Who needs Superfast Broadband Connectivity ?

Broadband has become increasingly more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use on a daily basis that rely upon broadband connectivity seems to increase. The quantity of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that everyone has in their homes, seems to increase on a daily basis.

Knowle Green Broadband Deals For April 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 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 logged on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business manages to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of as much as 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 internet connection is around 12Mbps (2014), super-fast broadband products deliver speeds of about 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks such as Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does super-fast connectivity work ?

Unlike most UK internet connections, which use telephony 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 made of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional xDSL internet .

BT also offers a to 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 years to come.

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have piggybacked on BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super fast cable broadband products 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 internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by signing up for selected ADSL2+ internet services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connectivity uses the same cabling 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 “as much as 16Mb”.

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

Which superfast broadband product is the best?

Among the UK’s quickest internet 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 because its superfast 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 optic 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get fast connectivity?

Your start is to decide which fast broadband services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of high speed broadband connectivity

Super-fast internet empowers you to use all the entertainment on offer on the world wide web. You will have the chance to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you want it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for large downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , in addition to rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

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

Disadvantages of FTTC internet connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and based upon things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Even though super fast internet is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher cost .

Who is  fibre internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the range of people listening to music, downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of super-fast internet .

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 join a super-fast internet connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best service.

Fibre connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower DSL broadband products. This can seriously ruin your gaming experience .

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to pick a traditional ADSL connection.

Knowle Green – Other Areas

Druggers End

St Ishmaels

Thornton

Bramshill

Clashnoir

Stoke Edith

Godolphin Cross

Sipson

Auchtertyre

Mile End