Who needs Superfast Broadband FTTC ?

Broadband has become more and more vital to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day that rely upon 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 each day.

Briercliffe Broadband Deals For April 2026

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 all of us would love 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 concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business is able to do what they want online– all simultaneously– with no annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of as high as 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 internet connection is around 12Mbps (2014), superfast broadband products deliver speeds of more than 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks such as Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does superfast broadband work ?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest internet 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 of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by standard DSL broadband .

BT also offers a more than 76Mb fibre-optic 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 piggybacked on BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast broadband is not exclusively on offer 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 getting selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This kind of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but due to 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 copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you reside in a town or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of around 16Mb or more. This still provides more than enough 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 because its superfast fibre-optic broadband 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.

 

 

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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get fibre broadband ?

Your start is to see which high speed broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of super fast internet

High speed internet connectivity enables you to enjoy all the video on demand on offer on the web. 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 huge downloads.

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

Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of high speed internet

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Whether or not fibre connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people streaming music , streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of high speed internet .

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 connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

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 traditional connectivity services . This can seriously ruin your gaming experience .

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to decide on a standard ADSL deal .

Briercliffe – Other Areas

Groesffordd

Fulking

Goytre

Spott

Kingsthorpe Hollow

Doverhay

Kirkton of Auchterhouse

Bathgate

Knowetop

Nettleton Shrub