Who needs Quick FTTC Internet?

Broadband has become increasingly more vital to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each 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 on a daily basis.

Grove, The Broadband Deals For April 2026

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 handle 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 business has the ability to do what they want online– all simultaneously– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of around 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 broadband connection is around 12Mbps (2014), superfast internet products deliver speeds of approximately 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks specifically Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does fibre connectivity operate?

Unlike most 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 ADSL internet .

BT also offers a more than 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 future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only on offer 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 broadband by joining selected ADSL2+ internet services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

Which superfast broadband product is the fastest?

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 due to its super-fast fibre-optic 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 network and feature headline speeds according to 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 broadband ?

Your start is to see which super-fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Benefits of high speed internet

Super-fast internet lets you utilise all the entertainment services available on-line. You’ll manage to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you like it, and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for huge downloads.

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

Reduced latency means improved response times delivered by super fast connectivity means that when online gaming you gain a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of high speed connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and depend on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the cabinet . Even if fibre internet is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  high speed internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the range of people listening to music, streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer 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 good sense to enrol for a super-fast connectivity service – preferably fibre for the very best service.

Fibre 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 connectivity services . 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 go with a traditional ADSL service .

Grove, The – Other Areas

Badgeney

Coppenhall

Weston-on-Trent

Barrow Hill

Carlops

Wynds Point

Wilkieston

Shottlegate

Tandridge

Brandiston