Who needs Superfast Fibre Internet ?

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

Shepherdswell or Sibertswold 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that most of us wish to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to deal with 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 local business has the capacity to do what they want online– all all at once– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

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

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively above most internet users.

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

How does super-fast connectivity work ?

Unlike the majority of UK internet connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s quickest broadband product – the 100Mbps service from Virgin Media (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 traditional ADSL connectivity .

BT also offers a more than 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 not too distant 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 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 range of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by signing up for selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which super-fast 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 due to its super-fast fibre-optic connectivity network.

BT’s Infinity package offers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the previously mentioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre optic 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 fibre connectivity?

Your 1st step is to see which highspeed broadband services are available to you . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of high bandwidth broadband

Super fast internet connectivity enables you to take advantage of all the video on demand on offer on the net. You will have the capacity to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you like it, and banishing the hanging around for enormous downloads.

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

Reduced latency means improved response times delivered by high speed broadband means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of fibre connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and dependent on things that are not within your control, like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the green box. Regardless of whether fibre internet is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher annual price.

Who is  FTTC internet  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people listening to music, downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super-fast 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 high speed internet service – preferably fibre for the very best service.

Fibre internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is often  triggered by slower traditional connectivity products. This can seriously ruin your gaming experience .

If you only use the internet for checking your e-mail and for the occasional search, it’s more prudent to prefer a traditional ADSL deal .

Shepherdswell or Sibertswold – Other Areas

Crowhurst

Tradespark

Leatherhead Common

Dunnamanagh

Selside

Old Somerby

Houghton Le Spring

Wrotham

Daywall

Leverton Lucasgate