Who needs High Speed Fibre Connections?

Broadband has become more and more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use on a daily basis that count 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.

Westcote Barton 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 cope with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances turned on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the capacity to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of about 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , 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 to 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks like Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does superfast internet work ?

Unlike many UK broadband 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional ADSL connectivity .

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 residence in years to come.

 

 

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

However, fast internet is not exclusively 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 broadband by enrolling in selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connectivity uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but as a result of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “about 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 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 super-fast internet product is the quickest ?

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 because its superfast fibre broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package offers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the previously mentioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre network and feature headline speeds according to 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 super-fast connectivity?

Your initial step is to decide which super-fast broadband services are available to you . Check which service are available.

 

Advantages of fast broadband connections

High speed internet lets you take advantage of all the music streaming on offer on the world wide web. You will manage to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you want it , and banishing the hanging around for large downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by fibre internet means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and depend on things that are not within your control, like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the cabinet . Regardless of whether fibre connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher annual price.

Who is  FTTC internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the amount of people streaming music , downloading video and watching TV online means that there is no more a typical user of high speed connectivity .

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 internet product – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

High speed broadband is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  brought on by slower traditional 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 traditional ADSL service .

Westcote Barton – Other Areas

Childwick Green

Portico

Waddicar

Tarvin

Blairbeg

South Harting

Woodnook

Gooms Hill

High Brotheridge

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