Full-Fibre Broadband: What is it and what are the best UK deals?
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Full fibre broadband, also known as fibre to the premises, or FTTP, broadband uses full fibre optic cables for the entire length of the connection.
This means that there will be full fibre cables running all the way from your internet provider to your home.
The main advantage of this type of broadband is its speed. Able to deliver up to one gigabit of internet per second (1Gbit/s), it’s considerably faster than all other internet options currently on the market.
Last update: November 2022
Currently, around 18% of homes have access to full fibre broadband. In this article, we’ll provide an overview of full-fibre broadband, providers and the best deals on the market.
What is full-fibre broadband?
Full-fibre broadband is a type of fibre broadband that provides a faster connection than its regular counterpart. Indeed, all fibre broadband types use fibre optic cables as opposed to copper wires (ADSL). This means that this type of connection is already faster than most.
However, full-fibre broadband takes this connection speed one step further than regular fibre connections. Regular fibre-to-the-cabinet connections (FTTC) use fibre optics to connect to your nearest stress cabinet and then continue from this cabinet to your home using copper cables. These cables are slow and inefficient, especially in high-usage areas.
In contrast, full-fibre broadband uses fibre optic cables for the entire connection. This means that the connection is usually much faster than others, especially if you live in a high-usage area.
Put simply:
What speed is full-fibre broadband?
Full fibre broadband can provide speeds of up to 1GBit/s or 1000 Mbps. For reference, a superfast broadband connection is defined as any connection with a speed of over 30 Mbps. An ultrafast broadband connection is any connection with a speed of over 100 Mbps.
⚠️ Full-fibre speeds aren't as fast as advertised!
Keep in mind that you will likely not receive the actual speeds advertised by broadband providers. Rather, your broadband provider will give you an estimate of the broadband speed you should expect to receive upon signing up for the plan.
For example, BT, one of the leading providers of full-fibre broadband in the UK, currently has four options when it comes to downloading speed:
- Full Fibre 100: 100Mbps
- Full Fibre 300: 150Mbps
- Full Fibre 500: 250Mbps
- Full Fibre 900: 455 Mbps
It’s worth noting that even 100Mbps of the internet is incredibly fast. At these sorts of speeds, you’ll be able to stream, download, game and make uninterrupted video calls with ease.
Who provides full-fibre broadband?
The largest provider of full-fibre broadband in the UK is BT. The full fibre rollout has been led by BT’s subsidiary, Openreach, and the supplier currently offers full fibre to more areas than any other company.
Other big UK broadband providers that offer full-fibre broadband services are:
Sky
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TalkTalk
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Virgin Media
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Sky’s full-fibre connections also operate using Openreach’s network.This provider offers three full-fibre broadband speeds: 145Mbps, 500Mbps and 900Mbps. However, their prices are a little higher than those of TalkTalk, Plusnet and Vodafone. |
This provider is known for its good value deals, providing 145Mbps for as little as 30 GBP. | This provider doesn’t technically offer full-fibre broadband, but does offer deals as fast as them. Virgin Media offers more speed options of over 100Mbps than other providers, making it a great choice too. |
👩💻 Does Virgin Media really offer full-fibre broadband?
Technically speaking, no. Virgin Media operates using its own cable network. While this network connection is faster than superfast fibre and can gain speed up to 1 Gbps, it’s not technically full fibre. In short, Virgin Media doesn’t literally offer full-fibre broadband services but does provide connections that are as fast as full-fibre deals.
Who supplies the best full-fibre broadband deal?
The most popular full-fibre broadband plan in the UK is BT. However, the best full-fibre broadband deal will depend on your priorities
The table below shows the main fibre broadband packages currently available in the UK.
| 📦 Package |
⬇️ Avg download speed |
⬆️ Avg upload speed |
📅 Contract length |
💰 Price per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BT Full Fibre 100 | 100Mb/s | 30Mb/s | 24 months | £29.99 |
| BT Full Fibre 300 | 300Mb/s | 50Mb/s | 24 months | £39.99 |
| EE Full Fibre Max 100 | 100Mb/s | 30Mb/s | 18 months | £39 (£35 for EE mobile customers) |
| EE Full Fibre Max 300 | 300Mb/s | 50Mb/s | 18 months | £47 (£42 for EE mobile customers) |
| EE Full Fibre Max 900 | 900Mb/s | 50Mb/s | 18 months | £60 (£54 for EE mobile customers) |
| Sky Broadband Ultrafast | 145Mb/s | 27Mb/s | 18 months | £35 |
| Sky Superfast Broadband | 59Mb/s | 16Mb/s | 18 months | £28 |
| Sky Superfast Broadband + WiFi Guarantee | 59Mb/s | 16Mb/s | 18 months | £33 |
| Hyperoptic Fast (30Mb) | 30Mb/s | 5Mb/s | 12 months | £17.99 |
| Hyperoptic Fast (50Mb) | 50Mb/s | 5Mb/s | 12 months | £22 |
| Hyperoptic Superfast | 150Mb/s | 150Mb/s | 12 months | £29 |
| Hyperoptic Ultrafast | 500Mb/s | 500Mb/s | 12 months | £33 |
| Hyperoptic Hyperfast | 900Mb/s | 900Mb/s | 12 months | £39 |
| M100 Fibre Broadband + Phone | 108Mb/s | 10Mb/s | 18 months | £25 |
| M200 Fibre Broadband + Phone | 213Mb/s | 20Mb/s | 18 months | £31 |
| M350 Fibre Broadband + Phone | 362Mb/s | 20Mb/s | 18 months | £37 |
| M500 Fibre Broadband + Phone | 516Mb/s | 36Mb/s | 18 months | £43 |
💰How much does full-fibre broadband cost?
Full fibre broadband is slightly more expensive than fibre broadband or cable broadband. This is because of the extra infrastructure required to get FTTP to your home.
However, considering the broadband speed and reliability of the service, it’s actually relatively affordable. Deals start from just £29.99 per month, although the fastest possible fibre will set you back around £60 per month.
Can I get full-fibre broadband?
Full fibre broadband is currently available to around 4.5 million homes in the UK.
The easiest way to find out if full fibre is available in your area is to put your postcode into the Openreach website. This will show if the service is already active in your area and what sort of speeds you could expect to see.
How does full fibre compare to other types of broadband?
Full fibre is faster and more reliable than pretty much all other types of broadband. This is because:
- Your home or business will be plugged straight into the grid,
- You won’t have to share your connection with anyone else.
The only other comparable service is Virgin Media’s cable broadband. This is a similar service to full fibre and also offers very fast and reliable internet speeds. However, in order to fully understand broadband differentiation it´s best to do a side-by-side comparison of broadband technologies.
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FAQ
❓What is full fibre broadband?
Full fibre broadband is broadband that’s delivered to your home or business exclusively via fibre optic cables. Unlike normal broadband, which travels on fibre optic cables to local cabinets and then completes its journey to your property via copper cables, full fibre is uninterrupted for its entire connection. This makes full fibre very fast and very reliable.
🏠 How does fibre broadband get to your house?
Full fibre is slowly being rolled out across the UK. In order for full fibre to reach your premises, you’ll need to wait for fibre optic cables to be installed from your local cabinet to your home. This should happen in most areas by the end of 2025.
💰 How much does BT full fibre cost?
BT full fibre deals start from £29.99 per month for Full Fibre 100 and go up to £60 per month for Full Fibre 900.
🙋♂️Is BT full fibre unlimited?
BT full fibre broadband packages offer unlimited broadband. This means you’ll be able to stream, game, shop and socialise as much as you want to.
Updated on 3 Nov, 2022
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