Who needs Super-fast Broadband Connections ?

Broadband has become increasingly more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every day that depend on 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 each day.

Harrietsham 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that most of us would like 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 logged on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company has the capacity to do what they want online– all all at once– with no annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

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

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to connect to the internet , download 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), super-fast internet products deliver speeds of approximately 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks which include Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does fibre broadband operate?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest broadband 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by standard ADSL connectivity .

BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre-optic service called Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK residence in in the future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super fast cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only available 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 distant of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ internet services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live a town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of about 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 quickest ?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 with the help of its superfast fibre broadband 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 in accordance 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 fibre connectivity?

Your start is to decide which superfast broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of high speed broadband connections

Super fast broadband can let you make the most of all the entertainment available on the web. You’ll have the ability to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you demand it , and getting rid of the hanging around for astronomical downloads.

Fans of on-demand show can enjoy their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , and also 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 competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) 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. Even if high speed connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher price .

Who is  high speed internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the range of people streaming music , streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of super fast internet 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 good sense to join a high speed internet deal – preferably fibre for the greatest service.

High speed internet is also ideal for fans of online games . Due to the fact a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  as a resulted of slower traditional connectivity services . 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 go with a traditional ADSL service .

Harrietsham – Other Areas

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