Who needs Super-fast Broadband FTTC Internet?

Broadband has become more and more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use per day that utilise 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 each day.

Ardwick Broadband Deals For November 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 all of us would love 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 logged on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the ability to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of about 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), high speed broadband products deliver speeds of right up to 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks including Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does high speed internet work ?

Unlike most UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest 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 of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper pipes used by standard DSL connectivity .

BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre-optic service called BT Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK residence in in the 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 broadband is not exclusively on offer 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 range of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which super-fast connectivity product is the fastest?

Among the UK’s fastest connectivity 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 broadband 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 optic 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 fast broadband ?

Your 1st step is to decide which superfast internet services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of high speed internet

Super-fast internet lets you utilise all the music streaming on offer on-line. You’ll have the capacity to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you want it , and banishing the hanging around for very large downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV will love their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , including rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by super-fast connectivity means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of high speed internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the cabinet . Whether high speed internet connectivity is available 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 quantity of people downloading music , downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of super fast internet connectivity.

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 super-fast internet service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super-fast internet is also ideal for fans of online console usage. Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly as a resulted of slower traditionalbroadband 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 traditional ADSL connection.

Ardwick – Other Areas

Holystone

Embleton

Kinson

Shildon

Biglands

Swineshead

Bodelva

Llancynfelyn

Montrose

St y-Nyll