Who needs High Speed Fibre Connections?
Broadband has become more and more vital 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 range of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase everyday.
Great Chatwell Broadband Deals For April 2024
Sky Broadband Essential​
Unlimited Usage-
Average speed 11MBPS
-
ADSL Broadband
-
UNLIMITED Usage
Line Rental Included
There is no extra charge for line rental.
Guaranteed WiFi In Every Room
If you can't get WiFi in every room of your house then Sky will give you your money back.
Fast Installation + Keep Your Number
Get your new broadband installed super fast and you can keep your own number
Sky Broadband Superfast
Unlimited Usage-
Average speed 59MBPS
-
Fast Fibre Broadband
-
UNLIMITED Usage
Line Rental Included
There is no extra charge for line rental.
Guaranteed WiFi In Every Room
If you can't get WiFi in every room of your house then Sky will give you your money back.
Fast Installation + Keep Your Number
Get your new broadband installed super fast and you can keep your own number
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 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 logged on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business is able to do what they want online– all all at once– with no annoying delays.
What is fast broadband?
Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of as much as 300Mbps in the UK.
Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , stream music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively higher than most broadband users.
While the current average UK broadband connection is around 12Mbps (2014), superfast internet products deliver speeds of approximately 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks including Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.
How does fibre connectivity operate?
Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest internet 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 of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional DSL internet connectivity.
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 homes in in the future .
The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have piggybacked on BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband products of their own.
However, fast broadband is not only available 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 distant of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by joining selected ADSL2+ internet services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.
ADSL2+
This kind of connectivity uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but as a result of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of approximately 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 location you can realistically expect speeds of more than 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.
Which high speed broadband product is the best?
Among the UK’s fastest broadband 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 connectivity network.
BT’s Infinity package offers 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 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 fibre optic broadband ?
Your first step is to see which super-fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which types of connectivity are available.
Advantages of high speed broadband connections
Super-fast internet connectivity lets you take advantage of all the entertainment services on offer on the internet. You’ll manage to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you want it , and banishing the hanging around for astronomical downloads.
Fans of on-demand programmes will love their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, as well as rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .
Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by super fast internet means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better playing experience.
Disadvantages of fibre internet connectivity
Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Wherever super-fast connectivity is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher price .
Who is high speed broadband for?
The massive growth in the number of people downloading music , downloading video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super fast 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 join a super-fast broadband product – preferably fibre optic for the best service.
Super fast internet is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping, which is commonly as a resulted of slower ADSL internet 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 select a standard ADSL connection.
Sky Broadband Essential​
Unlimited Usage-
Average speed 11MBPS
-
ADSL Broadband
-
UNLIMITED Usage
Line Rental Included
There is no extra charge for line rental.
Guaranteed WiFi In Every Room
If you can't get WiFi in every room of your house then Sky will give you your money back.
Fast Installation + Keep Your Number
Get your new broadband installed super fast and you can keep your own number
Sky Broadband Superfast
Unlimited Usage-
Average speed 59MBPS
-
Fast Fibre Broadband
-
UNLIMITED Usage
Line Rental Included
There is no extra charge for line rental.
Guaranteed WiFi In Every Room
If you can't get WiFi in every room of your house then Sky will give you your money back.
Fast Installation + Keep Your Number
Get your new broadband installed super fast and you can keep your own number