Who needs Super-fast FTTC ?

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

Edgefield Street Broadband Deals For May 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that all of us 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 simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business is able to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of up to 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively above most broadband 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 broadband operate?

Unlike most of UK internet connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper pipes used by traditional ADSL internet .

BT also offers a more than 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 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 range of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by registering for selected ADSL2+ broadband 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 broadband connections, but thanks to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “up to 16Mb”.

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

Which super-fast internet product is the fastest?

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 as a result of its super-fast fibre connectivity 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 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 fibre optic broadband ?

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

 

Benefits of fast broadband

Super fast internet connectivity can let you utilise all the video on demand available on the world wide web. You will have the ability to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you demand it , and banishing the hanging around for big downloads.

Fans of on-demand show can enjoy their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , in addition to rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by fibre broadband means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the competition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and dependent on things that are not within your control, like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Whether or not fibre broadband is available in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher monthly price .

Who is  fibre internet  for?

The massive growth in the number of people downloading music , video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super-fast broadband .

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 fibre broadband deal – preferably fibre for the best service.

High speed connectivity 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 referred to as ping,  which is often  caused by slower traditional internet products. This can seriously ruin your gaming experience .

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to prefer a standard ADSL connection.

Edgefield Street – Other Areas

Iscoyd

Kinloid

Lower Durston

Fencehouses

Trillacott

Lavernock

Spittal

Sinns Common

Stone Heath

Treswithian