Who needs Super-fast Connections ?

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

Ham 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that all of us need 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 signed on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of approximately 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 more than most internet users.

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

How does superfast broadband work ?

Unlike most UK internet connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest broadband 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 up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by standard ADSL internet connectivity.

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 years to come.

 

 

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 internet is not exclusively 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 registering for selected ADSL2+ internet services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connectivity uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but thanks to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of as high as 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “up to 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the cabling and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you reside in a town or built up area 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 superfast internet product is the fastest?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 due to its super-fast fibre-optic broadband 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 optic 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 broadband ?

Your initial step is to decide which fast internet services are available to you . Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of fast internet

Super-fast internet empowers you to enjoy all the video on demand available online. You will have the capacity to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you like it, and banishing the hanging around for very large downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by super-fast connectivity means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of high speed internet connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based on things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Wherever super fast connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people downloading music , streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of super-fast broadband .

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 product – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super fast connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is often  triggered by slower traditional internet 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 service .

Ham Hill – Other Areas

Kirkgunzeon

Swampton

Balmashanner

Swainsthorpe

Bescar

Raffrey

Tamfourhill

Ruskington

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