Who needs High Speed FTTC Internet?

Broadband has become more and more vital to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each 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 daily.

Drefach 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 need to avoid.

 

 

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

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of right up to 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to connect to the internet , download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively greater than most broadband users.

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

How does fibre broadband operate?

Unlike the majority of UK internet connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest internet 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by standard DSL 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 residence in in the 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 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 internet by registering for selected ADSL2+ internet services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the cabling and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you inhabit a city or built up location 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 high speed broadband 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 with the help of its superfast fibre-optic broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package offers 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 in accordance 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 connectivity?

Your initial step is to see which highspeed broadband services are available to you . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of high speed broadband

Super fast internet connectivity enables you to take advantage of all the music streaming on offer online. You will manage to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you demand it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for very large downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes will love their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, and also rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are not within your control, like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Regardless of whether high speed connectivity is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher monthly price .

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer 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 subscribe to a high speed broadband product – preferably fibre optic for the very best service.

High speed connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly brought on by slower ADSL internet 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 go for a traditional ADSL connection.

Drefach – Other Areas

Clogher

Trewoon

Uphempston

Clyst St Lawrence

Stewkley

Ardbeg

Great Ashfield

Silverburn

Seasalter

Porlock