Who needs High Speed FTTC ?

Broadband has become more and more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day that rely 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.

Mill Street 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 most of us wish to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to handle the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances logged on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company has the capacity to do what they want online– all all at once– with no 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 surf the internet, download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively higher than most internet users.

While the current average UK internet connection is around 12Mbps (2014), high speed internet products deliver speeds of up to 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks like 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 internet 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 traditional xDSL connectivity .

BT also offers an as much as 76Mb fibre-optic 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 used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband products of their own.

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

ADSL2+

This sort of connection uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but due to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of approximately 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 town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of approximately 16Mb or more. This still provides sufficient bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast broadband product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s fastest 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 due to its superfast fibre connectivity 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get super-fast broadband ?

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

 

Benefits of super fast broadband connections

Fast internet can let you enjoy all the entertainment services available on the web. You will be able to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you demand it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for big downloads.

Fans of on-demand show will love their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , along with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by super fast connectivity means that when online gaming you gain a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are not within your control, like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Even when fibre internet connectivity is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher cost .

Who is  high speed broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people streaming music , downloading video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of fibre 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 high speed internet connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

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 known as ping,  which is often  caused 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 prefer a standard ADSL connection.

Mill Street – Other Areas

Wycomb

Cawthorpe

Tockenham Wick

Howsham

Markfield

Tutshill

Bridgemary

Sannox

Faringdon

White Oak