Who needs Quick Fibre Internet ?

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 amount of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase each day.

Colinton 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 deal with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances signed on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the capacity to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

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

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively greater 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 broadband networks especially Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does fibre connectivity operate?

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

BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre 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 not too distant 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 broadband is not exclusively 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 range of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by registering for selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connectivity uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but as a result of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as much as 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 up to 16Mb or more. This still provides more than enough bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast 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 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 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 high speed internet services are available in your area . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of super fast broadband

Super-fast broadband can let you take advantage of all the services available on the world wide web. You will be able to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for big downloads.

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

Reduced latency means improved response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming 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 age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Wherever fibre internet is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher annual cost .

Who is super-fast internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the number of people listening to music, 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 enrol for a high speed broadband service – preferably fibre for the very best service.

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

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

Colinton – Other Areas

Rapsgate

Virley

Ballydrain

Builth Wells

Moel Tryfan

Damery

Chiselhampton

Woolacombe

Gwills

Rufforth