Who needs Superfast Broadband Connections ?

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

The Folly 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 sitting in commuter traffic, something that most of us would love to avoid.

 

 

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

What is fast broadband?

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

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

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

How does fibre broadband operate?

Unlike many UK internet 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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper cables used by traditional DSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers a more than 76Mb fibre service called BT Infinity (you can get 300Mbps in some areas), and plans to make this available to millions more UK residence in in the not too distant 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 only on offer to people in a fibre 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by getting selected ADSL2+ internet packages from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This type of connection uses the same cables and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL broadband connections, but because of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “approximately 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 town or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of 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 best?

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 because 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 optic network and feature headline speeds in line 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 superfast broadband ?

Your start is to decide which superfast broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Advantages of super fast internet

High speed internet enables you to enjoy all the entertainment services available online. You will manage to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you demand it , and banishing the hanging around for huge downloads.

Fans of on-demand programmes can enjoy their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , together with rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without buffering.

Reduced ‘ping’ means better response times delivered by high speed internet means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are not within your control, like the quality of wiring and the distance you live from the green box. Even if super-fast broadband is available in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in speed for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  fibre internet connectivity for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people listening to music, video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no more a typical user of super fast 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 enrol in a super-fast internet deal – preferably fibre for the greatest service.

Super fast broadband is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is referred to as ping,  which is commonly brought on by slower ADSL broadband products. This can seriously ruin your gaming pleasure.

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 .

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