Who needs Superfast FTTC ?

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

Arabella 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 would love to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to cope with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances turned on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

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

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

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

How does high speed broadband work ?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest 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 faster than along the copper cables used by standard xDSL connectivity .

BT also offers a more than 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 years to come.

 

 

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 broadband is not exclusively available to people in a fibre-optic 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 registering selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which superfast connectivity product is the fastest?

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 as a result of its superfast fibre 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 accordance 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 fibre optic connectivity?

Your first step is to decide which high speed internet services are available in your area . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of high bandwidth internet

Super fast internet can let you utilise all the entertainment services available on the web. You will have the opportunity to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you demand it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for very large downloads.

Fans of on-demand show can enjoy their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , as well as rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by high speed broadband means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of fibre broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Whether or not super-fast internet connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher price .

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people listening to music, downloading video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer 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 register for a super fast internet connectivity service – preferably fibre for the best service.

Super-fast connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly as a resulted of slower ADSL internet connectivity services . This can seriously ruin your online gaming pleasure.

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to go for a traditional ADSL connection.

Arabella – Other Areas

Shielfoot

Stracathro

Arlebrook

Horsecastle

Pinford

Girthon

Horn Hill

Crosswater

Manswood

Coxbench