Who needs High Speed Internet ?

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

Foston Broadband Deals For July 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that all of us wish 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 at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business manages to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of as high 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 higher than most internet users.

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

How does super-fast connectivity work ?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest broadband 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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional DSL broadband .

BT also offers an up to 76Mb fibre-optic 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 future .

 

 

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

However, fast broadband is not exclusively on offer to people in a fibre-optic 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 broadband by enrolling in selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which super-fast internet product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 superfast fibre-optic broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the previously mentioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre 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 super-fast connectivity?

Your initial step is to decide which fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of super-fast broadband connectivity

High speed broadband can let you enjoy all the entertainment available on the web. You’ll have the ability 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 large downloads.

Fans of on-demand show will love their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , and also rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .

Reduced latency means better response times delivered by super-fast internet means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of high speed internet connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and depend on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Even when super-fast internet is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  FTTC connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the range of people listening to music, streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super-fast 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 sign up for a high speed connectivity deal – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

Super fast internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly triggered by slower traditionalbroadband 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 with a standard ADSL service .

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