Who needs Superfast Broadband Connections ?

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 each person has in their homes, seems to increase every day.

Norwood New Town Broadband Deals For January 2026

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 would love 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 concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company manages to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

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

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

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

How does fibre internet operate?

Unlike many of UK internet 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 made of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional DSL broadband .

BT also offers a right up to 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 in the future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband services of their own.

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

ADSL2+

This type of connection uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but thanks to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of almost 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 inhabit a town or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of approximately 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which high speed connectivity product is the best?

Among the UK’s fastest connectivity 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 thanks to its super-fast fibre broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package offers 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 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 superfast connectivity?

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

 

Advantages of super-fast internet

High speed internet can let you utilise all the entertainment services on offer on the internet. You’ll manage to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and banishing the hanging around for large downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of FTTC internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and based on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Regardless of whether fibre internet is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher annual price.

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people downloading music , streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more 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 super-fast connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

High speed connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly brought on by slower traditionalbroadband services . This can seriously ruin your gaming pleasure.

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

Norwood New Town – Other Areas

Boythorpe

Broxa

Eriswell

Roe Cross

South Croxton

Oversley Green

Llanllwchaiarn

Spital Hill

Hunstanton

Porthgain