Who needs High Speed FTTC Internet?

Broadband has become more and more vital to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day that bank 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 everyday.

Alfold 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that most of us wish 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 turned on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of as much as 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 internet users.

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

How does superfast connectivity work ?

Unlike many UK internet connections, which use telephone 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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional ADSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers an as much as 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 not too distant future.

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super-fast cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast internet is not exclusively on offer 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 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 form 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 up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as much as 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the cabling and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you dwell in a town 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 high speed connectivity product is the best?

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 because of its super-fast fibre-optic connectivity network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers 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 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get high speed connectivity?

Your initial step is to see which super-fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of super fast internet

High speed broadband can let you use all the entertainment on offer on-line. You will have the capacity to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for big downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , together with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by super-fast internet means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and based upon things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Even though super-fast broadband is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  high speed broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people listening to music, downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of fibre internet .

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 fibre internet deal – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

High speed internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. Due to the fact faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly caused by slower DSL internet 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 decide on a traditional ADSL connection.

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