Who needs Superfast Connectivity ?

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 number of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that everyone has in their homes, seems to increase every day.

Maindee 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 we all would love 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 turned on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of more than 300Mbps in the UK.

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

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

How does fibre connectivity work ?

Unlike the majority of UK internet connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest 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 cables used by standard DSL broadband .

BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre service called Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK homes in in the near future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have resold 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 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but thanks to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of around 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 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 broadband 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 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 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 fibre optic connectivity?

Your 1st step is to see which super-fast broadband services are available to you . Check which service are available.

 

Advantages of high bandwidth internet

High speed broadband empowers you to take advantage of all the entertainment services on offer on the web. You will be able to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for enormous downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , as well as rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced latency means better response times delivered by super fast broadband means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and dependent on things that are not within your control, like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Though fibre connectivity is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is super-fast connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people downloading music , video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super-fast 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 connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super-fast internet 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 often  as a resulted of slower ADSL connectivity services . 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 traditional ADSL deal .

Maindee – Other Areas

Taunton

Burscott

Watergate Bay

Rhewl

Edenbridge

Warthermarske

Buchany

Grinsdale Bridge

Liston Garden

Dragons Green