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, fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) – also known as superfast – broadband, is available across most of the country.
Average 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 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 speeds and packages you can get from each provider at the time of writing:
| Provider | Speed |
| BT | Average of 67Mbps with Superfast Fibre 2 |
| Virgin Media | Average of 362Mbps with M350 |
| Sky | Average of 59Mbps with Superfast |
| TalkTalk | Average of 67Mbps with Superfast Fibre |
| Plusnet | Average of 66Mbps with Unlimited Fibre Extra |
| EE | Average of 67Mbps with Fibre Plus Broadband |
| SSE Broadband | Average of 63Mbps with Unlimited Fibre Plus |
| John Lewis | Average of 66Mbps with Fibre Extra |
| Vodafone Broadband | Average of 63Mbps with Superfast 2 |
| Gigaclear | Average of 300Mbps with Ultrafast 300 |
| Now Broadband | Average of 63Mbps with Super Fibre |
| Shell Energy | Average of 63Mbps with Superfast Fibre Plus |
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 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, though, if you go down this route latency may be a problem. And most mobile internet packages also have restrictive download limits too.
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 neighbors do the same, there’s more chance of fibre optic cables to be installed quicker.