Who needs Super-fast Broadband Fibre Connections?
Broadband has become increasingly more important to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use every day that rely on broadband connectivity seems to increase. The range of tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops, games consoles and TV’s that each person has in their homes, seems to increase everyday.
Stanmore Broadband Deals For December 2023
[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 we all would love to avoid.
Quite simply, traditional broadband connections often struggle to come to grips with the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances signed on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business has the ability to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.
What is super-fast broadband?
Super-fast broadband refers to broadband connections of about 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), superfast broadband products deliver speeds of to 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks including Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.
How does fibre connectivity work ?
Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper pipes used by traditional DSL internet connectivity.
BT also offers a right up to 76Mb fibre-optic 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 future .
The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super fast cable broadband services of their own.
However, fast broadband is not only on offer 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 broadband by joining selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.
ADSL2+
This style of connectivity uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but due to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “as much as 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 town or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of approximately 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 fastest 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 with the help of its superfast fibre-optic 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 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 fast connectivity?
Your start is to decide which fast internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.
Benefits of super-fast broadband
Fast internet can let you enjoy all the entertainment services available online. You will manage to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you like it, and banishing the days of long waiting times for very large downloads.
Fans of on-demand TV will love their best shows on the Sky Now TV, together with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .
Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by super fast broadband means that when online gaming you gain a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.
Disadvantages of fibre connectivity
Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and based upon things that are not within your control, like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Even when super-fast connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in performance for a much higher cost .
Who is fibre internet for?
The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of fibre 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 good sense to register for a high speed internet product – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.
Super-fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online console usage. Due to the fact faster connectivity eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping, which is commonly caused by slower ADSL 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 go with a traditional ADSL deal .
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