Who needs Quick Fibre Connections?

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

Maidencombe Broadband Deals For January 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that we all 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 local business has the chance to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

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

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

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

How does super-fast connectivity work ?

Unlike most of 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 standard ADSL broadband .

BT also offers an up to 76Mb fibre service called BT 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 piggybacked on 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 broadband area . 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 internet by registering selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live a city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of right up to 16Mb or more. This still provides sufficient 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 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 because its super-fast fibre-optic 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get super-fast broadband ?

Your 1st step is to decide which fast broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of fast broadband connections

High speed internet lets you take advantage of all the music streaming available on-line. You will have the ability to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you want it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for large downloads.

Fans of on-demand show can enjoy 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 high speed internet means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and based on things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Even when fibre internet is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher price .

Who is  FTTC internet connectivity 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 internet connectivity.

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 high speed connectivity product – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super fast connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly as a resulted of slower ADSL internet 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 decide on a standard ADSL connection.

Maidencombe – Other Areas

Marston

Flamstead End

Woods Bank

Killough

Bethany

St Mary Hoo

Upper Lambourn

Millwall

Grove Moor

Combs