Who needs High Speed Connections ?

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

Fifehead Magdalen 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 come to grips with 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 business has the capacity to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of right up to 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 above most broadband users.

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

How does super-fast connectivity work ?

Unlike most UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper pipes used by standard ADSL internet connectivity.

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BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre 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 resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super fast cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast internet is not only on offer to people in a fibre broadband area . 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 joining selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connectivity uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but because of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of as high as 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “around 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 city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of more than 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast connectivity product is the fastest?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 as a result of its superfast fibre-optic connectivity 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 in line with 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 fibre optic broadband ?

Your 1st step is to see which super-fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of high speed internet

Fast internet connectivity lets you make the most of all the music streaming available on the world wide web. You’ll have the chance to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you want it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for enormous downloads.

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

Reduced latency 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 playing experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and dependent on things that are not within your control, like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Wherever high speed broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher monthly price .

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Who is super-fast internet  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people downloading music , streaming video and watching TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of super fast internet .

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 good sense to enrol in a high speed broadband service – preferably fibre for the very best service.

Fibre internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is often  caused by slower ADSL broadband products. This can seriously ruin your gaming experience .

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to decide on a standard ADSL service .

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Fifehead Magdalen – Other Areas

  • Croxton
  • Llandrillo
  • Burradon
  • Glan-yr-afon
  • Baligrundle
  • Calder Mains
  • St Anthony
  • Scleddau
  • Newland
  • Norton Little Green