Who needs High Speed FTTC ?

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

Market Harborough Broadband Deals For October 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 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 local business has the ability to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

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

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to surf the internet, stream 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), high speed internet products deliver speeds of around 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks which include Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does fibre internet work ?

Unlike many UK internet connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest internet 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional ADSL broadband .

BT also offers an as much as 76Mb fibre service called 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 super-fast cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast broadband is not only available 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 range of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by joining selected ADSL2+ internet services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This kind 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 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 reside in a town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of about 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast connectivity product is the best?

Among the UK’s fastest 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 as a result of its superfast 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 in accordance with 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 high speed broadband ?

Your initial step is to decide which high speed internet services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of fast broadband

High speed internet connectivity can let you utilise all the services available on the world wide web. You will have the chance to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you like it, and banishing the days of long waiting times for enormous downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, together with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

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

Disadvantages of high speed internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and depend on things that are not within your control, like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Regardless of whether super-fast internet connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher annual cost .

Who is super-fast internet  for?

The massive growth in the range of people listening to music, streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of fibre broadband .

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 connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Fibre internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is often  triggered by slower traditionalbroadband products. This can seriously ruin your online gaming pleasure.

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

Market Harborough – Other Areas

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