Who needs Superfast Broadband FTTC ?

Broadband has become more and more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use per day that depend on broadband connectivity seems to increase. The number of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that everyone has in their homes, seems to increase every day.

St Johns Park Broadband Deals For April 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 most 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 all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business has the ability to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of about 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , stream music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively above most internet users.

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

How does fibre broadband operate?

Unlike many 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 made of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional ADSL broadband .

BT also offers an as high as 76Mb fibre-optic service called 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 resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super fast cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast internet is not exclusively available to people in a fibre 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connection uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but due to the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of about 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 inhabit a city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of right up to 16Mb or more. This still provides more than enough bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast broadband 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 previously mentioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre network and feature headline speeds in accordance with 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 broadband ?

Your initial step is to decide which superfast broadband services are available to you . Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of super fast broadband connectivity

High speed internet connectivity lets you use all the video on demand on offer on the world wide web. You’ll have the ability to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you want it , and banishing the hanging around for astronomical downloads.

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

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

Disadvantages of high speed connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and dependent on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Even though high speed internet connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher price .

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people listening to music, downloading video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super-fast internet 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 sense to enrol in a super fast connectivity deal – preferably fibre for the best service.

Fibre internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower ADSL broadband products. This can seriously ruin your 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 standard ADSL service .

St Johns Park – Other Areas

Sling

Pilsdon

Welsh End

Leighton

Upton Cross

Ayshford

St. George

Fairy Cross

Two Burrows

Largymeanoch