Who needs Super-fast Broadband Internet ?

Broadband has become much more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single day that count on broadband connectivity seems to increase. The quantity of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase on a daily basis.

Balintore Broadband Deals For October 2024

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 need to avoid.

 

 

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

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of right up to 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , stream music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively greater than most broadband users.

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

How does fibre broadband operate?

Unlike most of UK internet 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 up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by standard DSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers an as much as 76Mb fibre service called Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK residence in years to come.

 

 

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

However, fast internet is not exclusively available 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 internet by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the cabling and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live a city 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 broadband product is the quickest ?

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 thanks to its superfast fibre broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package offers 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get super-fast connectivity?

Your start is to see which high speed broadband services are available to you . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Benefits of fast internet

Fast broadband enables you to use all the music streaming on offer on-line. You will have the capacity to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for large downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes will love their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , in addition to rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced latency means better response times delivered by super fast connectivity means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the competition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of fibre broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and based on things that are not within your control, like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Even though high speed broadband is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher cost .

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people streaming music , video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more 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 sense to subscribe to a high speed broadband service – preferably fibre for the greatest service.

High speed internet is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly as a resulted of slower ADSL 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 pick a traditional ADSL deal .

Balintore – Other Areas

Beckley

Nantmawr

Nailwell

Carnteel

Possil Park

South Town

Orrock

Stravithie

Rostholme

Thrunton