Who needs High Speed Connections ?

Broadband has become increasingly more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day that utilise 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 on a daily basis.

Stanghow Broadband Deals For March 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that all of us would love 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 local business has the opportunity to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

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

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

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

How does super-fast connectivity work ?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s fastest 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by standard DSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers a more than 76Mb fibre service called Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK residence in in the not too distant future.

 

 

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

ADSL2+

This sort of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but because of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of about 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as much as 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 area you can realistically expect speeds of 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 fastest?

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 because of 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get superfast connectivity?

Your initial step is to see which super-fast broadband services are available in your area . Check which service are available.

 

Benefits of super-fast broadband connections

Fast internet can let you take advantage of all the entertainment on offer online. You will be able to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and banishing the hanging around for large downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by fibre connectivity means that when online gaming you gain a competitive advantage over the opponents and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of high speed broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Wherever high speed broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is super-fast 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 super-fast 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 high speed broadband deal – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

High speed connectivity is also ideal for fans of online games . Due to the fact a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly brought on by slower ADSL broadband products . 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 take a traditional ADSL connection.

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