Who needs Superfast Broadband Fibre Connectivity ?

Broadband has become more and more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every day that depend on 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 everyday.

Penwood 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 would love 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 turned on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company manages to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

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

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to connect to the internet , stream music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively greater than most broadband users.

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

How does superfast internet operate?

Unlike most UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest 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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by standard xDSL broadband .

BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre service called BT 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 piggybacked on BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super-fast cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast internet is not only available 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 broadband by registering selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This kind of connection uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but due to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “almost 16Mb”.

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

Which superfast connectivity product is the fastest?

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 as a result of its super-fast fibre-optic broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get superfast broadband ?

Your initial step is to see which high speed broadband services are available in your area . Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of high speed broadband connectivity

Fast internet connectivity lets you utilise all the entertainment available on the world wide web. You will have the chance to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for big downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that when online gaming you gain a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and rely on things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Whether or not fibre internet is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher annual price.

Who is super-fast connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the number of people downloading music , video and watching TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of fibre 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 sense to sign up for a high speed internet connectivity deal – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

Super-fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly as a resulted of slower DSL internet products . This can seriously ruin your online gaming experience .

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 connection.

Penwood – Other Areas

West Raynham

Pinn

Eglwys-Brewis

Smeeth, The

Terling

Buckland

Warmingham

Martinhoe Cross

West End

Burnwynd