Who needs Superfast Broadband Connections ?

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

Applemore 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 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 company has the opportunity to do what they want online– all at the same time– with no annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of right up to 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 more than most internet users.

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

How does super-fast connectivity operate?

Unlike most of UK internet connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest 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 cables used by traditional xDSL broadband .

BT also offers an as much as 76Mb fibre 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 not too distant 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 internet is not only 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 internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This kind of connection 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 “as high as 16Mb”.

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

Which superfast broadband 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 with the help of its superfast fibre-optic connectivity network.

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

How do I get high speed broadband ?

Your first step is to see which high speed internet services are available to you . Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of high bandwidth internet

Super-fast broadband lets you take advantage of all the entertainment available on the world wide web. You’ll have the ability to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for enormous downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of fibre internet

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and depend on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Even though super fast internet is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  high speed internet  for?

The massive growth in the number of people downloading music , streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of fibre 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 sense to register for a super fast broadband service – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

Super fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly triggered by slower traditional internet connectivity 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 go for a standard ADSL service .

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