Who needs Super-fast Broadband FTTC ?

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

Holbeck Woodhouse Broadband Deals For May 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 manage 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 small company is able to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

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

While the current average UK broadband connection is around 12Mbps (2014), superfast 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 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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional xDSL broadband .

BT also offers a more than 76Mb fibre service called 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 piggybacked on BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super fast cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only available 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 internet by signing up for selected ADSL2+ internet services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live in a city or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of up to 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast internet 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 broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package offers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the previously mentioned 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 fast broadband ?

Your start is to see which high speed internet services are available in your area . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of fast broadband connections

High speed internet empowers you to make the most of all the video on demand available on the internet. You will manage to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and banishing the days of long waiting times for astronomical downloads.

Fans of on-demand show will love their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, including rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by super-fast connectivity means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of high speed connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are not within your control, like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the green box. Even when high speed connectivity is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher price .

Who is super-fast broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people listening to music, streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of high speed 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 good sense to subscribe to a super-fast broadband deal – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

Super-fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly brought on by slower ADSL internet 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 go with a standard ADSL connection.

Holbeck Woodhouse – Other Areas

Forrey Green

Broad Oak

Hyde End

Locking

Saltley

Fairlight

Thimbleby

North Clifton

Rosemount

Queen Camel