Who needs Superfast Broadband FTTC ?

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

Earlston 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 all of us would like 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 logged on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company manages to do what they want online– all simultaneously– with no annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of as much as 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to surf 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 broadband products deliver speeds of about 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks specifically Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does super-fast broadband work ?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest 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 quicker than along the copper cables used by traditional DSL broadband .

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BT also offers a right up 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 near future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband services 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 internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by registering selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connection uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of up to 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 live a town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of about 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which high speed broadband product is the best?

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 due to its super-fast fibre-optic connectivity network.

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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 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 fast broadband ?

Your initial step is to see which super-fast broadband services are available in your area . Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of high speed broadband connectivity

Super-fast internet connectivity lets you use all the video on demand available on the world wide web. You will have the capacity to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you demand it , and getting rid of the hanging around for very large downloads.

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

Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by high speed internet means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the competition 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 not within your control, like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the green box. Despite the fact that super-fast internet connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher annual cost .

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Who is  fibre internet  for?

The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of high speed internet 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 super fast broadband deal – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower traditionalbroadband services . 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 take a standard ADSL service .

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Earlston – Other Areas

  • Huntley
  • Clwt-y-bont
  • Chimney
  • Undy
  • Howford
  • Gwersyllt
  • Roe Cross
  • Moredon
  • Clayton Brook
  • Baydon