Who needs High Speed Fibre Connections?

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

Hanley Child 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 most of us wish 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 at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all simultaneously– with no annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of around 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 internet users.

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

How does high speed broadband operate?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest 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 quicker than along the copper pipes used by traditional DSL internet .

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 years to come.

 

 

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 likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but as a result of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of up to 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 inhabit a town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of about 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast broadband product is the fastest?

Among the UK’s fastest 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 due to its super-fast fibre-optic broadband 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get fast broadband ?

Your 1st step is to decide which fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of high bandwidth internet

High speed internet connectivity lets you take advantage of all the services on offer on-line. You will have the ability to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you like it, and banishing the days of long waiting times for very large downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of fibre connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and depend on things that are not within your control, like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Despite the fact that super fast connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  FTTC connectivity  for?

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

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 high speed broadband product – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Fibre connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is often  triggered by slower ADSL broadband products . This can seriously ruin your online 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 deal .

Hanley Child – Other Areas

Preston Under Scar

Lloc

Cotford St. Luke

Bermondsey

Meeson Heath

Trigon

Foxash Estate

Shotgate

Skerryford

Springhill