Who needs Speedy FTTC Internet?
Broadband has become more and more necessary to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use per day that depend on 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 Helens Broadband Deals For March 2024
[elementor-template id=”137965″]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 would like to avoid.
Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to manage the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances logged on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company manages to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.
What is fast broadband?
Super-fast broadband concerns 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 greater than most internet users.
While the current average UK broadband connection is around 12Mbps (2014), high speed internet products deliver speeds of around 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks like Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.
How does high speed internet work ?
Unlike many of UK broadband 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 pipes used by traditional DSL broadband .
BT also offers an as much as 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 years to come.
The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have piggybacked on BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super-fast cable broadband services of their own.
However, fast broadband is not exclusively on offer 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 broadband by joining selected ADSL2+ internet services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.
ADSL2+
This form of connection uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but due to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of approximately 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “about 16Mb”.
Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you dwell in a town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of right up to 16Mb or more. This still provides ample bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.
Which superfast internet product is the quickest ?
Among the UK’s quickest 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 thanks to its superfast fibre-optic broadband network.
BT’s Infinity package delivers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the previously mentioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre network and feature headline speeds according to BT.
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 connectivity?
Your 1st step is to decide which superfast broadband services are available in your area . Check which service are available.
Benefits of high bandwidth internet
Super fast internet connectivity lets you enjoy all the music streaming available on the net. You will be able to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for enormous downloads.
Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , and also rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .
Reduced latency means better response times delivered by fibre broadband means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the competition and can enjoy a better playing experience.
Disadvantages of FTTC broadband
Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and dependent on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Despite the fact that super-fast connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher price .
Who is fibre connectivity for?
The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of fibre broadband .
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 sense to sign up for a high speed internet connectivity product – preferably fibre for the best service.
Fibre 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 often as a resulted of slower DSL broadband products . This can seriously ruin your online gaming experience .
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 deal .
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