Who needs Superfast FTTC ?

Broadband has become much more important 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.

Windhill 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 all of us would love 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 all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business manages to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of approximately 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively more than most internet 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 cabled networks such as Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does super-fast internet work ?

Unlike most UK internet connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest 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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by standard DSL broadband .

BT also offers a more than 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 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 available to people in a fibre-optic 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by registering selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but as a result of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “about 16Mb”.

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

Which superfast connectivity 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 due to its super-fast fibre-optic 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 optic network and feature headline speeds in accordance 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 high speed connectivity?

Your 1st step is to see which super-fast internet services are available to you . Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of high bandwidth broadband

Super-fast broadband lets you enjoy all the entertainment services available on the world wide web. You will have the capacity to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for enormous downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by high speed broadband means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of fibre connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and based on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Wherever super fast internet connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  fibre internet connectivity for?

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

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 sign up for a super fast connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

High speed internet connectivity 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 often  as a resulted of slower DSL internet services . 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 take a standard ADSL connection.

Windhill – Other Areas

Birchley Heath

Harling Road

Craichie

Tarleton Moss

Scurdie Ness

Farley Green

Kegworth

Townend

Ravenstonedale

Rheda