Who needs Quick Fibre Connections?

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

Irby Broadband Deals For September 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 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 company is able to do what they want online– all simultaneously– with no annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes 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 higher than most broadband users.

While the current average UK broadband connection is around 12Mbps (2014), high speed 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 internet connections, which use telephone 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional DSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers an as much as 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 not too distant future.

 

 

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

However, fast broadband is not exclusively available 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 registering for selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which super-fast connectivity 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 thanks to its superfast fibre-optic connectivity 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 superfast broadband ?

Your initial step is to decide which superfast internet services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of high speed broadband

Super fast internet connectivity lets you take advantage of all the entertainment on offer on-line. You’ll have the opportunity to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you want it , and banishing the hanging around for very large downloads.

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

Reduced latency means improved response times delivered by high speed internet means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of fibre broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and based upon things that are not within your control, like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Whether or not high speed broadband is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  fibre connectivity  for?

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

Fibre internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly as a resulted of slower DSL 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 go for a traditional ADSL service .

Irby – Other Areas

Gyrn Goch

Shenmore

Bordley

Leadenham

Cranfield

Cross Coombe

Dalmuir

Stewkley Dean

North Leigh

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