Who needs High Speed Internet ?

Broadband has become increasingly more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every 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 daily.

Hardgate Broadband Deals For October 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 most of us wish to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to deal 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 company has the ability to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of right up to 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to surf the internet, download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively more than most internet users.

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

How does super-fast internet work ?

Unlike most UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest 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 faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional ADSL internet .

BT also offers a to 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 resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super fast cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast internet is not only 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 range of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by registering for selected ADSL2+ internet services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connectivity 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 around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “around 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 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 high speed connectivity product is the quickest ?

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 with the help of its superfast fibre-optic connectivity network.

BT’s Infinity package offers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the aforementioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre network and feature headline speeds according to 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 high speed broadband ?

Your 1st step is to see which high speed broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of high speed broadband connections

Super-fast internet connectivity can let you take advantage of all the music streaming available on the internet. You’ll manage to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for big downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of high speed internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Even though super-fast broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher price .

Who is  high speed broadband  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people listening to music, video and watching 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 internet connectivity deal – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

Super-fast internet 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  as a resulted of 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 opt for a standard ADSL deal .

Hardgate – Other Areas

Totterdown

Rodmersham Green

Southmead

Tollesby

Prestonfield

Lower Halliford

Askham Bryan

Loundsley Green

Betws Yn Rhos

Great Horwood