Who needs High Speed Connections ?

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

Walton Le Dale 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 we all need 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 turned on simultaneously. With Superfast fibre broadband though, everyone within a home or small company has the capacity to do what they want online– all concurrently– with no annoying delays.

What is fast broadband?

Super-fast broadband relates to broadband connections of around 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 internet users.

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

How does high speed internet work ?

Unlike most 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 comprised of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster than along the copper pipes used by traditional DSL internet .

BT also offers a right up 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 residence 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 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 internet provider’s exchange you can still get fast broadband by getting selected ADSL2+ broadband services from the companies like O2, Sky, Orange and TalkTalk.

ADSL2+

This style of connection uses the same cabling and telephone exchanges as regular ADSL phone-line connections, but due to the software and technology used it can deliver speeds of up to 24Mbps, however most advertised speeds are around “around 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 more than enough bandwidth for heavy internet users, and at a smaller cost than cable.

Which superfast internet product is the best?

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 with the help of its super-fast 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 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 fibre optic connectivity?

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

 

Advantages of super fast internet

High speed internet connectivity enables you to make the most of all the music streaming on offer on the web. You will be able to download movies in a in a few minutes – allowing you view what you like, when you like it, and getting rid of the hanging around for very large downloads.

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

Reduced latency means better response times delivered by super fast connectivity means that online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the competition and can enjoy a better playing experience.

Disadvantages of FTTC internet

Speeds are never 100% as advertised (although are often very close ) and based on things that are out of your control , like the age of wiring and the distance you live from the BT exchange . Wherever super fast internet connectivity is available in your area , these limiting factors may not bring many improvements in performance for a much higher cost .

Who is  fibre broadband  for?

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

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 super fast internet connectivity product – preferably fibre optic for the best experience.

Fibre internet connectivity is also ideal for fans of online console usage. This is because a faster connection gets rid of the delays to in-game responsiveness. This is known as ping,  which is commonly caused by slower ADSL internet services . 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 pick a traditional ADSL connection.

Walton Le Dale – Other Areas

Monkton

Glenetive

Pinner

Owslebury

Cock Alley

North Burlingham

Rhas Common

Shirl Heath

Belleau

Low Worsall