Who needs Super-fast Broadband Connectivity ?

Broadband has become much more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single day that rely 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 on a daily basis.

Hickling Green 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 all 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 logged on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business has the ability to do what they want online– all at the same time– without any annoying delays.

What is quick 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, stream music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively above most broadband users.

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

How does superfast connectivity work ?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephone 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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional ADSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers an as high as 76Mb fibre-optic service called BT Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK homes in in the not too distant future.

 

 

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

However, fast broadband is not only on offer 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 packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but thanks to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of approximately 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as much as 16Mb”.

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

Which high speed broadband product is the best?

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 line 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 fibre optic broadband ?

Your 1st step is to decide which fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of high speed broadband

Super fast internet connectivity lets you take advantage of all the music streaming available on the web. You will be able to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you demand it , and getting rid of the hanging around for large downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV will love their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, as well as rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

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

Disadvantages of FTTC broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and depend on things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Though high speed connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is super-fast connectivity  for?

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

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 high speed broadband service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Fibre internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  brought on 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 opt for a standard ADSL deal .

Hickling Green – Other Areas

Heniarth

Haslingfield

Holt End

Aberchalder

Glass

Ickenham

Dalry

Chenies

Teddington

Boughton