Who needs Superfast Broadband Internet ?

Broadband has become more and more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day that rely 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 daily.

Higher Town 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 love 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 signed on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all simultaneously– 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 go online , stream music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively greater than most broadband users.

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

How does superfast internet work ?

Unlike many of UK internet connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest internet 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 made of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper pipes used by traditional ADSL internet .

BT also offers an 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 residence in in the future .

 

 

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

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

ADSL2+

This sort of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of as high as 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 reside in a city or built up location 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 high speed connectivity product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s fastest 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 super-fast fibre-optic 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 according to 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 broadband ?

Your initial step is to decide which superfast internet services are available to you . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of high bandwidth internet

Fast internet connectivity empowers you to utilise all the music streaming on offer on the net. You will have the ability to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you demand it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for enormous downloads.

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

Reduced latency means improved response times delivered by fibre broadband means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast internet connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and based on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the green box. Regardless of whether super-fast internet connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is  high speed broadband  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people downloading music , downloading video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of high speed internet connectivity.

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 deal – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

Fibre internet 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 commonly brought on by slower traditionalbroadband products. This can seriously ruin your 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 .

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