Who needs Superfast Broadband Fibre Connectivity ?

Broadband has become much more vital 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.

Little Bowden 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 would love to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to deal 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 company has the opportunity to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of up to 300Mbps in the UK.

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

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

How does fibre broadband operate?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest broadband product – the 100Mbps service from Virgin Media (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 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 super fast cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only on offer 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by joining selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of almost 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “about 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 town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of around 16Mb or more. This still provides more than enough bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast internet product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s fastest 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 super-fast fibre 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.

 

 

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 fibre optic connectivity?

Your first step is to see which super-fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of super fast broadband

Super fast internet enables you to enjoy all the music streaming available online. You’ll have the capacity to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you demand it , and getting rid of the hanging around for astronomical downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means better response times delivered by super-fast internet means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC internet

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and depend on things that are out of your control , like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Despite the fact that super fast connectivity is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher monthly price .

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

The massive growth in the number of people listening to music, streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of super-fast 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 subscribe to a fibre connectivity product – preferably fibre for the best service.

Fibre internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  caused by slower traditional connectivity 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 pick a standard ADSL connection.

Little Bowden – Other Areas

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