Who needs High Speed Fibre Connections?

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

Cwmtaf Broadband Deals For May 2025

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 deal with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances turned on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company has the capacity to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of approximately 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 greater than most internet users.

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

How does fibre connectivity work ?

Unlike most of UK internet 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 made of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional DSL internet .

BT also offers an as high as 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 future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super-fast cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast internet is not exclusively 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 internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by getting selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connectivity uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but due to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “almost 16Mb”.

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

Which superfast broadband product is the best?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 because of its superfast 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 in line with 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 fibre broadband ?

Your initial step is to decide which high speed internet services are available in your area . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Benefits of super-fast internet

Fast internet connectivity empowers you to enjoy all the services on offer on the net. You will be able to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for large downloads.

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

Reduced latency means better response times delivered by super fast broadband means that online gamers gain an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of high speed broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and dependent on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Although super fast broadband is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is super-fast connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the number of people downloading music , streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of high speed internet .

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 high speed internet connectivity product – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

High speed internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . Due to the fact a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is often  triggered by slower DSL broadband 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 select a traditional ADSL service .

Cwmtaf – Other Areas

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