Who needs Superfast Broadband Fibre Connections?

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

Gold Hill 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 we all wish to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to manage 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 has the chance to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of as much as 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 above most internet users.

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

How does superfast connectivity operate?

Unlike many of UK internet connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest 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 pipes used by standard ADSL connectivity .

BT also offers an as much as 76Mb fibre 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 near 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 only on offer to people in a fibre-optic broadband area . Fast broadband is not exclusively on offer to people in a fibre-optic broadband area. If you live within a certain distant of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by signing up for selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connectivity uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of about 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “approximately 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring 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 more than 16Mb or more. This still provides more than enough bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast broadband product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s quickest connectivity 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 thanks to its superfast fibre-optic connectivity 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 network and feature headline speeds in line 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 fast connectivity?

Your 1st step is to see which highspeed broadband services are available to you . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of fast internet

Super-fast broadband can let you enjoy all the entertainment on offer on-line. You’ll manage to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for astronomical downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes can enjoy their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , in addition to 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 online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and rely on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Wherever fibre connectivity is available in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is  fibre connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of fibre 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 super fast connectivity deal – preferably fibre optic 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 DSL internet connectivity services . This can seriously ruin your online gaming experience .

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.

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