Who needs High Speed Connections ?

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

Stoke Charity 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 all of us would like to avoid.

 

 

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

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband concerns broadband connections of right 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 more than most broadband users.

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

How does fibre broadband work ?

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

BT also offers an as much as 76Mb fibre service called 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 piggybacked on BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super fast cable broadband services of their own.

However, fast internet 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 distant of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by registering for selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connection uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but thanks to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of almost 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “approximately 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the wiring 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 around 16Mb or more. This still provides plenty of bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which super-fast connectivity product is the best?

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 with the help of its superfast fibre 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 connectivity?

Your first step is to decide which superfast internet services are available to you . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of super-fast broadband

Super fast internet enables you to take advantage of all the services available on the net. You will have the ability to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you want it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for very large downloads.

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

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 more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of fibre broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and based on things that are not within your control, like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the green box. Though fibre internet connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  fibre internet  for?

The massive growth in the range of people downloading music , streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of fibre 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 good sense to subscribe to a high speed internet service – preferably fibre optic for the best service.

Super fast internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is often  as a resulted of slower traditionalbroadband 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 select a standard ADSL deal .

Stoke Charity – Other Areas

Menwith Hill

Fosbury

Otley

Bedwellty

Exeter Business Park

Quadring

Dunston Heath

Poughill

Iwood

Hindhead