Who needs Superfast FTTC ?

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

Hill Head 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that all 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 turned on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the capacity to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of around 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 more than most broadband users.

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

How does super-fast internet operate?

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

BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre service called Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK homes in in the not too distant 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 broadband 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 joining selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style 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 “approximately 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the cabling and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you dwell in a town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of approximately 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of 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 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 thanks to its superfast fibre-optic broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the previously mentioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre optic 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 1st step is to decide which super-fast broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of super fast broadband connections

Fast broadband lets you utilise all the music streaming on offer on the world wide web. You’ll be able to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for very large downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes will love their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , together with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .

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

Disadvantages of high speed internet

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and dependent on things that are not within your control, like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Whether or not fibre broadband is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher monthly price .

Who is  FTTC internet  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people downloading music , downloading video and watching TV online means that there is no more a typical user of fibre 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 super-fast internet product – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

Super-fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly as a resulted of slower ADSL internet products. This can seriously ruin your gaming experience .

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to prefer a traditional ADSL connection.

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