Who needs Superfast Internet ?

Broadband has become increasingly more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single day that utilise 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 on a daily basis.

postal_town Broadband Deals For October 2025

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 wish to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to manage the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances signed on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all simultaneously– with no annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of right up to 300Mbps in the UK.

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

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

How does fibre connectivity work ?

Unlike most of UK internet 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper pipes used by traditional ADSL connectivity .

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

However, fast broadband is not only 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 distant of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This kind of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but thanks to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “right up to 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 city or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of to 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast internet product is the fastest?

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 super-fast fibre-optic connectivity 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 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get fibre optic broadband ?

Your initial step is to see which fast broadband services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of high bandwidth broadband

Super-fast internet lets you take advantage of all the services on offer on the web. You will be able to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you like it, and banishing the days of long waiting times for very large 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 latency means better response times delivered by fibre internet means that online gamers gain an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast internet

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and dependent on things that are not within your control, like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Wherever fibre internet is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people listening to music, downloading video and watching catchup 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 join a super fast internet product – preferably fibre optic for the best service.

High speed connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly brought on by slower ADSL connectivity products. 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 select a standard ADSL service .

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