Who needs Superfast Fibre Internet ?

Broadband has become increasingly more vital to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every day that utilise broadband connectivity seems to increase. The number of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that everyone has in their homes, seems to increase on a daily basis.

Ardcharnich Broadband Deals For May 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 most of us wish 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 local business has the ability to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to 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 broadband users.

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

How does high speed connectivity operate?

Unlike most of UK broadband connections, which use telephony 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 quicker than along the copper cables used by traditional xDSL internet .

BT also offers a more than 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 near future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have piggybacked on BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super fast cable broadband services 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 distant of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by getting selected ADSL2+ internet services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which superfast connectivity product is the fastest?

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 because of its superfast fibre 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 according to 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 super-fast broadband ?

Your start is to see which high speed broadband services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of fast broadband

Super fast internet connectivity can let you enjoy all the entertainment services available on the world wide web. You will have the capacity to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you like it, and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for enormous downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV will love their favourite 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 super-fast broadband means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of high speed internet

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and based on things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Even when super fast broadband is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher price .

Who is  FTTC internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the range of people listening to music, video and watching TV online means that there is no longer 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 enrol in a high speed broadband product – preferably fibre optic for the very best service.

Super fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly 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 take a standard ADSL service .

Ardcharnich – Other Areas

Frogwell

East Burton

Starlings Green

Alma

Upper Saxondale

Bishopsworth

Ladyes Hills

Gooseham

Gravelhill

Knott End-on-Sea