Who needs Superfast Broadband Fibre Connectivity ?

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

Harwell 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that we all would like to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to cope with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances turned on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the ability to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of around 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , download 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), super-fast internet products deliver speeds of up to 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks specifically Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does super-fast broadband work ?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest internet 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 standard DSL 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 residence in in the near future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast internet is not exclusively on offer to people in a fibre 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 internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by signing up for selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but due to the software and technology 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 wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you dwell in a city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of up to 16Mb or more. This still provides sufficient bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast connectivity 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 thanks to its super-fast fibre-optic connectivity network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get fast broadband ?

Your start is to see which fast internet services are available in your area . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of high bandwidth internet

High speed broadband empowers you to make the most of all the video on demand on offer on the internet. You’ll have the opportunity to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you demand it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for astronomical downloads.

Fans of on-demand show will love their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , besides rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by fibre broadband means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast internet

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and depend on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the cabinet . Even when high speed connectivity is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher annual cost .

Who is super-fast internet  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people downloading music , video and watching TV online means that there is no longer 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 enrol in a high speed internet connectivity product – preferably fibre for the greatest service.

High speed internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  caused by slower DSL 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 opt for a standard ADSL connection.

Harwell – Other Areas

Fowlis Wester

Saddlescombe

Jubilee

Colethrop

Shakesfield

Ballydrain

Cefn-hengoed

Down Ampney

Queens Park

Roachill