Who needs Quick Fibre Connections?

Broadband has become increasingly more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use per day that rely on broadband connectivity seems to increase. The range of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase on a daily basis.

Dowlais Broadband Deals For March 2024

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Connection TypeAvailablity
FTTC / Fibre / Superfast BroadbandYes
Cable / Virgin MediaSome Areas
ADSL / BroadbandYes
4GYes

Working from home is commonplace as it saves people sitting in commuter traffic, something that most of us would love to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to manage the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances logged on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company has the opportunity to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of more than 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 above most broadband users.

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

How does high speed internet operate?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest internet 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 quicker than along the copper cables used by standard ADSL broadband .

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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 homes in in the near future .

 

 

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

However, fast internet is not exclusively available to people in a fibre-optic 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 joining selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which superfast connectivity product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s fastest broadband 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-optic broadband network.

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BT’s Infinity package offers 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get fast broadband ?

Your initial step is to see which superfast broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of super fast broadband

Super-fast internet lets you take advantage of all the services available on the net. You’ll manage to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for very large downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes can enjoy their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, as well as rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

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

Disadvantages of super-fast connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and based on things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Even if high speed internet connectivity is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher monthly price .

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Who is  FTTC internet  for?

The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , streaming 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 high speed connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Fibre internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly triggered by slower ADSL broadband 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 favour a traditional ADSL connection.

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Dowlais – Other Areas

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