Who needs High Speed Connectivity ?

Broadband has become more and more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use on a daily basis that count 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 everyday.

Ford Broadband Deals For October 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that all of us would like 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 logged on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business is able to do what they want online– all at the same time– with no annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of more than 300Mbps in the UK.

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

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

How does high speed broadband operate?

Unlike the majority of UK internet connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest 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 up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper cables used by standard xDSL internet .

BT also offers an up to 76Mb fibre service called Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK residence in in the near future .

 

 

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

However, fast internet is not only available 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by joining selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which high speed internet product is the quickest ?

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 as a result of its super-fast fibre broadband network.

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.

 

 

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 decide which fast broadband services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of super-fast broadband

High speed broadband can let you enjoy all the entertainment on offer on the net. You will have the ability to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you like it, and banishing the hanging around for large downloads.

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

Reduced latency means better response times delivered by super fast connectivity means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of fibre broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and rely on things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Whether super fast broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  FTTC connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people downloading music , streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of fibre 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 fibre internet connectivity product – preferably fibre for the best service.

Fibre connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is often  as a resulted of slower traditional internet connectivity 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 traditional ADSL service .

Ford – Other Areas

Maypool

Yeovil

Pitney

Amlwch

Marsh Baldon

Stubbs Cross

Redding

Ipsden

Shalford Green

Velator