Who needs Speedy FTTC ?
Broadband has become increasingly more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day that rely upon broadband connectivity seems to increase. The amount of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase everyday.
Hubberts Bridge Broadband Deals For November 2023
[elementor-template id=”137965″]| 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 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 all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the ability to do what they want online– all at the same time– with no annoying delays.
What is fast broadband?
Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of about 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 internet users.
While the current average UK internet connection is around 12Mbps (2014), high speed internet products deliver speeds of about 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks like Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.
How does fibre internet work ?
Unlike the majority of UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest 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 of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by standard xDSL broadband .
BT also offers an up to 76Mb fibre-optic service called Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK homes in in the future .
The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super fast cable broadband products of their own.
However, fast broadband is not only 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 internet by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.
ADSL2+
This sort of connection uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but because of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of about 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “up to 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 as high as 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.
Which super-fast 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 due to its superfast fibre broadband 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 accordance 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 high speed connectivity?
Your first step is to decide which fast broadband services are available in your area . Check which service are available.
Advantages of high bandwidth internet
Super fast internet enables you to take advantage of all the video on demand on offer online. You’ll have the opportunity to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you demand it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for big downloads.
Fans of on-demand programmes will love their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, and also rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.
Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by high speed connectivity means that online gamers gain an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming experience.
Disadvantages of high speed connectivity
Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Though high speed connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher cost .
Who is super-fast internet for?
The massive growth in the range of people streaming music , downloading video and watching TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of high speed broadband .
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 join a fibre connectivity product – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.
Super-fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping, which is often as a resulted of slower DSL 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 select a traditional ADSL deal .
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