling and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you inhabit a city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of to 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast broadband product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 due to its super-fast 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 optic 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 super-fast broadband ?

Your start is to see which high speed broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Advantages of high speed broadband connectivity

High speed internet lets you utilise all the services on offer on the net. You will manage to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for huge downloads.

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

Reduced latency means improved response times delivered by high speed broadband means that online gamers gain an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of high speed broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and depend on things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Even when super-fast internet is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  fibre internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the amount of people listening to music, downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of high speed internet .

However, 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 subscribe to a super-fast broadband service – preferably fibre for the very best service.

Super fast connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . Due to the fact a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  brought on by slower DSL broadband services . 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 take a standard ADSL deal .

Shortwood – Other Areas

Wicken Bonhunt

Hawks Hill

Warcop

Hillsford

Prenbrigog

Kilnsey

North Kingston

Woolstanwood

Markyate

Slapton