Who needs Superfast Fibre Connections?

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

Tiffenthwaite 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 being stuck in commuter traffic, something that all of us need 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 logged on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business has the capacity to do what they want online– all all at once– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

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

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

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

How does fibre connectivity operate?

Unlike the majority of 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper cables used by standard ADSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers a to 76Mb fibre 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 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 broadband 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 distant of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by registering for selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the providers like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This sort of connectivity uses the same wiring and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL internet connections, but because of the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “almost 16Mb”.

Your speed depends, as always, on the quality of the copper and the distance you are from the exchange, but if you reside in a city or built up area you can realistically expect speeds of approximately 16Mb or more. This still provides ample 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 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 with the help of its super-fast fibre connectivity 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 in accordance 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 copper to carry more data.

How do I get super-fast broadband ?

Your start is to see which high speed internet services are available in your area . Check which products are available.

 

Advantages of fast broadband

Super fast internet connectivity empowers you to utilise all the services available on the world wide web. You will manage to watch movies in a matter of minutes – allowing you watch what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for large downloads.

Fans of on-demand show can enjoy their favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer , together with 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 opposition and can enjoy a better more enjoyable experience.

Disadvantages of fibre internet

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and based on things that are out of your control , like the quality of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the exchange . Regardless of whether super-fast broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many benefits in performance for a much higher monthly price .

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

The massive growth in the range of people streaming music , streaming video and watching catchup TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of high speed internet .

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 sign up for a high speed internet product – preferably fibre optic for the very best service.

Super-fast internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is commonly brought on by slower ADSL broadband services . 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 take a standard ADSL service .

Tiffenthwaite – Other Areas

Boot

Ollerton Fold

Small Dole

Hawnby

Ringstead

Llanyblodwel

Knockrome

Bushmoor

Walson

Tawstock