Who needs High Speed Fibre Connectivity ?

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

Steeple Ashton Broadband Deals For October 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that most of us would like 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 turned on concurrently. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business has the chance to do what they want online– all concurrently– without any annoying delays.

What is quick broadband?

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

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to connect to the internet , 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), high speed broadband products deliver speeds of up to 300Mbps, through sophisticated fibre-optic cabled networks such as Virgin Media and BT’s Infinity fibre optic cables.

How does super-fast connectivity work ?

Unlike many UK internet connections, which use telephone lines, the UK’s fastest 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 quicker than along the copper cables used by standard DSL internet .

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 not too distant future.

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have resold BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded high speed cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast internet is not only available to people in a fibre-optic 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 broadband by joining selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This form of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but thanks to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of around 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “up to 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you live in a city or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of right up to 16Mb or more. This still provides sufficient bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which high speed connectivity product is the fastest?

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-optic broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package offers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the aforementioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre network and feature headline speeds according to BT.

 

 

Alternatively, 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 high speed broadband ?

Your start is to see which high speed broadband services are available to you . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of super-fast broadband connectivity

High speed internet empowers you to enjoy all the services available on-line. You’ll have the capacity to download movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for very large downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes will love their best shows on the Sky Now TV, including rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .

Reduced latency means improved response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of high speed internet connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are out of your control , like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the exchange . Regardless of whether high speed broadband is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  fibre connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people listening to music, 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 enrol for a high speed connectivity service – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

Super-fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . Due to the fact a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is often  caused by slower traditional internet 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 go with a traditional ADSL connection.

Steeple Ashton – Other Areas

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