Can I get fibre in my area?
Fibre broadband also known as fibre optic broadband delivers super faster internet speeds which translate to a more responsive, lag free internet experience.
Fibre broadband uses plastic or glass core to transmit data in the form of pulsing light beams. More data can travel faster over fibre optic cables.
To find out if superfast fibre broadband is available in your area, use the Official Ofcom broadband coverage checker
You will see a green tick next to the services available in your area along with the highest available download and upload speed.
Here are the most popular broadband providers to get yourself a deal on fibre broadband based on results from the Fibre broadband coverage checker.
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Ultrafast Fibre broadband packages (300Mbps and above)
- Vodafone Gigafast Broadband(500Mb – 900Mb)
- BT Full Fibre (upto 900Mb)
- EE Fibre (300Mb – 900Mb)
- Virgin Media M500 Fibre (350Mb)
- Virgin Media M500 Fibre (500Mb)
Superfast Fibre broadband packages (30Mbps – 300Mbps)
- Sky Ultrafast Broadband (145Mb)
- Virgin Media M100 Fibre (100Mb)
- Virgin Media M200 Fibre (200Mb)
- Vodafone Gigafast Broadband (100Mb – 200Mb)
- Sky Superfast Broadband (59Mb+)
- Vodafone Superfast Broadband (36Mb – 63Mb)
- BT Fibre (36 – 67Mb)
- EE Fibre (36Mb – 145Mb)
- Plusnet Fibre (36Mb – 66Mb)
- John Lewis Fibre (36 – 66Mb)
Standard broadband packages (9 – 10Mbps)
- Sky Essential 11Mb Broadband
- BT 10Mb Broadband
- Plusnet 10Mb Broadband
- EE Standard 10Mb Broadband
- John Lewis 10Mb Unlimited Broadband
Fibre broadband key takeaways
- Fibre broadband is also referred to as as Fibre optic broadband
- Use the fibre broadband coverage checker to see is fibre is available in your area
- Fibre broadband uses plastic or glass cables to transmit data
- Fibre broadband is available to approx. 95% of UK homes
How is fibre broadband installed?
Openreach fibre broadband installation
Service providers such as Sky, BT, Plusnet, John Lewis, EE and Vodafone use the Openreach infrastructure to provide fibre broadband. This is the Openreach fibre broadband installation process
Source: Openreach YouTube ChannelVirgin Media Cable broadband installation
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Fibre broadband suppliers and availability
Fibre optic broadband is available to approximately 95% of UK properties according to the UK telecoms regulator – Ofcom.
The two main fibre broadband providers in the UK are Openreach and Virgin Media.
80-90% of the country is covered by the Openreach fibre network and around 60% is covered by Virgin Media.
There are also a number of smaller fibre providers with their own networks such as Hyperoptic, Gigaclear, Wightfibre or KCOM.
The majority of broadband providers such as BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky and Vodafone use the Openreach network providing average download speeds in the 57-67Mb range and upto 1Gb (1000Mb) on BT full fibre broadband.
Virgin Media offers download speeds ranging from 50Mb to 1Gb.
What if I can’t get fibre broadband in my area?
If cannot get fibre in your area, you should be able to get ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) broadband instead. ADSL (standard) broadband is delivered via copper cables as opposed to fibre.
ADSL broadband has average speed download of 10 – 11Mb.
What are the types of fibre broadband?
Fibre broadband is a type of broadband delivered by fibre optic cables.
Data travels down the fibre cables (plastic or glass) at the speed of light which means it doesn’t slow down over long distances and you get a more reliable and stable internet connection.
There are a couple of different ways you can get fibre optic broadband delivered to your home.
Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)
FTTC is the most common type of Fibre broadband available.
The first part of the connection from the local exchange to the green cabinet on your street is fibre.
Traditional Copper cables are then used from the street cabinet to your property.
Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) / Full Fibre
Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) is also known as Fibre to the Home (FTTH) or Full fibre.
This is a full fibre connection from the exchange to the your property. No copper cables.
There are no copper cables involved in this type of connection because the fibre cable is ran directly to your property which will result is ultrafast broadband speeds.
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