Who needs High Speed Fibre Connectivity ?

Broadband has become more and more vital to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use per day that depend 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 on a daily basis.

Harefield Broadband Deals For January 2026

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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that we all would like to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to cope with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances turned on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business is able to do what they want online– all simultaneously– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates 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 internet users.

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

How does superfast connectivity operate?

Unlike many UK internet connections, which use telephony 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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper cables used by traditional ADSL connectivity .

BT also offers an as high as 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 not too distant future.

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “approximately 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 location you can realistically expect speeds of right up to 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast broadband product is the best?

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 with the help of its superfast fibre-optic broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the aforementioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre 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 super-fast broadband ?

Your 1st step is to decide which highspeed internet services are available to you . Check which service are available.

 

Advantages of high speed broadband

Super fast internet lets you enjoy all the music streaming available online. You will have the ability to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for huge downloads.

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

Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by super-fast internet means that online gamers gain an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and dependent on things that are not within your control, like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Even if super-fast connectivity is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is  high speed internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , downloading video and watching TV online means that there is no longer 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 broadband product – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Fibre broadband is also ideal for fans of online console usage. Due to the fact faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly triggered by slower DSL broadband 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 go with a standard ADSL service .

Harefield – Other Areas

Hixon

Appleton Wiske

Bryndu

Kentrigg

Hawsker

Foxley

Penmount

Worlds End

St Stephens

Lower Bitchet