Who needs Superfast Broadband Connections ?

Broadband has become more and more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single day that count on broadband connectivity seems to increase. The quantity of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase each day.

Quakers Yard Broadband Deals For March 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that we all need 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 all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to 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 greater than most internet users.

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

How does fibre connectivity operate?

Unlike the majority of UK internet connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest internet 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 faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional ADSL connectivity .

BT also offers an 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 residence in in the near future .

 

 

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

However, fast broadband is not only available to people in a fibre broadband area . Fast broadband is not exclusively on offer to people in a fibre-optic broadband area. If you live within a certain range of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by registering selected ADSL2+ internet services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This kind of connectivity uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but due to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “about 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you dwell in a city or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of as high as 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast connectivity product is the fastest?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 with the help of its superfast fibre 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 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 superfast broadband ?

Your 1st step is to decide which fast broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of high bandwidth broadband connections

Super fast broadband can let you enjoy all the services available on the world wide web. You will be able to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for astronomical downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV will love their favourite 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 playing game online you a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and based on things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the green box. Even when high speed internet is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher annual price.

Who is  high speed broadband  for?

The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super-fast broadband .

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 enrol for a super fast internet service – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

Super fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly brought on by slower DSL broadband 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 favour a traditional ADSL service .

Quakers Yard – Other Areas

Dixton

West Farndon

Neatham

Lower Hartlip

Farleys End

Cottown

Cranloch

Kingston

Woodbridge

Coombe Dingle