Who needs Superfast FTTC ?

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

Askham 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 all of us would love 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 signed on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company has the capacity to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of about 300Mbps in the UK.

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

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

How does fibre internet work ?

Unlike most UK internet connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest broadband 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 pipes used by standard DSL broadband .

BT also offers an as much as 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 not too distant future.

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast internet is not only on offer to people in a fibre-optic 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 registering selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connection uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but due to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of as high as 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 live in a city or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of to 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast internet 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 thanks to its superfast fibre-optic broadband 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 optic network and feature headline speeds in accordance 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get superfast connectivity?

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

 

Advantages of fast broadband

Super fast internet connectivity empowers you to take advantage of all the video on demand on offer on the internet. You will have the chance to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for huge downloads.

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

Reduced latency means better response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that online gamers gain an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and dependent on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Although fibre connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher annual price.

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people downloading music , streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super-fast internet .

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 high speed internet product – preferably fibre for the greatest service.

Fibre connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . Due to the fact a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly as a resulted of slower DSL 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 prefer a standard ADSL service .

Askham – Other Areas

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Bush End

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Sedgebrook

Ford Heath

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