Who needs High Speed Connections ?

Broadband has become more and more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use on a daily basis that utilise 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 daily.

Burton Broadband Deals For April 2024

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 wish to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to cope with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances logged on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the capacity to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of more than 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 higher than most broadband users.

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

How does super-fast connectivity operate?

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

BT also offers a more than 76Mb fibre service called Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK homes in in the near future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only on offer to people in a fibre 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 broadband by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but due to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of as high as 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “right up to 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live a town 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 super-fast internet product is the fastest?

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 with the help of its superfast fibre-optic broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package offers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the previously mentioned 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 broadband ?

Your 1st step is to decide which highspeed broadband services are available to you . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Benefits of fast broadband connections

Fast broadband empowers you to utilise all the music streaming on offer online. You will have the capacity to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you want it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for large downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by fibre internet means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Even if super-fast internet connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher price .

Who is  fibre internet  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people downloading music , downloading video and watching TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of fibre 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 sense to subscribe to a super-fast connectivity product – preferably fibre optic for the best service.

Super fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online games . Due to the fact a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  triggered by slower ADSL internet 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 go with a standard ADSL deal .

Burton – Other Areas

Greenend

Hardings Wood

East Knoyle

Woodthorpe

Clemenstone

Ribchester

Hinchwick

Huntenhull Green

Springfield

Majors Green