Living in Scotland and wondering what your broadband options are? Our page goes through the top providers in the country, the types of broadband packages you can get, and how to find a good deal.
Broadband deals in Scotland
Like the rest of the UK, broadband deals in Scotland largely depend on your location.
Those living in urban areas, such as Edinburgh or Glasgow, will be able to enjoy great coverage from a range of providers. Not to mention, you’ll have the top pick of speeds, whether that’s an entry-level fibre deal or the speediest gigabit broadband on the market.
On the flip side, your options are likely to be more limited if you’re living rurally. Still, you should be able to easily get standard ADSL and fast fibre broadband.
Not to mention, Openreach has been rolling out its FTTP network across the country. According to Ofcom's 2022 Connected Nations report, 41% of Scottish households now have access to full fibre broadband.
Scotland internet providers
Plenty of household-name providers operate in Scotland, including:
There are also several smaller independent companies, such as GoFibre, which specialise in providing full fibre broadband to Scottish homes.
Which is the best internet provider in Scotland?
It’s difficult to definitively name the “best” internet provider in Scotland, as that largely depends on what you need and what you can get at your address.
That said, the fastest broadband in Scotland is supplied by Virgin Media. If Virgin Media isn’t available in your area, you’ll likely be able to get fibre broadband with any provider that uses BT’s Openreach network. This includes the likes of Sky, EE, Plusnet, TalkTalk, Vodafone, NOW, and – of course – BT.
What types of broadband can I get in Scotland?
You can get several types of broadband in Scotland, although your options depend on where you live.
All homes should be able to get standard ADSL broadband, which is the most common and basic type of broadband connection. It uses your copper phone wires to deliver internet to your home, with speeds averaging around 10-11Mbps.
If you can get fibre optic broadband, we’d recommend that instead. It’s much faster and more reliable than ADSL, as it uses fibre cables to deliver your home internet connection. Luckily, most areas have access to some form of fibre broadband – there are two types:
- Fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) – this uses fibre cables to connect the exchange to the nearest street cabinet to your home, before using copper phone wires between the cabinet and your home. Speeds are usually anywhere between 36-68Mpbs
- Fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) – this uses fibre cables all the way between the exchange to your home, resulting in a quicker, more stable connection. Speeds usually range from 100Mbps all the way to 1,000Mbps (1Gbps) and above
FTTC broadband is a lot more common than FTTP, although networks are continuing to roll out their full fibre infrastructure across Scotland. For more on the differences between the two, visit our page on FTTP and FTTC broadband.
Finally, there’s also cable broadband, which uses both fibre optic and coaxial cables to provide ultrafast gigabit broadband. Currently, only Virgin Media operates a cable network – as a result, it’s able to provide the fastest broadband on the market, up to 1,130Mbps.
Getting fibre broadband in Scotland?
In general, most homes in Scotland will have access to fibre optic broadband. Ofcom's 2022 report found that there was wide coverage of superfast broadband across the country, with 94% of Scottish homes able to access speeds of 30Mbps.
Urban dwellers are the most spoilt for choice – it’s highly likely that you’ll be able to get both FTTC and FTTP broadband from any Openreach provider, as well as Virgin Media’s ultrafast cable broadband.
Meanwhile, those living rurally might only have access to FTTC broadband at the moment. And the most remote areas – for example, the Highlands – might only have the option of ADSL broadband. Networks are continuing to expand their fibre networks to these rural regions, though.
How to compare deals for my postcode
Wondering what broadband deals are available at in your area? You can use our quick and easy postcode checker. Just enter your postcode, and you’ll be able to see all the deals from providers we work with you can get at your address.
What broadband speed can I expect in Scotland?
Again, that depends on where you live, as well as the speed that suits your needs best.
Wondering what speed you’re currently getting? Use our broadband speed test to see your home broadband speed – that way, you can check if you’re getting the advertised speeds, and decide whether you need a faster broadband package.
