Who needs High Speed FTTC Connectivity ?

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

Totnes Broadband Deals For December 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 we all wish 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 signed on at the same time. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small business has the ability to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is high speed broadband?

Super-fast broadband describes broadband connections of right up to 300Mbps in the UK.

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

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

How does high speed internet work ?

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 made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper pipes used by standard xDSL broadband .

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 homes in years to come.

 

 

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

However, fast internet is not exclusively 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 range of your internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ broadband services 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 as a result of the software and technology being used it can deliver speeds of around 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 reside in a town or built up location you can realistically expect speeds of as much as 16Mb or more. This still provides sufficient bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast internet product is the quickest ?

Among the UK’s fastest 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 thanks to its superfast fibre-optic broadband 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 optic 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 fibre optic broadband ?

Your first step is to see which superfast internet services are available in your area . Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Benefits of fast internet

Super-fast broadband empowers you to utilise all the services on offer online. You’ll be able to watch movies in a within minutes – allowing you consume what you want , when you want it , and getting rid of the hanging around for big downloads.

Fans of on-demand TV can enjoy their best shows on the BBC iPlayer , in addition to rival services from ITV and Channel 4, smoothly and without interruption .

Reduced ‘ping’ means improved response times delivered by super-fast broadband means that when online gaming you gain a competitive advantage over the opponents 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 upon things that are not within your control, like the age of copper connectivity and the distance you live from the cabinet . Regardless of whether fibre broadband is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher annual cost .

Who is  fibre connectivity  for?

The massive growth in the amount of people streaming music , streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no more a typical user of fibre internet .

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 connectivity deal – preferably fibre optic for the best service .

High speed internet is also ideal for fans of online games . Due to the fact a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is called ping,  which is often  brought on by slower ADSL internet products . 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 go with a traditional ADSL service .

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