Who needs Speedy Fibre Connections?

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

Barrock Broadband Deals For June 2023

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 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 all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business has the capacity to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of as much as 300Mbps in the UK.

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

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

How does fibre broadband work ?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest 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 quicker than along the copper cables used by traditional DSL connectivity .

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 homes in years to come.

 

 

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

However, fast broadband is not exclusively available 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 internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by registering for selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connectivity 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 almost 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “up 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 area you can realistically expect speeds of up to 16Mb or more. This still provides sufficient bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast connectivity 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 due to 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 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 broadband ?

Your start is to see which high speed internet services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of super fast broadband connections

High speed broadband can let you take advantage of all the music streaming on offer online. You’ll have the opportunity to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for very large downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV 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 high speed broadband means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast internet connectivity

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 BT exchange . Even when high speed broadband is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher annual price.

Who is  high speed internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the number of people listening to music, downloading 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 super fast internet connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

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

Barrock – Other Areas

Pinfarthings

Chandlers Cross

Strontian

Eggbeare

Wath Brow

Llangua

Little Frieth

Routenbeck

Islebeck

Snods Edge