Who needs Super-fast Internet ?

Broadband has become increasingly more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single day that bank on broadband connectivity seems to increase. The quantity of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that everyone has in their homes, seems to increase everyday.

Garth Trevor 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that all 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 turned on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business is able to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of approximately 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 greater than most broadband users.

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

How does super-fast internet operate?

Unlike many of UK internet 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by standard ADSL connectivity .

BT also offers a right up to 76Mb fibre-optic 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 used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super-fast cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast broadband 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 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 wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but thanks to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of almost 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as much as 16Mb”.

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

Which high speed connectivity product is the best?

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 due to its super-fast fibre connectivity 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 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 superfast connectivity?

Your start is to see which superfast broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of super-fast broadband connectivity

Super fast broadband enables you to make the most of all the entertainment on offer on-line. You’ll have the chance to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you like it, and banishing the days of long waiting times for huge downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means better response times delivered by high speed connectivity means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and depend on things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Even if fibre broadband is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher price .

Who is  FTTC internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the number of people streaming music , video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super-fast internet .

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 connectivity product – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

High speed broadband is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is often  triggered by slower ADSL internet 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 prefer a standard ADSL deal .

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