Who needs Superfast Broadband Connections ?

Broadband has become more and more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every single day that rely upon 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 on a daily basis.

Skelwith Fold Broadband Deals For December 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 we all would love 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 small business has the chance to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of approximately 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 broadband users.

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

How does fibre connectivity operate?

Unlike most 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by standard xDSL connectivity .

BT also offers a more than 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 years to come.

 

 

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 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 range of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but due to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “almost 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 around 16Mb or more. This still provides sufficient bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast connectivity product is the quickest ?

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 because its superfast fibre-optic 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 optic network and feature headline speeds in line 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 superfast connectivity?

Your 1st step is to see which super-fast internet services are available in your area . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of fast broadband connections

High speed internet empowers you to make the most of all the video on demand available on-line. You’ll have the ability to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for big downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by fibre broadband means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Even if super fast broadband is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  high speed internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , video and watching TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of super fast internet .

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 register for a super-fast broadband product – preferably fibre for the very best service.

High speed internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower DSL connectivity services . This can seriously ruin your online gaming pleasure.

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

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