Who needs Superfast Broadband FTTC ?

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

Sand 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 most of us wish 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 signed on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the chance to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of as much as 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 higher than most internet users.

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

How does superfast internet operate?

Unlike many UK internet connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest 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 faster than along the copper cables used by traditional xDSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers an up to 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 in the near future .

 

 

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

However, fast internet is not only available 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by registering selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort 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 up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “approximately 16Mb”.

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

Which super-fast internet product is the best?

Among the UK’s fastest 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 because of its superfast fibre-optic 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 network and feature headline speeds in accordance 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 optic connectivity?

Your first step is to decide which super-fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of fast broadband connections

Super fast internet connectivity enables you to utilise all the entertainment on offer online. You’ll have the chance to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you like it, and banishing the hanging around for big downloads.

Fans of on-demand show can enjoy their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, together with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .

Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of fibre broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and dependent on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Even when super fast broadband is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher monthly price .

Who is super-fast internet  for?

The massive growth in the number of people streaming music , downloading video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of fibre 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 good sense to enrol for a super fast internet deal – preferably fibre for the best service.

Fibre internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. Due to the fact a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  as a resulted of slower ADSL 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 select a standard ADSL connection.

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