Who needs High Speed Fibre Internet ?

Broadband has become much more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day that utilise 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 on a daily basis.

Merle Common 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 most of us need to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to manage 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 ability to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of as high as 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 broadband 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 cabled networks like Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does fibre internet operate?

Unlike most of UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest 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 quicker than along the copper pipes used by traditional xDSL broadband .

BT also offers an as high as 76Mb fibre-optic service called 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 products of their own.

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

ADSL2+

This style 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 “approximately 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you reside in a city or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of as much as 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast broadband product is the quickest ?

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 because of 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 optic network and feature headline speeds according to 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 fast broadband ?

Your first step is to decide which highspeed internet services are available in your area . Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of fast broadband connections

Super fast internet connectivity lets you utilise all the video on demand on offer online. You will have the chance to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you demand it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for very large downloads.

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

Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Even when high speed connectivity is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is  fibre internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the number of people listening to music, video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of fibre internet .

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 sense to sign up for a super-fast broadband product – preferably fibre for the very best service.

Super-fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly triggered by slower traditional internet 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 go for a standard ADSL connection.

Merle Common – Other Areas

Malton

Aycliff

Elsdon

Hardley

Forehill

Sharnbrook

Gospel Green

Brockhall

Felbridge

Whitchurch