Who needs Speedy Internet ?

Broadband has become more and more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use per day that count on broadband connectivity seems to increase. The range of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase daily.

Riverside 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 manage 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 small business has the capacity to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

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

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to surf the internet, download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively above most internet users.

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

How does high speed internet operate?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest 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 xDSL internet .

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 future .

 

 

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

However, fast broadband 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 internet by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live a city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of more than 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 best?

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 as a result of its super-fast fibre-optic connectivity 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 in line with 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 broadband ?

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

 

Advantages of fast broadband

Fast internet connectivity lets you take advantage of all the entertainment on offer on the world wide web. You’ll have the opportunity to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for enormous downloads.

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

Reduced latency means improved response times delivered by fibre internet means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the competition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and dependent on things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Even if super fast connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher annual price.

Who is  high speed internet  for?

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

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 super fast broadband deal – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

Super fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  caused by slower traditional connectivity products. This can seriously ruin your 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 traditional ADSL deal .

Riverside – Other Areas

Frittenden

Uddingston

Burtersett

Penycoedcae

North Curry

Great Habton

Wilton Park

Maesmynis

Great Brington

Kintra