Who needs Super-fast Fibre Internet ?

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

Clare Broadband Deals For December 2020

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 would love 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 simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business has the capacity to do what they want online– all all at once– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of as much as 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , 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 broadband products deliver speeds of about 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks like Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does super-fast connectivity operate?

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

BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre-optic service called 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 internet is not only on offer to people in a fibre broadband locations. 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 signing up for selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line 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 copper 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 approximately 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 fastest?

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 because of its super-fast 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 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 initial step is to decide which highspeed broadband services are available in your area . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of high speed broadband connections

Super-fast internet empowers you to make the most of all the music streaming available on the internet. You will have the ability to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you want it , and banishing the hanging around for enormous downloads.

Fans of on-demand show can enjoy their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , in addition to rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced latency means better response times delivered by super fast broadband means that when online gaming you gain a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Whether or not super fast broadband is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher price .

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people listening to music, video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of fibre internet connectivity.

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 enrol in a super fast connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

High speed connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is often  caused by slower ADSL internet connectivity products . This can seriously ruin your online gaming pleasure.

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 .

Clare – Other Areas

Ramsey Mereside

Chapeltown

Nether Street

Chandlers Cross

Treoes

Barcombe

Twineham

Bogs Bank

Pinford

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