Who needs Super-fast Broadband Connectivity ?

Broadband has become much more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day that bank 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 on a daily basis.

Highwood 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 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 logged on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the opportunity to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes 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 higher than most broadband users.

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

How does fibre connectivity work ?

Unlike most UK internet connections, which use telephony 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by standard DSL broadband .

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

ADSL2+

This type of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “to 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 town or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of right up to 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which high speed internet product is the fastest?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 with the help of its superfast fibre-optic broadband 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 optic 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get fibre broadband ?

Your initial step is to see which superfast broadband services are available in your area . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of super-fast broadband

Super fast internet empowers you to make the most of all the video on demand on offer on the internet. You will manage to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you like it, and banishing the days of long waiting times for enormous downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , besides 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 playing game online you a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and dependent on things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Despite the fact that super-fast internet is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher annual price.

Who is super-fast connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the number of people streaming music , downloading video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more 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 sense to register for a super fast internet product – preferably fibre for the best service.

Super fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is often  as a resulted of slower DSL 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 decide on a traditional ADSL service .

Highwood – Other Areas

Upton St Leonards

Paddington

Burmarsh

East Cowes

Gipsey Bridge

St Georges

Marbhig

Strutherhill

Little Clanfield

Church Common