Who needs Superfast Broadband FTTC ?

Broadband has become much more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use per day that utilise broadband connectivity seems to increase. The range of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that everyone has in their homes, seems to increase everyday.

Sandhills 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 come to grips with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances logged on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of about 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 internet users.

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

How does superfast connectivity work ?

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

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 residence in in the future .

 

 

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

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

ADSL2+

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

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live 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 superfast connectivity product is the fastest?

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 thanks to its superfast fibre connectivity 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 according to 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 fast connectivity?

Your 1st step is to decide which highspeed internet services are available to you . Check which service are available.

 

Advantages of fast internet

Fast internet lets you take advantage of all the music streaming on offer on the web. You will have the ability to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for astronomical downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of fibre internet connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the green box. Even though fibre internet is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher monthly price .

Who is  high speed connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people streaming music , downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super-fast internet .

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 internet connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

High speed broadband is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is often  as a resulted of slower DSL broadband 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 deal .

Sandhills – Other Areas

Ennerdale

Bridgwater

Maerdy

Ballinamallard

Broughton Moor

Stenton

Corntown

Whitley

Whitelackington

Hunstanton