Who needs Super-fast Connections ?

Broadband has become more and more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single 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 each day.

Gallt Y Foel Broadband Deals For April 2024

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 most of us would like to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to cope with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances logged on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business manages to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

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

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

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

How does superfast connectivity work ?

Unlike many of UK broadband 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional xDSL broadband .

BT also offers a more than 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 not too distant 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 internet is not exclusively 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 registering selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connectivity uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but as a result 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 copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live a city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of approximately 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which high speed 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 due to its superfast fibre 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 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 superfast connectivity?

Your first step is to decide which highspeed broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of high speed broadband

Fast broadband can let you use all the video on demand on offer on the internet. You will manage to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and banishing the hanging around for large downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV will love their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , along with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means better response times delivered by fibre internet means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of fibre broadband

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 cabinet . Even though super fast broadband is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  FTTC connectivity  for?

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

Fibre internet 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 referred to as ping,  which is often  as a resulted of slower DSL 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 select a traditional ADSL connection.

Gallt Y Foel – Other Areas

Urquhart

Danaway

Streatham Vale

Skegby

Little Crosby

West Liss

Newton Down

Caswell

Sullington Warren

Cardeston