Cheat Sheet: Types of Broadband

Types of broadband connections:

Cable broadband

Uses coaxial cables (a type of electrical cable that consists of a central conductor surrounded by an insulating layer), typically shared with other households. It offers faster speeds than DSL but can be affected by network congestion.

Fibre optic broadband

Uses transparent glass fibers to transmit data. It's the fastest type of broadband available, offering significantly higher speeds and lower latency. Full fibre and part fibre are both types of fibre optic broadband.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) broadband

Uses existing copper phone lines to transmit data. It generally has slower upload and download speeds than fibre and cable, especially over longer distances.

Mobile broadband (4G/5G)

Uses cellular networks to provide internet access. While convenient, it can be slower and less reliable than wired connections, especially in areas with poor coverage.

Satellite broadband

This is classically used by people in rural communities and other remote locations, like on cruise ships, because it doesn't rely on a network of cables like other kinds of broadband. It works like satellite TV, with internet signals beamed from a satellite orbiting Earth to a dish on your property

There are two main types of fibre broadband commonly available in the UK.

FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) - This is the most common broadband type in the UK at the moment, and is also known as part-fibre broadband. The signal from the broadband exchange runs to the street cabinet using fibre optic cables, and then uses copper wires to connect to your property. 

FTTP (fibre to the premises) - aka full fibre broadband, this offers some of the fastest speeds around. As the name suggests, it brings the fibre optic cables straight into your home or office. This is the type of broadband connection offered by Future Connected Fibre.

What is a central exchange?

A central exchange is a telecommunications facility that serves as a switching centre for a region or city. This is where incoming and outgoing telephone calls are connected and routed.

Those green cabinets you see on the street are routing boxes full of copper telephone lines and internet cables.  They send your phone and broadband signals to the telephone exchange. The speed they do it depends on the cables...

How does the central exchange impact broadband connections?

In the context of broadband, central exchanges play an important role in delivering internet service to homes and businesses. They act as a hub where fibre optic cables and copper lines from lots of different sources meet.

The distance between your home or business and the nearest central exchange can affect your broadband speed and reliability. Fibre optic cables can transmit data at much higher speeds than copper cables, even over long distances.

This means a faster average broadband speed, which is essential for activities like streaming, gaming, and video conferencing. They work a lot better than copper connections when you live farther from a central exchange.

How to install different types of broadband

DSL and cable: DSL and cable typically use existing infrastructure, such as copper phone lines or coaxial cables. This means less disruption during installation but might limit the maximum speed of your internet connection.

Full Fibre broadband: Full fibre requires digging trenches to lay the fibre optic cables. This can be more disruptive than installing DSL or cable, but it offers long-term benefits in terms of speed and reliability.

Mobile broadband: The beauty of this type of broadband connection is that no installation is required. You just buy a mobile internet device, set it up, and go. Some mobile phone networks let you run a wireless broadband network using your phone as a Wi-Fi router, using a type of connection called tethering.

Satellite broadband: Your internet service provider will come out to your home and install a satellite dish outside, just like with satellite TV. This is connected to your modem and wireless router. This usually takes a few hours.

Full fibre: the future of broadband technology

There are quite a few ways to get a broadband internet connection, but one of the best commercially available type of broadband is full fibre broadband.

Also known as FTTP, Fibre Optic or Fibre to the Home/FTTH, it's grown massively in recent years thanks to its superior performance. We're talking about faster speeds compared to cable broadband, as well as exceptional reliability.

How is full fibre different from other types of broadband connections?

Unlike standard broadband, full fibre uses fibre optic cables all the way from the central exchange to your home or business without changing to cable at the green cabinet. This provides:

• Extremely high-speed internet connection: Full fibre offers significantly faster download and upload speeds compared to DSL, cable or FTTC broadband.
• Lower latency: Latency is the delay before a transfer of data happens after the instruction is given, and the lower the better. With full fibre superfast broadband, latency is low: which is important for activities like online gaming and video conferencing.
• Greater reliability: Fibre cables are less susceptible to interference and are generally more reliable than copper or coaxial cables.

Get started with full fibre

Full fibre is one of the best broadband connections available on the market. If you want to experience the faster speeds and reliability of FTTP broadband, Future Connected Fibre can help. We have a range of plans available to help you get started with superfast broadband with speeds around 44 times faster than cable broadband.