by Steve Tattersall, Broadband Technology Writer, last updated 09 November 2023

Welcome to our guide to fibre optic broadband in the UK. Here you can find out what fibre optic broadband is all about, check whether superfast or ultrafast broadband is available in your area and compare the best broadband deals from the likes of Virgin Media, BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Plusnet.

In this guide: 1. What Is Fibre Optic Broadband? 2. How Does Fibre Broadband Work? 3. Types Of Fibre Broadband & UK Coverage 4. Which Suppliers Offer Fibre Optic Broadband? 5. What Type Of Fibre Broadband Is Available In My Area? 6. Compare The Best Fibre Optic Broadband Deals

1. What Is Fibre Optic Broadband?

Fibre optic broadband is an new type of cable broadband that runs underground as opposed to traditional ADSL broadband that runs from the telephone exchange to the steet-level cabinet and on to your home over ageing and degrading copper telephone wires. Fibre optic broadband is much faster than ADSL broadband and can offer broadband speeds averaging one gigabit per second (1Gbps or 1,000Mbps) in some areas - Making it the best option to satisfy our increasing demands for fast wireless broadband, online gaming, social networking and Internet TV like Netflix and the BBC iPlayer.

2. How Does Fibre Broadband Work?

Unlike copper telephone wires, fibre optic broadband uses underground cables made up of inner glass or plastic that carry light signals. Using these materials as opposed to copper wire means less broadband speed is lost over long distances as information is sent and retrieved at the speed of light. This means super-fast broadband speeds can still be achieved in houses that are further away from their telephone exchange.

3. Types Of Fibre Broadband & UK Coverage

Superfast Broadband

With average speeds of at least 30Mbps (rising to a maximum of 67Mbps), Superfast Broadband uses fibre optic or coaxial cable to the street-level cabinet and then the existing copper wire cable to the home. This is known as Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) or DOCSIS cable and is available to 97% of UK premises. That's about 27.8 million UK homes and businesses.

Ultrafast Broadband

Telecoms industry regulator Ofcom defines Ultrafast Broadband as offering download speeds of at least 300Mbps. It is available to 57% of UK homes, which is around 16.6 million. Virgin Media, with its Hybrid Fibre DOCSIS cable network, is the most widely available Ultrafast Broadband covering around 53% of UK homes (16.1 million) with top speeds averaging 1,130Mbps.

Openreach, part of the BT Group uses a combination of Gfast technology and Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) to boost average broadband speeds through the copper telephone wires to speeds up to 314Mbps. They do this by installing a special pod on the side of the street-level cabinet. Around 10% of UK homes (2.8 million) can access ultrafast broadband from Openreach via the likes of BT, Sky and TalkTalk. Roll out has slowed though as greater emphasis is now placed on the delivery of Full Fibre Broadband networks as described below.

Full Fibre Broadband

Full Fibre (also known as Fibre To The Premises or FTTP) uses fibre optic cables all the way from the telephone exchange to the home. No copper cable wire is used. A range of infrastructure providers are building full fibre, gigabit capable, networks in the UK including Openreach (used by the likes of BT, Vodafone, Sky, TalkTalk & Plusnet), Virgin Media, CityFibre (used by the likes of Vodafone, TalkTalk, Zen & Giganet), nexfibre, Hyperoptic, KCOM, Community Fibre and Gigaclear.

Openreach Full Fibre Coverage

The Openreach Full Fibre network has reached over 12 million UK premises (with plans for 25 million by 2026, see the FTTP rollout map) and can deliver average speeds of one gigabit per second (1Gbps or 1,000Mbps) with potential speeds of 1,000 gigabits per second (1 terrabit) possible in the future. Openreach claims it is upgrading premises at a rate of one every 23 seconds.

Virgin Media Gigabit Cable Coverage & Upgrade To FTTP

Virgin Media's Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFX) cable network with DOCSIS 3.1 technology is available to 16.1 million UK premises and has top average speeds of 1Gbps (known as Gig1 Fibre). Virgin Media are now upgrading this network to XGS powered FTTP broadband, which will improve network capacity, reduce latency and provide asymmetrical speeds. This is expected to be completed by the end of 2028. Read more about this in our Virgin Media 1Gbps speed upgrade article here.

CityFibre FTTP Full Fibre Coverage

The CityFibre full fibre to the premise (FTTP) network is being rolled out across the UK, with around 3 million UK premises now covered by CityFibre's gigabit capable network. CityFibre is on track to reach 8 million UK homes by 2026.

nexfibre FTTP Coverage

The parent company's of Virgin Media O2, Liberty Global and Telefonica, plus InfraVia Capital Partners, are building a separate 10Gbps XGS powered FTTP broadband network under the 'nexfibre' brand. This currently covers 500,000 UK homes and plans to rollout to 5 million UK homes by 2026. These are in areas not currently covered by Virgin Media's existing network. By the end of 2028, the combined networks of Virgin Media O2 and nexfibre are forecast to reach 28 million UK homes (80% of UK premises) and may be available for other ISP's to use - with Virgin Media O2 being the anchor tenant.

Current UK Full Fibre Broadband Coverage Statistics

According to Ofcom's annual Connected Nations Report (published in September 2023 using data up to May 2023), gigabit capable broadband (which includes Virgin Media cable and all full fibre providers) is available to just over 75% of UK properties, which equates to around 22.5 million homes. Excluding Virgin Media cable, full fibre broadband is available to 52% of UK homes, which is around 15.4 million premises. As at October 2023, full fibre coverage is predicted to have reached 57% of UK homes. Ofcom forecasts that by May 2026, 91% of UK homes (around 27 million) could have access to full fibre broadband.

4. Which Suppliers Offer Fibre Optic Broadband?

Virgin Media's top tier gigabit fibre broadband package with average broadband speeds of 1,130Mbps is available to around 16.1 million homes in the UK (53% of all UK homes), with prices starting from £45 a month. BT Fibre packages with average download speeds ranging from 36Mbps to 67Mbps are available via the Openreach FTTC network to 97% of UK homes (27.8 million UK homes). Openreach's FTTC fibre network is also used by TalkTalk , Sky and Plusnet for their fibre optic broadband services. As mentioned earlier, speeds up to 314Mbps using FTTC and Gfast technology have been rolled out by Openreach and are available to around 2.8 million UK homes via the likes of BT, Sky and TalkTalk .

BT's full fibre 900 package with average speeds of 900Mbps (using the Openreach full fibre network) is available to around 12 million UK homes and costs £49.99 a month (with the first 3 months currently FREE in BT's Black Friday sale). Similar full fibre offerings are available from Sky with Sky Gigafast at £48 a month, TalkTalk with TalkTalk Full Fibre FTTP 1 Giga for £45 per month, Plusnet Full Fibre 900 (£41.99 a month) and Vodafone Gigafast (£46 per month).

5. What Type Of Fibre Broadband Is Available In My Area?

You can check whether your home can get superfast or ultrafast fibre optic broadband from the suppliers listed above by entering your postcode on our fibre broadband checker. Full Fibre, gigabit capable broadband availabilty can be checked on the Virgin Media and Vodafone websites respectively, while further information on BT Full Fibre availability can be found on our BT Fibre Checker service page.

6. Compare The Best Fibre Optic Broadband Deals

Provider	Package Details	Average speed*	Download Limit	Contract Period	Costs	More Info
Average speed*: 50Mb, Download limit: Unlimited, £0 setup, 1st year cost £296.91, £0* per month	BT Fibre 1 Broadband *For 3 months, £32.99p/m after. No landline phone service included (can be added if required). Annual price increase applies	50Mb	Unlimited	24 months	Monthly cost £0.00* 1st year cost: £296.91 £0.00 setup	Add Flexible BT TV Packs From £1p/m Find out more at BT 3 Months FREE + No Upfront Costs + £50 BT Reward Card + Norton Security + Speed Guarantee
Average speed*: 66Mb, Download limit: Unlimited, £0 setup, 1st year cost £299.88, £24.99*	Plusnet Fibre Broadband Only * For 24 months. No voice service. No line rental to pay. Annual price increase applies	66Mb	Unlimited	24 months	Monthly cost £24.99* 1st year cost: £299.88 £0.00 setup	Online Security & Parental Controls Included Limited availability - Check your area at Plusnet No Activation Fee To Pay + Hub 2 Wi-Fi Router
Average speed*: 61Mb, Download limit: Unlimited, £0 setup, 1st year cost £300, £25* per month	Sky Broadband Superfast + Unlimited Sky Wi-Fi + Sky Talk Pay As You Go Calls To UK Landlines & Mobiles * For 18 months. Includes Sky phone line rental	61Mb	Unlimited	18 months	Monthly cost £25.00* 1st year cost: £300.00 £0.00 setup	Sky Q Hub Router Find out more at Sky Includes Sky Wall To Wall Wi-Fi Guarantee
Average speed*: 67Mb, Download limit: Unlimited, £0 setup, 1st year cost £323.91, £0*	BT Fibre 2 Broadband *For 3 months, £35.99p/m after. No landline phone service included (can be added if required). Annual price increase applies	67Mb	Unlimited	24 months	Monthly cost £0.00* 1st year cost: £323.91 £0.00 setup	Unrivalled Security Find out more at BT 3 Months FREE + No Upfront Cost + £50 BT Reward Card + Norton Security + Speed Guarantee
Average speed*: 38Mb, Download limit: Unlimited, £15 setup, 1st year cost £351, £28 per month*	TalkTalk Fibre 35 Broadband *For 18 months. Includes TalkTalk monthly phone line rental cost. Pricing may change	38Mb	Unlimited	18 months	Monthly cost £28.00* 1st year cost: £351.00 £15.00 setup	Industry Leading Security & Privacy Features Find out more at TalkTalk 30 Day Great Connection Guarantee + NEW Wi-Fi Hub
Average speed*: 67Mb, Download limit: Unlimited, £15 setup, 1st year cost £374.40, £29.95 per month*	TalkTalk Fibre 65 Broadband *For 18 months. Includes TalkTalk monthly phone line rental cost. Pricing may change	67Mb	Unlimited	18 months	Monthly cost £29.95* 1st year cost: £374.40 £15.00 setup	Industry Leading Security & Privacy Features Find out more at TalkTalk 30 Day Great Connection Guarantee + NEW Wi-Fi Hub
Average speed*: 132Mb, Download limit: Unlimited, £9.99 setup, 1st year cost £417.99, £34*	Virgin Media M125Mb Fibre Broadband + Weekend Calls To UK Landlines, Mobiles, 0845 & 0870 Numbers * For 18 months. Includes Virgin Media phone line rental	132Mb	Unlimited	18 months	Monthly cost £34.00* 1st year cost: £417.99 £9.99 setup	14-Day Money Back Guarantee Find out more at Virgin Media Reduced Setup Fee (Save £25) + Intelligent Wi-Fi To Automatically Sort WiFi Issues
Average speed*: 264Mb, Download limit: Unlimited, £9.99 setup, 1st year cost £489.99, £40* per month	Virgin Media M250 Fibre Broadband + Weekend Calls To UK Landlines, Mobiles, 0845 & 0870 Numbers * For 18 months. Includes Virgin Media phone line rental	264Mb	Unlimited	12 months	Monthly cost £40.00* 1st year cost: £489.99 £9.99 setup	14-Day Money Back Guarantee Find out more at Virgin Media Reduced Setup Fee (Save £25) + Intelligent Wi-Fi To Automatically Sort WiFi Issues
Average speed*: 516Mb, Download limit: Unlimited, £9.99 setup, 1st year cost £633.99, £52* per month	Virgin Media M500 Broadband + Weekend Calls To UK Landlines, Mobiles, 0845 & 0870 Numbers * For 18 months. Includes Virgin Media phone line rental	516Mb	Unlimited	18 months	Monthly cost £52.00* 1st year cost: £633.99 £9.99 setup	14-Day Money Back Guarantee Find out more at Virgin Media Reduced Setup Fee (Save £25) + Intelligent Wi-Fi To Automatically Sort WiFi Issues

About The Author, Steve Tattersall

Steve Tattersall is a broadband technology writer with 20 years experience within the Internet industry. Based in Hampshire, England, he founded the BBC recognised broadband information site, BroadbandInternetUk.com, in 2004 and is currently the Director Of Marketing & Operations. During this time he has helped thousands of people across the UK with their Internet requirements by compiling a comprehensive range of broadband information, comparison tools and guides, all delivered on BroadbandInternetUk.com. A graduate of Buckinghamshire New University (Brunel Business School) with a first class honours degree in Business, Steve has first hand experience of working for a broadband provider, having had a previous career at the broadband supplier NTL. Following its merger with rival Telewest, NTL is now known as Virgin Media, one of the UK's leading broadband, phone & TV providers. If you would like to contact Steve, please visit the contact us page or follow him on Twitter. You can also find out more about BroadbandInternetUk.com on our about us page.

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