Who needs High Speed FTTC Connectivity ?

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

Great Horwood 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 come to grips with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances signed 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– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes 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 greater than most internet users.

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

How does super-fast internet work ?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephony 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper cables used by traditional ADSL broadband .

BT also offers an as high 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 high speed cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only 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+ internet services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connection uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but due to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of approximately 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 location you can realistically expect speeds of approximately 16Mb or more. This still provides more than enough bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast internet 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 as a result of its superfast fibre connectivity network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get super-fast connectivity?

Your first step is to see which high speed internet services are available in your area . Check which service are available.

 

Advantages of fast internet

Super-fast broadband can let you make the most of all the entertainment available online. You will have the opportunity to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you like it, and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for astronomical downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes can enjoy their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , along with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

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

Disadvantages of high speed broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Whether super fast broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

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

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 enrol for a fibre broadband service – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

Super fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is often  as a resulted of slower DSL connectivity products . 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 take a standard ADSL deal .

Great Horwood – Other Areas

Kinuachdrachd

Bondman Hays

Stockport

West Grafton

Beesands

Goadsbarrow

Horsedowns

Low Greenside

North Ormesby

Taibach