Fibre broadband deals 2024

Compare fibre broadband deals this March
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    What is fibre broadband? Put simply, it’s the latest technology in connecting you to the internet, providing faster broadband speeds and a more reliable connection. Read on to find out everything you need to know about superfast fibre-optic broadband, including how it works, the different types of fibre internet and who to buy from.

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    Last updated: 21 March, 2024 | Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes

    What is fibre-optic broadband?

    Fibre broadband refers to an internet connection delivered by fibre-optic cables, which can send data at faster speeds and more reliably than older types of broadband. Fibre-optic cables contain glass fibres through which data is transmitted in the form of light. As well as being quicker, the fact that fibre cables are not metallic means that they’re not susceptible to interference due to bad weather, and since they don’t carry a current it makes them safer than electrical cables.

    What is the difference between standard broadband (ADSL) and fibre?

    Fibre broadband differs from ADSL broadband, also called standard broadband, in the type of cable used to transmit data to the router in your home. ADSL broadband is usually cheaper broadband and uses copper phone cables to provide an internet connection, which allow for download speeds of up to 11Mbps, but they can suffer from interference in bad weather and are slower over long distances. Fibre-optic cables, on the other hand, travel literally at the speed of light and are not affected by weather conditions.

    It’s important to note, however, that there are two types of fibre broadband connection:

    Fibre-to-the-cabinet

    Fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband is a type of internet connection which uses a combination of fibre-optic cables and copper-based cables to carry data to your home. Fibre cables carry data from the exchange to the nearest green cabinet and a copper phone line takes it the rest of the way, meaning you usually need to pay line rental. This is the most common type of fibre-broadband connection and, according to Thinkbroadband, is available to almost 97% of UK households.

    The average download speeds available with FTTC connections vary between 30-80Mbps but are, as you might expect, slowed down significantly in the ‘last mile’. How fast this type of connection is will depend on how close you are to the nearest cabinet, but providers are usually able to guarantee average download speeds of 30Mbps.

    Fibre-to-the-premises

    Fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), also called full-fibre broadband, is a type of internet connection which uses fibre-optic cables all the way from the exchange to your home. It is the fastest, most reliable connection available, offering average speeds of up to 1Gbps. According to Thinkbroadband, it is available to about 30% of UK households.

    Most of us don’t need download speeds of 1Gbps, though we would all be pleased to say goodbye to buffering forever, and ultrafast or hyperfast fibre broadband deals are available at a lower cost than full-fibre. The biggest advantage that an FTTP connection offers is that it provides a connection that doesn’t drop or cut out, which is ideal for those who work from home.

    New customers can get Full Fibre internet with Plusnet Broadband from £27.99 a month if they sign up before the 20th of March. The following deals are on special offer:

    • Full Fibre 145
    • Full Fibre 500
    • Full Fibre 900
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    Fibre broadband deals 2024

    Compare fibre broadband deals this March

    Fibre broadband speeds explained

    Broadband providers often try to simplify their offer by using trendy words to distinguish between their packages. More often than not, this actually causes more confusion for the customer, so here are some buzzwords to look out for and what they mean:

    Term Meaning Usage
    Superfast FTTC connection with average speeds between 30-100Mbps Small households, streaming on one or two devices, general browsing with no lag
    Ultrafast FTTC or FTTP connection with average speeds between 100-300Mbps Larger households, streaming on multiple devices at once, working from home
    Hyperfast FTTP connection with average speeds between 300-500Mbps Large households streaming on multiple devices and in 4K Ultra HD, online gaming, working from home
    Gigabit FTTP connection with average speeds close to 1Gbps, often only 800-900Mbps Large households streaming in 4K Ultra HD, online gaming with multiple users, also suitable for businesses with multiple employees connected

    It’s also important to be aware that the broadband speeds advertised by providers are based on an ethernet connection, so you may actually be getting slightly slower speeds if you connect your devices to your router via WiFi. A WiFi connection is slower than connecting via an ethernet cable and is more susceptible to interference – many users have problems connecting via WiFi if the router is on the other side of a stone wall, for example.

    To check the broadband speeds available in your area generally, Ofcom has a checker that will let you know the maximum speeds available in your postcode.

    Is it worth getting fibre broadband?

    If it’s available to you, we would definitely recommend considering a fibre broadband deal. Superfast broadband, with average speeds of 30Mbps, is no longer much more expensive than standard broadband; so, even if you don’t stream videos or have particularly heavy internet usage, it makes sense to go with fibre in order to eliminate the frustration of a slow and unstable connection when you do use it.

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    Fibre broadband deals are now available to almost 97 per cent of UK households via the Openreach network. You can check if it’s available in your area by using a postcode checker.

    Fibre broadband providers

    FTTC providers

    Nowadays, the vast majority of broadband providers offer FTTC connections, usually referring to them as their ‘superfast’ package. Here’s a list of ISPs with widely available fibre-broadband deals:

    There are about 500 ISPs operating in the UK at the moment, and the vast majority of them now have a fibre-broadband offer. We have included the best-known providers and those with widely available broadband deals, so at least one of these should have a fibre deal that’s available to you if you live in an area with the infrastructure to support it.

    Most of the above providers offer two superfast fibre broadband packages – one with an average download speed of 35Mbps, and another with an average download speed of 67Mbps. You will need to pay for line rental in order to get connected to fibre, but you won’t necessarily need to have a landline. Some broadband providers also offer fibre broadband and tv deals.

    FTTP providers

    FTTP or full-fibre broadband has significantly less availability than FTTC broadband, and there are less providers able to offer it, particularly outside of the UK’s largest cities. Here’s a list of ISPs with a full-fibre offer:

    • BT Broadband
    • Sky
    • Virgin Media
    • Vodafone
    • TalkTalk
    • EE
    • Shell Energy
    • Hyperoptic
    • Gigaclear
    • Community Fibre

    In this list, you’ll notice the presence of a few less well-known providers. These are providers that specialise in FTTP broadband and operate mainly in large cities. If you live outside of London, you’re not likely to be able to sign up for a deal with Hyperoptic, for example, but you may have more luck with Virgin Media or BT.

    You’ll also notice that affordable providers such as Plusnet are not on this list – this is because they don’t currently offer full-fibre, though they’re planning to upgrade their offer in the near future. The cheapest offers on this list are, in fact, usually from specialist ISPs such as Hyperoptic and Community Fibre. If you’re looking to bundle your internet with other services such as TV and mobile, however, you’ll have to look for a deal with Virgin Media, Sky or BT. If you’re looking for fibre without line rental, Virgin Media is the only major ISP able to do this.

    To find out if a provider offers full-fibre broadband in your area, use a postcode checker.

    Frequently asked questions

    ‘Fibre’ in broadband refers to the glass fibres inside the fibre-optic cables that are now used to transmit data and connect you to the internet. Data is beamed through these cables in the form of light, allowing for a transfer up to a hundred times faster than standard ADSL broadband, which uses copper cables.

    Full-fibre broadband, also known as fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband, is a connection where fibre-optic cables are laid all the way from the exchange to your home. It is the fastest type of internet connection available, and is distinguished from fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband in that the latter uses a mixture of fibre-optic cables and copper cables, which slows down the connection and makes it more susceptible to interference due to bad weather and long distances.

    Fibre broadband deals are now available to almost 97% of UK households via the Openreach network, but you can check if it’s available in your area by using a postcode checker. Most providers have a checker on their website, but we recommend using a comparison tool to find a range of broadband deals from different providers so that you can compare prices across all the deals that are available to you. Ofcom also offers an impartial availability checker on its website.

    Fibre broadband refers to the cables used to carry data to your router. Once it reaches your router, you can use WiFi to connect your device to the internet, which is wireless. Fibre broadband in itself is not wireless, however, as it uses fibre-optic cables to carry data to your home and get you connected. This is why superfast internet usually comes with line rental.

    Usually, yes. Most fibre broadband connections only use fibre-optic cables as far as the green cabinet on your street, after which a copper phone cable is laid the rest of the way to your home – known as the ‘last mile’. This is why superfast broadband will almost always come with line rental, the exception being Virgin Media, which has its own network that doesn’t use phone lines. This is true of FTTC connections, which make up the vast majority of fibre connections for now, but not of FTTP connections, which use fibre-optic cables all the way from the exchange to your home.