Who needs High Speed Connectivity ?

Broadband has become increasingly more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every day that bank on 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 every day.

Sim Hill Broadband Deals For September 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that most of us would like 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 logged on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company is able to do what they want online– all at the same time– with no annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of more than 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 more than most broadband users.

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

How does high speed broadband operate?

Unlike most 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 faster than along the copper pipes used by standard xDSL internet .

BT also offers a right 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 homes in in the future .

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband products 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 range of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by signing up for selected ADSL2+ internet services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which super-fast connectivity product is the best?

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 because of its super-fast fibre-optic 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 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 high speed connectivity?

Your initial step is to see which highspeed broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of super fast broadband connections

Fast internet lets you make the most of all the services on offer online. You’ll have the capacity to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for very large downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that when online gaming you gain a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast broadband

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Even when fibre broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

The massive growth in the number of people streaming music , video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of fibre broadband .

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 fibre broadband service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Fibre connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly triggered by slower DSL 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 pick a standard ADSL service .

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