Who needs Super-fast Broadband Connections ?

Broadband has become much more vital to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day that bank on broadband connectivity seems to increase. The range of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase on a daily basis.

Hemford 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that most of us would love 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 logged on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all concurrently– 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 above most internet users.

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

How does fibre broadband work ?

Unlike most of UK internet 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 quicker than along the copper cables used by standard ADSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers an up to 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 not too distant future.

 

 

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

However, fast broadband is not only on offer 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by joining selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live 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 internet product is the fastest?

Among the UK’s fastest connectivity 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 superfast fibre 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 in line 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get high speed broadband ?

Your 1st step is to decide which high speed internet services are available to you . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of fast broadband

High speed internet connectivity can let you use all the entertainment on offer on the world wide web. You’ll have the chance to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you like it, and banishing the hanging around for very large downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by super fast internet means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and depend on things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Though fibre connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher cost .

Who is  high speed broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people streaming music , downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of high speed broadband .

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 subscribe to a fibre broadband service – preferably fibre for the best service.

Fibre broadband is also ideal for fans of online console usage. Due to the fact a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly triggered by slower DSL internet 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 standard ADSL service .

Hemford – Other Areas

West Crudwell

Newton of Ardtoe

Pollosgan

Seaforth

Coston

Loxbeare

Nether Chanderhill

Llangeler

Serlby

Crosby