Who needs High Speed FTTC ?

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

Kites Hardwick Broadband Deals For December 2024

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 we all need 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 signed on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company manages to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of as high as 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively more than most internet users.

While the current average UK internet connection is around 12Mbps (2014), superfast broadband products deliver speeds of around 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks specifically Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does super-fast connectivity operate?

Unlike the majority of UK internet 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 up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by standard xDSL internet .

BT also offers an as much as 76Mb fibre-optic 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 near future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have piggybacked on BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband services 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 range of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by registering selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connectivity uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but because of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of about 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “almost 16Mb”.

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

Which high speed broadband product is the fastest?

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 thanks to its super-fast fibre-optic 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 optic network and feature headline speeds according to 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get fast connectivity?

Your initial step is to see which superfast broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of super-fast broadband connectivity

Fast internet connectivity lets you utilise all the music streaming on offer on the web. You’ll have the opportunity to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for astronomical downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes will love their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , and even rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by super-fast connectivity means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the competition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of high speed internet

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 wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Even if super-fast internet connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

The massive growth in the number of people downloading music , downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of fibre internet .

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 super-fast internet product – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

Super fast connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  caused by slower traditional internet services . 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 take a traditional ADSL service .

Kites Hardwick – Other Areas

Kirkliston

Stanwell

East Cowes

Newton

Lower Rabber

Westburton

Henleaze

Brookhouse

West Lavington

Carrowdore