Who needs Super-fast Internet ?

Broadband has become much more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every day that count 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.

Birks Broadband Deals For March 2024

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Connection TypeAvailablity
FTTC / Fibre / Superfast BroadbandYes
Cable / Virgin MediaSome Areas
ADSL / BroadbandYes
4GYes

Working from home is commonplace as it saves people being stuck in commuter traffic, something that we all 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 turned on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the ability to do what they want online– all at the same time– without any annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of up to 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 internet users.

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

How does superfast broadband operate?

Unlike the majority of UK broadband connections, which use telephony 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 up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional ADSL internet connectivity.

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BT also offers an up to 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 piggybacked on 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 area . Fast broadband is not exclusively on offer to people in a fibre-optic broadband area. If you live within a certain distant of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by enrolling in selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of about 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “almost 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 location you can realistically expect speeds of as high as 16Mb or more. This still provides more than enough bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast connectivity product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 as a result of its super-fast fibre connectivity network.

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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 according to 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 superfast connectivity?

Your 1st step is to see which highspeed broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of high speed broadband connectivity

Super-fast broadband can let you take advantage of all the entertainment available on the internet. You’ll manage to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like 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 BBC iPlayer , besides rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by high speed internet means that when online gaming you gain a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of high speed internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and depend on things that are not within your control, like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Despite the fact that fibre connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher monthly price .

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Who is  high speed internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the number of people listening to music, streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of fibre broadband .

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 super fast internet connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

High speed internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is often  triggered by slower ADSL connectivity products . This can seriously ruin your 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 .

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Birks – Other Areas

  • Biddenden Green
  • Loftus
  • Spon Green
  • Great Wishford
  • Balderton
  • St Georges
  • Swalcliffe
  • Urdimarsh
  • Kirkby Fenside
  • Low Town