Who needs Superfast Fibre Internet ?

Broadband has become much more vital to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use on a daily basis that bank on broadband connectivity seems to increase. The quantity of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase daily.

Ascott 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 would love 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 turned on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns 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 higher than most broadband users.

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

How does fibre internet operate?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest internet 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper cables used by traditional DSL internet .

BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre 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 piggybacked on BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super-fast cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast broadband is not exclusively on offer 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 internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connection uses the same wiring 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 “up to 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you reside in a town or built up location 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 super-fast internet product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s fastest broadband 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-optic 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 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 fibre connectivity?

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

 

Advantages of fast broadband connections

Fast internet enables you to utilise all the video on demand on offer on the internet. You will manage to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for big downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of super-fast connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and depend on things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the green box. Even though super-fast connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is super-fast internet  for?

The massive growth in the number of people streaming music , streaming video and watching catchup 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 sense to enrol in a super fast broadband deal – preferably fibre for the best service.

High speed broadband 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 known as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower traditionalbroadband 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 go with a standard ADSL service .

Ascott – Other Areas

Stanton Gate

Trefor

Hempnall Green

Byram

Little Stretton

Machrihanish

Hillgrove

Bearwood

Tithebarn

Lower Comprigney