Who needs Super-fast Fibre Connections?

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

Hillsborough Broadband Deals For June 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 we all 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 simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the capacity to do what they want online– all at the same time– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of right up to 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to surf the internet, download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively above most broadband users.

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

How does fibre connectivity work ?

Unlike most of UK broadband connections, which use telephony 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 pipes used by standard ADSL broadband .

BT also offers a 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 future .

 

 

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

However, fast internet 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 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 kind of connectivity uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but due to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of approximately 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “about 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the cabling 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 more than enough bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which high speed internet product is the best?

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 due 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get fibre connectivity?

Your start is to decide which high speed broadband services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of super-fast broadband connectivity

Super-fast broadband can let you take advantage of all the video on demand available on the internet. You will have the capacity to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for big downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, and also rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means better response times delivered by super-fast internet means that when online gaming you gain a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC internet

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and based upon things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Even though super fast connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher monthly price .

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

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

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 fibre connectivity deal – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super-fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. Due to the fact faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower ADSL internet connectivity 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 deal .

Hillsborough – Other Areas

Pont-y-rhyl

Ebberston

Llancowrid

Broad Green

Plains

Bradenham

Stonehaugh

Beal

Ditton Green

Nettlestead