Who needs High Speed Connectivity ?

Broadband has become more and more vital to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every day that depend on 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 each day.

Maybole 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that all of us wish 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 at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business has the opportunity 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 more than 300Mbps in the UK.

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

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

How does high speed broadband operate?

Unlike most of UK internet connections, which use telephony 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 cables used by traditional xDSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers an up 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 homes 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 services 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 getting selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connectivity uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but as a result of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of about 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as high as 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the cabling and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you inhabit a city or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of more than 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 fastest?

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 of its superfast fibre connectivity 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 line 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get fibre broadband ?

Your start is to see which fast internet services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of super fast broadband

Super fast internet can let you take advantage of all the video on demand available on the web. You will have the capacity to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for enormous downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by fibre connectivity means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the competition 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 not within your control, like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the green box. Wherever super fast internet connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher price .

Who is super-fast broadband  for?

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

Super-fast connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  as a resulted of slower DSL broadband products . This can seriously ruin your online 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 service .

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