Who needs Superfast FTTC ?

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

Calmore Broadband Deals For October 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that most of us would like 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 turned on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all at the same time– without any annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of about 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 above most internet users.

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

How does superfast broadband operate?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest internet 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 faster than along the copper pipes used by standard DSL internet .

BT also offers an as high 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 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 internet is not only available 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 range of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by registering selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but as a result of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of almost 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as much as 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 plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which high speed 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 due to its superfast fibre-optic 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 optic network and feature headline speeds according to 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 connectivity?

Your initial step is to decide which superfast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of super fast broadband

High speed internet connectivity can let you utilise all the entertainment on offer on-line. You will have the ability to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for big downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , and even rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced latency means improved response times delivered by high speed connectivity means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of fibre connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and dependent on things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the green box. Though high speed internet is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

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

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 broadband service – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

High speed connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. Due to the fact a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  as a resulted of slower traditional connectivity products. 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 take a standard ADSL deal .

Calmore – Other Areas

Gowkhall

Makeney

Apuldram

Blyth Bridge

Haviker Street

Portheiddy

Westwood

Stackyard Green

Tirinie

Fleetville