Who needs Superfast Broadband FTTC ?

Broadband has become increasingly more vital to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use each day 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 everyday.

Summerhill 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 all of us would love 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 business has the chance to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of more than 300Mbps in the UK.

Super-fast broadband connections enable users to surf the internet, stream music & video and stream television at speeds that are massively more than most internet users.

While the current average UK internet connection is around 12Mbps (2014), high speed 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 connectivity operate?

Unlike most UK broadband connections, which use telephony 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 up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional ADSL connectivity .

BT also offers a more than 76Mb fibre-optic service called BT Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK residence in years to come.

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have used BT’s Infinity service to launch rebranded super-fast cable broadband products of their own.

However, fast broadband 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 distant of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which super-fast broadband product is the best?

Among the UK’s fastest broadband 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 connectivity network.

BT’s Infinity package delivers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the aforementioned services from Sky, EE and TalkTalk, which use BT’s fibre optic network and feature headline speeds in line with 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get high speed broadband ?

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

 

Benefits of super-fast broadband connections

Super fast internet empowers you to utilise all the services available on the internet. You’ll have the chance to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you view what you want , when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for enormous downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by super-fast internet means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast connectivity

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very near) and depend on things that are not within your control, like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Though super fast broadband is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people downloading music , video and watching TV online means that there is no more a typical user of high speed internet connectivity.

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 service – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

Super fast internet is also ideal for fans of online games . This is because a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is often  caused by slower ADSL internet connectivity services . This can seriously ruin your online 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.

Summerhill – Other Areas

Kiveton Park Station

Freshwater

Nantgwyn

Nappa

Haywards Heath

West Stour

Leasingham

Chilson

Stainton

Earls Barton