Who needs Superfast Broadband Connections ?

Broadband has become increasingly more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every day that depend on 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 each day.

Swannington 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that we all would like 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 signed on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the capacity to do what they want online– all at the same time– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of more than 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), superfast internet products deliver speeds of around 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 of UK internet connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest 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 pipes used by traditional xDSL broadband .

BT also offers an as much as 76Mb fibre service called Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK homes in in the future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have resold 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-optic 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but because of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of approximately 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 a city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of around 16Mb or more. This still provides more than enough bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast broadband product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 with the help of its super-fast fibre broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package offers 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get fast connectivity?

Your initial step is to decide which high speed broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of high speed broadband connectivity

High speed broadband enables you to enjoy all the video on demand available on the web. You’ll have the chance to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for huge downloads.

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

Reduced latency means improved response times delivered by high speed internet 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 guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based on things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Whether or not fibre connectivity is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher monthly price .

Who is  fibre internet  for?

The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , streaming video and watching on demand 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 fibre broadband product – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super fast internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  caused by slower DSL internet services . 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 select a standard ADSL service .

Swannington – Other Areas

Oldbury on the Hill

Ashbourne

Chatterton

Picket Post

Pentrefelin

Drayton

Hookwood

Purdeys Industrial Estate

Slatepit Dale

Waterton Industrial Estate