Who needs Super-fast Fibre Connectivity ?

Broadband has become more and more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single day that utilise 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 every day.

Cowesby 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 we all would love to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to cope with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances logged on at the same time. 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– with no annoying delays.

What is super-fast 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 more than most broadband users.

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

How does high speed internet work ?

Unlike most of UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest 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 faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional DSL broadband .

BT also offers a right up 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 near future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have piggybacked on 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-optic broadband locations. Fast broadband is not exclusively on offer to people in a fibre-optic broadband area. If you live within a certain distant of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by registering for selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connection uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but due to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of approximately 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as high as 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 town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of around 16Mb or more. This still provides sufficient 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 its super-fast fibre-optic connectivity network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get high speed broadband ?

Your first step is to decide which high speed internet services are available to you . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Benefits of fast broadband

Super-fast internet connectivity enables you to use all the entertainment on offer on the internet. You will be able to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for huge downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of FTTC internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the cabinet . Regardless of whether high speed broadband is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher cost .

Who is  fibre internet  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people listening to music, downloading video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of high speed 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 join a super fast connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best service.

High speed internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  brought on by slower ADSL connectivity products. 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 select a standard ADSL deal .

Cowesby – Other Areas

Killigarth

Bushbury

Hartham

West Polberro

Catterall

Pysons Road Industrial Estate

Hawes

White Cross

Pontarsais

Park Green