Who needs High Speed FTTC ?

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

Forgewood 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 wish to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to deal 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 local business has the chance to do what they want online– all at the same time– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of more than 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 greater than most internet users.

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

How does high speed connectivity work ?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest broadband product – the 100Mbps service from Virgin (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 faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional DSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers an up to 76Mb fibre-optic service called 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 resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super fast cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast internet is not only 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 internet by signing up for selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which superfast connectivity product is the fastest?

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 due to its superfast fibre-optic 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 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get superfast connectivity?

Your first step is to see which high speed broadband services are available to you . Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of super-fast broadband connectivity

High speed internet can let you enjoy all the entertainment services available online. You’ll have the opportunity to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for enormous downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of super-fast broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and dependent on things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Wherever fibre broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is super-fast broadband  for?

The massive growth in the number of people listening to music, streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer 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 join a fibre broadband product – preferably fibre for the best service.

Fibre internet connectivity 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 commonly caused by slower traditional internet connectivity products . This can seriously ruin your online gaming experience .

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to decide on a traditional ADSL deal .

Forgewood – Other Areas

Old Gate

Newarthill

Gussage St Andrew

Cobhall Common

Kingsett

Riverside Park Industrial Estate

Carsluith

Girdle Toll

Buriton

West Pontnewydd