Who needs Super-fast Fibre Connections?

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

Burnthouse Broadband Deals For September 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 all of us wish to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to manage the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances logged on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company manages to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of right up to 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to surf the internet, stream 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), super-fast internet products deliver speeds of around 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks especially Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does fibre internet work ?

Unlike many 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 quicker than along the copper pipes used by standard DSL connectivity .

BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre 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 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-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 internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by registering selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but due to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “almost 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring 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 plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast broadband product is the best?

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 connectivity 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get fibre connectivity?

Your first step is to decide which super-fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of fast internet

High speed internet connectivity enables you to take advantage of all the entertainment on offer on the internet. You’ll be able to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for very large downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes can enjoy their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, including rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced latency means better response times delivered by fibre connectivity means that online gamers gain an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and based on things that are not within your control, like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Though super-fast internet connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is  FTTC connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the range of people listening to music, downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer 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 register for a fibre internet deal – preferably fibre optic for the best service.

Super fast connectivity 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 commonly triggered by slower DSL internet connectivity services . 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 favour a traditional ADSL deal .

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