Who needs Super-fast Fibre Connections?

Broadband has become much more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use on a daily basis that rely upon broadband connectivity seems to increase. The quantity of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that everyone has in their homes, seems to increase daily.

Nursteed 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 need to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to cope with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances logged on concurrently. 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 high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of about 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 above most broadband users.

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

How does superfast broadband work ?

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

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 near future .

 

 

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

However, fast internet is not exclusively available to people in a fibre 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 broadband by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connectivity uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but thanks to the software and technology 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 copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you reside in a town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of about 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which high speed internet product is the best?

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 delivers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the previously mentioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get high speed connectivity?

Your start is to decide which super-fast broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of fast internet

Super-fast internet connectivity enables you to make the most of all the entertainment available on the internet. You’ll have the opportunity to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you want it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for big downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by super-fast internet means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Even when super-fast internet connectivity is available in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is super-fast internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer 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 good sense to subscribe to a high speed broadband deal – preferably fibre optic for the best service.

High speed internet 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 known as ping,  which is often  triggered by slower ADSL internet connectivity 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 deal .

Nursteed – Other Areas

Crockerhill

Turfhill

Friston

Drakes Cross

Six Ashes

Ham Green

Larklands

Leven Links

Howe Green

Cark