Who needs Super-fast Broadband FTTC Connectivity ?

Broadband has become much more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use per day that rely upon 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.

Ridge Broadband Deals For May 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 we all need 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 turned on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the chance to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

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

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to connect to 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), superfast internet products deliver speeds of as high as 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks including Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does fibre connectivity operate?

Unlike the majority 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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by standard xDSL broadband .

BT also offers a right up to 76Mb fibre-optic service called BT 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 super-fast cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast internet 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 distant of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by joining selected ADSL2+ internet services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connectivity uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet 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 cabling and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live a city or built up area 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 connectivity product is the best?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 thanks to its superfast fibre 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get superfast broadband ?

Your start is to see which highspeed internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of super fast internet

Super-fast internet can let you take advantage of all the entertainment services available on the web. You will have the chance to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you demand it , and getting rid of the hanging around for very large downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of FTTC broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Whether or not high speed broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher annual price.

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people listening to music, video and watching TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super fast 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 sense to subscribe to a super-fast connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best service.

Super-fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online games . Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly brought on by slower DSL internet services . This can seriously ruin your gaming experience .

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 .

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