Fast Broadband

By Neil Hawkins Senior Staff Writer Wednesday, 16 July 2008

Fast Broadband in the UK 5 fast broadband packages in order of maximum speeds attainable: Be | 24Mbps £18 O2 Broadband | 20Mbps £20 Virgin Media | 20Mbps: £26* Sky | 16Mbps £27 UKOnline |16Mbps £24.99 * Intro price only. Price increases after certain period (eg. 3 mths). Compare Fast Broadband Compare fast broadband packages on our dedicated comparison page Related Broadbands News See our other recent related news stories: Best broadband for speed Which broadband provider offers the fastest broadband speeds? Neil Hawkins takes a look at the UK's top fast broadband packages and assesses whether they are worth subscribing to. How to compare broadband speeds When you compare broadband looking for the best fast broadband deal, there are at least 5 things you need to keep in mind, as broadband speed expert Neil Hawkins explains. O2 or Be Broadband: Which is better? They're owned by the same company, and they both offer super fast broadband speeds, but which is better: O2 or Be? We pitch these two broadband giants head to head and find out.

IF you’re tired of waiting for the latest updates to download or at the end of your tether with a buffering iPlayer, then you should investigate getting a fast broadband connection.

Here’s our handy guide to the UK’s zippiest broadband deals:

What is fast broadband?

Broadband connections are measured in Megabits per second (Mb) which defines the maximum download speed available on your connection.

Fast broadband packages are those that go above the standard ‘up to’ 8Mb ADSL connections using either ADSL2+ or fibre optic cable technology. These newer technologies can deliver broadband connections ‘up to’ 24Mb in speed.

What’s good about fast broadband?

Fast broadband opens the doors for you around the internet!

If you plan to download lots of music, movies and files or if you play games online via your PC or console then you should consider a connection giving a bit more juice.

Gamers can benefit from a fast broadband connection because the latency and ping times experienced are usually that crucial few milliseconds lower, allowing you to blow away your opponent before they see you!

Fast broadband enables data to be transferred at high speed, meaning you’re not left hanging around waiting for the latest Windows update or game patch.

What to look for in fast broadband

Make sure that your fast broadband provider gives you an unlimited download allowance and doesn’t have a draconian fair use policy.

Be Broadband (Read review | Start signing up ) is very relaxed about peak time usage whereas Virgin Media has a peak time traffic management policy. Too much peak time use on Virgin Media and you face having your fast broadband connection temporarily turned into a not so fast broadband connection.

Also consider the higher upload speed available with ADSL2+ providers. Be Broadband and O2 Broadband for example offer upload speeds in the region of 1.3Mb whereas ADSL lines are normally only around 256Kb.

Who offers fast broadband?

Be Broadband (Read review | Start signing up ) offers up to 24Mb in speed whilst sister company O2 Broadband (Read review | Start signing up ) offers up to 20Mb.

Virgin Media (Read review | Start signing up ) is the other major fast broadband provider delivering speeds of 10Mb and 20Mb via its cable network.

Sky Broadband (Read review | Start signing up ) offers 16Mb broadband but you need to be a subscriber to its satellite TV service to benefit.

In addition, UKOnline (Read review | Start signing up ) has packages of up to 16Mb available.

Can I get fast broadband?

Most fast broadband provider’s high speeds are only possible because they have installed their own equipment in your local BT exchange. Not every exchange is enabled and some services are only available in certain areas.

You should therefore check which services you can receive with our postcode checker when you search for a new connection in your area.

It’s the same story for Virgin Media’s cable broadband network. Only certain areas have cable under the pavement and so again, check your postcode to see what you can receive.

Like all broadband connections, fast broadband speeds are limited by the distance between your home and the local telephone exchange. That said, most people should be able to increase their speed with ADSL2+, as a rule if you live 2km from the exchange you’ll receive around 16Mb broadband.

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