Who needs Quick Fibre Connections?

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

Upper Wolvercote Broadband Deals For February 2023

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 handle the simultaneous demands of downloading large files, streaming videos or music, with multiple devices and appliances signed on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or business manages to do what they want online– all all at once– without any annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

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

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

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

How does fibre broadband operate?

Unlike many UK broadband connections, which use telephony lines, the UK’s quickest 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 composed of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much quicker than along the copper cables used by traditional ADSL 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 years to come.

 

 

The likes of TalkTalk, Sky and EE have piggybacked on 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 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 broadband provider’s exchange you can still get fast internet by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband packages from the likes of O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

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

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

Which super-fast broadband 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 as a result of its superfast fibre broadband network.

BT’s Infinity package offers a maximum speed of 76Mbps and the previously mentioned 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 cabling to carry more data.

How do I get super-fast connectivity?

Your first step is to see which super-fast broadband services are available at your exhaage. Check which service are available.

 

Advantages of super-fast broadband connectivity

Fast broadband can let you enjoy all the services available on the web. You’ll be able to download movies in a within minutes – allowing you consume what you like, when you want it , and getting rid of the days of long waiting times for astronomical downloads.

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

Reduced latency means move favourable response times delivered by fibre broadband means that when playing game online you an one-upmanship over the competition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

Disadvantages of super-fast broadband

Speeds are never guaranteed as advertised (although are often very close ) and depend on things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Even if super fast connectivity is on offer in your location, these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher annual price.

Who is  FTTC internet  for?

The massive growth in the quantity of people downloading music , video and watching TV online means that there is no more a typical user of high speed 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 sense to join a high speed internet connectivity service – preferably fibre for the best service.

High speed internet is also ideal for fans of online gaming . This is because a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower traditionalbroadband 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 go for a traditional ADSL connection.

Upper Wolvercote – Other Areas

Burnham Market

Over Worton

Rhydgaled

Armagh

Hugh Mill

Davenport

Clark Green

Tudeley

Dubmire

Cranswick