Who needs Superfast Connections ?

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

Stanah 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 would love to avoid.

 

 

Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to cope with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances turned on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or company has the ability to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of as much as 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to go online , download music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively above most broadband 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 including Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does super-fast internet operate?

Unlike many UK internet connections, which use telephone 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 of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional xDSL internet .

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 near 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 exclusively available to people in a fibre 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 joining selected ADSL2+ internet services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you reside in a town or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of as much 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 broadband 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 due to its superfast fibre connectivity 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 optic 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 super-fast broadband ?

Your initial step is to see which superfast broadband services are available in your area . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of super-fast broadband connections

Fast broadband empowers you to utilise all the music streaming available on the world wide web. You’ll manage to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you demand it , and getting rid of the hanging around for astronomical downloads.

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

Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by super fast internet means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the opposition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet connectivity

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Even if super-fast internet connectivity is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is  fibre internet connectivity 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 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 service – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

Super-fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower DSL internet connectivity services . 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 connection.

Stanah – Other Areas

Long Bennington

Lower Hopton

Sternfield

Coed Mawr

Cossall Industrial Estate

Pounsley

Rhiwderin

Swyddffynnon

Llandetty

Newton Stewart