Who needs Super-fast FTTC ?

Broadband has become more and more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single day that utilise broadband connectivity seems to increase. The range of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that everyone has in their homes, seems to increase on a daily basis.

Water Broadband Deals For December 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 signed on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business has the chance to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of as much as 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 broadband users.

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

How does fibre connectivity operate?

Unlike most UK broadband 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 quicker than along the copper pipes used by traditional DSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers an as high 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 near future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super-fast cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only 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 range of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by enrolling in selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This kind of connection uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “about 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper 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 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 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 because of its super-fast 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get super-fast broadband ?

Your first step is to decide which fast broadband services are available to you . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of fast broadband connections

Fast internet connectivity can let you utilise all the music streaming on offer on the internet. You’ll have the opportunity to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you demand it , and banishing the hanging around for enormous downloads.

Fans of on-demand show will love their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , and also rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by super-fast connectivity means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and dependent on things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Regardless of whether fibre broadband is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher monthly price .

Who is  high speed broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people downloading music , downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer 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 join a high speed internet connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best service.

High speed internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is often  caused by slower ADSL internet connectivity products . 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 decide on a standard ADSL connection.

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