Who needs Super-fast Broadband Connections ?

Broadband has become much more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use per day that depend 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 daily.

Howsen Broadband Deals For March 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 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 logged on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of as high as 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 higher than most internet users.

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

How does high speed connectivity work ?

Unlike the majority of UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest broadband 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper pipes used by traditional xDSL broadband .

BT also offers an as much as 76Mb fibre-optic service called 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 only available 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 distant of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connection uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but thanks to the software and technology 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 live a town or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of more than 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast internet product is the best?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 thanks to its super-fast 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 network and feature headline speeds in line with 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 super-fast broadband ?

Your first step is to see which highspeed internet services are available in your area . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of super-fast internet

Super-fast internet connectivity can let you enjoy all the entertainment services available on the net. You will manage to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you demand it , and getting rid of the hanging around for big downloads.

Fans of on-demand show can enjoy their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , as well as rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by super-fast internet means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of high speed internet

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and based on things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Even though fibre broadband is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  fibre connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people streaming music , video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of high speed 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 sign up for a super fast connectivity deal – preferably fibre optic for the very best service.

Super-fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly as a resulted of slower traditional 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 prefer a standard ADSL service .

Howsen – Other Areas

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