Who needs Superfast FTTC Connectivity ?

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

Sheringwood 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that most of us wish 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 signed on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company has the chance to do what they want online– all all at once– with no annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

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

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to surf 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), high speed broadband products deliver speeds of about 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic broadband networks specifically Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does superfast internet operate?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper cables used by traditional DSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre-optic 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 high speed cable broadband services of their own.

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

ADSL2+

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

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

Which high speed broadband product is the best?

Among the UK’s quickest 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 because its super-fast fibre 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 accordance with 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get fibre optic broadband ?

Your first step is to decide which super-fast internet services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Benefits of high speed broadband

Fast internet enables you to use all the services available on the net. You’ll have the capacity to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you demand it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for huge downloads.

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

Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by super fast internet means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC internet

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and based upon things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Although super fast internet connectivity is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  fibre internet  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people listening to music, streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of high speed 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 enrol for a super-fast connectivity product – preferably fibre for the best service.

Super-fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly caused 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 select a traditional ADSL service .

Sheringwood – Other Areas

Millbank

Cold Harbour

Hugglescote

Rosemelling

Balloch

Abertillery

Foxton

Portishead

Kinwarton

Misterton