Who needs Super-fast Fibre Connections?

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

St. Bees 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that all of us need 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 simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company is able to do what they want online– all simultaneously– without any annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

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

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to surf the internet, download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively greater than most internet users.

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

How does fibre broadband operate?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest internet 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 DSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers an 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 not too distant future.

 

 

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

However, fast internet is not only 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 getting selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connectivity uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but as a result of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “up to 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live in a town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of about 16Mb or more. This still provides ample 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 due to its superfast fibre 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 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get high speed broadband ?

Your 1st step is to decide which super-fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of fast broadband

Super fast internet connectivity enables you to use all the entertainment services on offer on the web. You will have the chance to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you want , when you want it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for large downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their favourite shows on the Sky Now TV, as well as rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by super-fast internet means that when online gaming you gain an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based upon things that are not within your control, like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Even when super fast broadband is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is  fibre internet  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people streaming music , streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of fibre 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 product – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

Super fast connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  caused by slower DSL internet 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 prefer a traditional ADSL deal .

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