Who needs Super-fast Fibre Connectivity ?

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

Barnacle Broadband Deals For December 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 most of us 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 logged on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company has the opportunity to do what they want online– all all at once– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of as high as 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 greater than most internet users.

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

How does high speed connectivity 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by standard ADSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers a right 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 near future .

 

 

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

However, fast internet is not only 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 distant of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by joining selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connection uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “around 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live in a town or built up location 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 quickest ?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 due to its super-fast 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get super-fast broadband ?

Your initial step is to decide which highspeed broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Benefits of super-fast broadband

Super fast internet can let you utilise all the music streaming available online. You’ll have the opportunity to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you demand it , and getting rid of the hanging around for very large downloads.

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

Reduced latency means improved response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast 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 wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Although super-fast broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher monthly price .

Who is super-fast broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people downloading music , downloading video and watching TV online means that there is no more a typical user of high speed 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 good sense to subscribe to a fibre internet connectivity deal – preferably fibre optic for the best service.

Fibre internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly triggered by slower ADSL broadband 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 opt for a traditional ADSL connection.

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