Who needs Superfast Broadband Connectivity ?

Broadband has become more and more vital to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use per day that depend 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.

Cathiron 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that we all need 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 manages to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of as much as 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 more than most internet users.

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

How does fibre broadband operate?

Unlike many UK internet connections, which use telephony 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper cables used by standard DSL internet .

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

 

 

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 internet 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 range of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by enrolling in selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connection uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but because of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “approximately 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you inhabit a city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of approximately 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which high speed broadband product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s fastest 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 connectivity network.

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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.

 

 

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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get fast connectivity?

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

 

Advantages of fast broadband connections

High speed broadband lets you enjoy all the services available on the web. You’ll have the chance to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for astronomical downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of super-fast broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Whether high speed broadband is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher monthly price .

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Who is  FTTC connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people streaming music , downloading video and watching TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of super fast 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 subscribe to a high speed broadband deal – preferably fibre for the best service.

Fibre broadband is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is often  triggered by slower traditional 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 select a traditional ADSL connection.

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Cathiron – Other Areas

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