Who needs High Speed Internet ?

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

Brock 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 most of us would love to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to handle 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 small business is able to do what they want online– all at the same time– without any annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of around 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 higher than most broadband users.

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

How does fibre connectivity work ?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest broadband 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional DSL broadband .

BT also offers an as much as 76Mb fibre 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 not too distant 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 exclusively 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 range of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by registering for selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but due to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of approximately 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “almost 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the cabling and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live a city 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 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 of its superfast fibre connectivity 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get fast connectivity?

Your first step is to decide which high speed broadband services are available in your area . Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of high speed internet

Fast internet can let you take advantage of all the entertainment on offer on the world wide web. You’ll manage to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you like it, and banishing the days of long waiting times for very large downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes will love their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , along with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .

Reduced ‘ping’ means better response times delivered by super-fast connectivity means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of fibre broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Even when super fast connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher price .

Who is  FTTC internet  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 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 experience.

Super fast internet is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is often  triggered by slower ADSL 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 prefer a traditional ADSL service .

Brock – Other Areas

Heacham

Wade Hall

Quarrendon

Plumpton

Lothersdale

Oban

Thornton Steward

Lindley

Cefn

St Leonards