Who needs Super-fast Broadband FTTC ?

Broadband has become increasingly more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use per day that bank 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 each day.

Great Harwood 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 like 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 logged on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company has the capacity to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of right up to 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 broadband users.

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

How does fibre connectivity work ?

Unlike many of UK broadband 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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional xDSL 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 near future .

 

 

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

However, fast broadband is not only 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 distant of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by registering selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connectivity uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but as a result of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of almost 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “almost 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 area you can realistically expect speeds of up to 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 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 thanks to its super-fast fibre 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 accordance with 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 high speed connectivity?

Your start is to decide which superfast internet services are available to you . Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of fast broadband connections

High speed broadband empowers you to enjoy all the music streaming available on the web. You will have the capacity to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you demand it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for very large downloads.

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

Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by super fast connectivity means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and depend on things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Even though super-fast connectivity is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher annual price.

Who is super-fast connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people downloading music , streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of fibre 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 super fast broadband deal – preferably fibre optic for the very best service.

High speed connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  triggered by slower DSL 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 choose a standard ADSL service .

Great Harwood – Other Areas

Fullwood

Burridge

Llansantffraed

Allanton

Cringleford

Haughton

Martham

Eversley

North Burlingham

Bankend