Who needs Superfast Connectivity ?
Broadband has become much more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every day that rely upon broadband connectivity seems to increase. The number of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase everyday.
Harbourneford Broadband Deals For March 2024
[elementor-template id=”137965″]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 would love 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 concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the opportunity to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.
What is fast broadband?
Super-fast broadband concerns 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 greater than most internet users.
While the current average UK broadband connection is around 12Mbps (2014), high speed internet products deliver speeds of about 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks specifically Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.
How does super-fast connectivity work ?
Unlike most of UK broadband connections, which use telephone 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper pipes used by traditional ADSL broadband .
BT also offers a right 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 not too distant 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 exclusively available to people in a fibre-optic broadband area . Fast broadband is not exclusively on offer to people in a fibre-optic broadband area. If you live within a certain distant of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.
ADSL2+
This sort of connectivity uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of about 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 city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of more than 16Mb or more. This still provides more than enough bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.
Which super-fast internet 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 because its super-fast fibre connectivity 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 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 copper to carry more data.
How do I get superfast connectivity?
Your first step is to decide which fast broadband services are available to you . Check which service are available.
Benefits of super fast broadband connectivity
Super fast internet lets you take advantage of all the music streaming available on the net. You’ll be able to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you like it, and banishing the hanging around for large downloads.
Fans of on-demand show can enjoy their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, together with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .
Reduced ‘ping’ means better response times delivered by super fast broadband means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the competition 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 copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Although super fast internet is on offer in your location, 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 amount of people downloading music , downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super fast 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 fibre internet product – preferably fibre optic for the very best service.
Fibre internet 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 caused by slower DSL connectivity 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 choose a traditional ADSL service .
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