Who needs High Speed Connectivity ?
Broadband has become much more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use on a daily basis that utilise broadband connectivity seems to increase. The quantity of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that everyone has in their homes, seems to increase each day.
Arden Broadband Deals For November 2024
Sky Broadband Essential​
Unlimited Usage-
Average speed 11MBPS
-
ADSL Broadband
-
UNLIMITED Usage
Line Rental Included
There is no extra charge for line rental.
Guaranteed WiFi In Every Room
If you can't get WiFi in every room of your house then Sky will give you your money back.
Fast Installation + Keep Your Number
Get your new broadband installed super fast and you can keep your own number
Sky Broadband Superfast
Unlimited Usage-
Average speed 59MBPS
-
Fast Fibre Broadband
-
UNLIMITED Usage
Line Rental Included
There is no extra charge for line rental.
Guaranteed WiFi In Every Room
If you can't get WiFi in every room of your house then Sky will give you your money back.
Fast Installation + Keep Your Number
Get your new broadband installed super fast and you can keep your own number
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 all of us wish to avoid.
Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to manage the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances signed on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the capacity to do what they want online– all at the same time– without any annoying delays.
What is super-fast broadband?
Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of up to 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 more than most broadband users.
While the current average UK internet connection is around 12Mbps (2014), super-fast broadband products deliver speeds of up to 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks including Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.
How does super-fast internet operate?
Unlike most of UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest internet 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 of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by standard DSL internet connectivity.
BT also offers an as high as 76Mb fibre-optic service called 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 high speed cable broadband products of their own.
However, fast broadband is not only available 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by joining selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.
ADSL2+
This style of connectivity uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of almost 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “around 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 city or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of more than 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.
Which super-fast broadband product is the fastest?
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 due to 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 optic 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 fibre optic broadband ?
Your initial step is to decide which super-fast broadband services are available to you . Check which products are available.
Benefits of fast broadband
Fast broadband empowers you to take advantage of all the video on demand on offer on-line. You will be able to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you demand it , and getting rid of the hanging around for enormous downloads.
Fans of on-demand show will love their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , in addition to rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.
Reduced ‘ping’ means better response times delivered by high speed connectivity means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better playing experience.
Disadvantages of high speed broadband
Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and dependent on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Even though super-fast broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher monthly cost .
Who is fibre internet connectivity for?
The massive growth in the range of people streaming music , streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer 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 good sense to enrol in a super fast internet connectivity service – preferably fibre for the best service.
Super fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping, which is commonly caused by slower ADSL internet connectivity products. 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 decide on a standard ADSL connection.
Sky Broadband Essential​
Unlimited Usage-
Average speed 11MBPS
-
ADSL Broadband
-
UNLIMITED Usage
Line Rental Included
There is no extra charge for line rental.
Guaranteed WiFi In Every Room
If you can't get WiFi in every room of your house then Sky will give you your money back.
Fast Installation + Keep Your Number
Get your new broadband installed super fast and you can keep your own number
Sky Broadband Superfast
Unlimited Usage-
Average speed 59MBPS
-
Fast Fibre Broadband
-
UNLIMITED Usage
Line Rental Included
There is no extra charge for line rental.
Guaranteed WiFi In Every Room
If you can't get WiFi in every room of your house then Sky will give you your money back.
Fast Installation + Keep Your Number
Get your new broadband installed super fast and you can keep your own number