Who needs Super-fast Fibre Connections?

Broadband has become more and more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day that rely upon broadband connectivity seems to increase. The number of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that everyone has in their homes, seems to increase every day.

Chesterhope 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that all of us wish 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 signed on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of more than 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to connect to the internet , stream music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively more than most broadband users.

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

How does superfast internet operate?

Unlike most UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional DSL broadband .

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

 

 

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 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 distant of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by signing up for selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which superfast broadband 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 thanks to its superfast fibre broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the previously mentioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre network and feature headline speeds in line 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 super-fast connectivity?

Your start is to decide which superfast broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of super fast broadband connections

Fast broadband empowers you to utilise all the services on offer on the web. You will have the opportunity to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you want it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for very large downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based on things that are not within your control, like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Despite the fact that fibre connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher monthly price .

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people downloading music , downloading video and watching catchup 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 internet product – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super-fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  as a resulted of slower DSL internet services . This can seriously ruin your gaming pleasure.

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

Chesterhope – Other Areas

Long Rock

Trecott

Stand

Longley Green

Greet

Stepney

Trowley Bottom

Stileway

Mill Hill

Ingham