Set on a fibre broadband package, but unsure what’s available where you live? Here’s everything you need to know
Not to be confused with ultrafast broadband(full fibre, or FTTP), fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) – also known as superfast – broadband, is available across most of the country.
Average standard fibre broadband speeds are generally around 67Mbps, which is plenty fast enough for most households in the UK.
Question is, is it available where you live?
Let’s take a look…
Fibre broadband checker
First off, the best and easiest way to find out if fibre optic broadband is available in your area is to pop your postcode into our postcode checker.
We’ll show you what’s available and also let you filter for things such as download speed and contract length to get the best deal for you.
Compare broadband deals in your area
Which providers offer fibre broadband?
Nearly every well-known provider in the UK offers fibre optic broadband, including BT, Virgin Media, Sky and Plusnet.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the FTTC and FTTP (full fibre) download speeds and packages you can get from each broadband provider at the time of writing (September 2024):
Broadband provider | Average speed of top package |
|---|---|
BT | 900Mbps |
Virgin Media | 1,130Mbps (1.13Gbps) |
Sky | 900Mbps |
TalkTalk | 944Mbps |
Plusnet | 900Mbps |
EE | 1,600Mbps (1.6Gbps) |
Vodafone | 2,200Mbps (2.2Gbps) |
Gigaclear | 900Mbps |
NOW Broadband | 300Mbps |
All come with a router included, and many let you add on a phone line too.
What if you can’t get fibre broadband?
Can't get fibre in your area? Not to worry. Standard, ADSL broadband connections are much more common, cheaper, and come with unlimited downloads to boot.
Downside is, it's slower, with average speeds of around 10-11Mbps. That said, those speeds are typically more than enough for most low-occupancy households. You may struggle if you live in shared accommodation with multiple occupants or in a large family home, though.
In these instances, mobile broadband is well worth a look. Speeds match what you’d get with fibre and, unlike standard broadband packages, there’s no wires to contend with either. Bear in mind if you go down this route latency may be a problem. And most mobile internet packages also have restrictive download limits too.
There's also a chance you can get much faster full fibre (FTTP) broadband, possibly from an independent fibre network - i.e. not Openreach.
All that said, if you’re absolutely set on fibre broadband, you can always contact Openreach or Virgin Media to register your interest. And if your neighbours do the same, there’s more chance of fibre optic cables getting installed quicker.
Ready to compare? Discover our best broadband deals.
Our expert says...
"Really think about how much internet data you and your family use when choosing a fibre package (assuming you live in an area which can get one). Check your bill information, it should tell you how much you’ve been using monthly.
"With that, you can see exactly how much you use, and so can pick the cheapest package that works for you, without any unnecessary guesswork. - Charlotte Burns, personal finance expert." - Charlotte Burns personal finance expert
