Who needs Super-fast Broadband Connections ?

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 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.

Ballygown Broadband Deals For December 2020

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 we all need 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 small business has the capacity to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of more than 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 greater 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 including Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does fibre internet work ?

Unlike most 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 standard xDSL broadband .

BT also offers an up to 76Mb fibre 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 products of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only available 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 range of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by registering selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connection uses the same cabling 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 “around 16Mb”.

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

Which superfast broadband product is the best?

Among the UK’s fastest 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 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 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get fibre connectivity?

Your first step is to see which highspeed internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of super-fast broadband connectivity

High speed internet connectivity lets you utilise all the entertainment available on the internet. You will have the chance to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for enormous downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes will love their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , as well as rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .

Reduced ‘ping’ means better response times delivered by super fast internet means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and based on things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Regardless of whether super fast internet is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

The massive growth in the number of people listening to music, video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of high speed 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 connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super-fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower traditional internet products. This can seriously ruin your online gaming experience .

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to select a traditional ADSL connection.

Ballygown – Other Areas

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