Who needs Super-fast Broadband FTTC Internet?

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

Townhead Broadband Deals For January 2026

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 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 logged on all at once. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or local business is able to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is super-fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to 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 higher than most internet users.

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

How does high speed connectivity work ?

Unlike the majority of UK internet connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest 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 cables used by traditional DSL internet connectivity.

BT also offers a to 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 in the not too distant future.

 

 

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

However, fast internet is not exclusively 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 broadband by subscribing to selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which super-fast connectivity 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 because of its superfast fibre 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 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 connectivity?

Your initial step is to see which high speed internet services are available at your exhaage. Check which types of connectivity are available.

 

Advantages of super fast broadband

High speed broadband can let you take advantage of all the entertainment available on the internet. You will have the chance to watch movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you demand it , and banishing the days of long waiting times for big downloads.

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

Reduced ‘ping’ means move favourable response times delivered by fibre connectivity means that when playing game online you a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of fibre broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and rely on things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the cabinet . Although super-fast internet is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may yield little difference in speed for a much higher monthly cost .

Who is  FTTC broadband  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people streaming music , streaming video and watching on demand TV online means that there is no longer a typical user of super fast broadband .

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 fibre broadband deal – preferably fibre for the best service.

Fibre internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online gaming . 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 connectivity 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 favour a standard ADSL connection.

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