Who needs Superfast Broadband Fibre Internet ?

Broadband has become much more essential to our everyday lives and the amount of devices that we use on a daily basis that bank on 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 each day.

Swanbridge 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 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 turned on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business is able to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of more than 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 higher than most internet users.

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

How does high speed broadband operate?

Unlike many of UK broadband connections, which use telephony 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 xDSL 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 homes in in the near future .

 

 

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

However, fast broadband is not exclusively on offer 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 internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ internet services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper 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 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 with the help of 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 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 internet services are available in your area . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of high speed broadband connectivity

Super-fast broadband enables you to make the most of all the entertainment available on the world wide web. You will have the capacity to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you demand it , and banishing the hanging around for large downloads.

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

Reduced latency means better response times delivered by super-fast connectivity means that online gamers gain an one-upmanship over the opponents and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC internet

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very near) and based upon things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Whether or not high speed internet connectivity is on offer in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in speed for a much higher annual price.

Who is  high speed internet  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people listening to music, downloading video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of super-fast 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 sense to enrol for a super-fast connectivity product – preferably fibre optic for the greatest service.

High speed internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because faster connectivity gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly caused by slower DSL connectivity 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 service .

Swanbridge – Other Areas

St Dogmaels

Exebridge

Martyr Worthy

Farthing Corner

Merry Hill

Badninish

Cromarty

Charlwood

Kingussie

Straight Soley