Who needs High Speed Fibre Connections?

Broadband has become much more vital 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 on a daily basis.

Nasg 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 like 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 signed on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company has the capacity to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of about 300Mbps in the UK.

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

While the current average UK broadband connection is around 12Mbps (2014), super-fast broadband products deliver speeds of about 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks especially Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does high speed internet work ?

Unlike the majority of UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest broadband 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by standard DSL internet connectivity.

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 broadband 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 distant of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by signing up for selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of as high as 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “almost 16Mb”.

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

Which super-fast internet product is the best?

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 as a result of its super-fast 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get fast broadband ?

Your 1st step is to see which high speed internet services are available in your area . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of super fast broadband connectivity

High speed internet connectivity lets you enjoy all the entertainment services on offer on the world wide web. You will manage to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you demand it , and getting rid of the hanging around for astronomical downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by fibre internet means that online gamers gain an one-upmanship over the competition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of high speed broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Regardless of whether fibre internet is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher price .

Who is  FTTC connectivity  for?

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

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 good sense to enrol for a super fast internet connectivity deal – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

Fibre internet is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly triggered by slower ADSL internet 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 go with a standard ADSL service .

Nasg – Other Areas

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