Find and compare the different fibre broadband deals to help you get the best internet service.
Are you interested in learning more about the benefits of fibre-optic broadband and finding the best fibre broadband deals? At Switch My Broadband, you can compare different broadband packages to find the right one for you in 2023.
Use the information above to find out about the latest deals, or keep reading to learn more about fibre-optic broadband.
Fibre broadband is a type of high-speed broadband that uses technology different from the standard ADSL to provide these speeds.
Instead of using a copper wire to connect the broadband, fibre broadband uses fibre optic cables. These cables contain strands of glass fibres within an insulated casing and are much better at transferring data at higher speeds.
Fibre broadband is also more reliable than other types, meaning you’re less likely to experience dropouts and slowdowns, helping you access the internet without any issues or restrictions.
Fibre broadband is one of the three types of broadband you can get in the UK. The other options are ADSL, the slowest and cheapest you can get, and cable, which can be even faster than fibre broadband.
Cable uses a coaxial cable infrastructure that belongs to Virgin Media and is currently not widely available in the UK, meaning that if you’re looking for fast speeds, fibre broadband remains the most popular choice.
The speeds you can get with fibre broadband will vary massively, and each provider will offer different broadband packages with different minimum speeds.
Some providers can obtain broadband speeds of 300Mbps, whereas the minimum you can get with fibre broadband is 30Mbps.
These speeds are more than capable of providing a fast, responsive internet connection in most situations, making fibre a great option if you’re an above-average internet user and need reliable speeds.
The speeds that you can get with fibre broadband will depend on a few factors. The major one is the type of connection that you have. Fibre broadband can be delivered as either FTTP or FTTC, and one type is a bit slower than the other.
Other things that can affect the speed of fibre broadband are your home’s internal wiring, the number of people using your broadband network, and the time of day you’re using the internet.
If you want to maximise your broadband speeds, be sure to place your broadband router in the room where most of your online devices are and try to limit the number of people using it at once.
However, with that said, if you have fibre broadband over 100Mbps, it should be able to handle multiple simultaneous users without much issue.
Fibre broadband is becoming much more available in the UK; however, not every household can get it. The reasons for this can be varied, and it depends on your specific location, the infrastructure within your home, and how far away it is from your street’s cable box.
When households get broadband, a wire is fed from a street cabinet to your property. Although fibre optic broadband uses its own, much faster cables within its own equipment, these outer wires are still mostly made out of copper.
The longer a copper wire is, the slower the transfer of data. This means that if your broadband wire is too long, you won’t be able to get guaranteed fibre broadband speeds.
The opposite situation can also occur. If fibre broadband is prevalent in your area, there is a chance that there’s no space in your street cabinet to provide a new connection to your home.
If you live in a remote area or near hilly or rugged terrain to traverse, then you’re also more likely unable to access fibre broadband. Make sure to check what’s available in your area before you buy a broadband package to ensure that you get something that suits you.
Fibre broadband can help make your internet usage more seamless and faster; however, depending on your usage, it may not be necessary.
With an ADSL connection that utilises copper wiring, you can get broadband speeds of around 10Mbps. This is slow compared to the lightning-fast speeds that the top fibre connections can obtain, but it should still be good enough if you’re a light internet user and only perform simple tasks like sending emails and browsing the web.
If you’re an individual living in a single household alone, 10Mbps may also be okay if you want to stream video. However, you won’t be able to obtain the highest quality resolutions.
For more substantial internet users, such as those who stream in 4K or households with multiple users who need access to the internet simultaneously, you will need fibre broadband to ensure that there are no buffering or slowdowns.
Thankfully, if you can get fibre in your location, it’s not too expensive if you’re getting slower fibre speeds. Fibre broadband deals that offer around 60Mbps can cost between £20-£30 a month depending on the provider, making it an affordable option for most.
When selecting a fibre broadband package, ensure you get one that offers average speeds matching your usage. A single user streaming high-quality video will likely need 30Mbps, a family of users may need around 60Mbps, and those who stream 4K games with others or need broadband for business will likely need speeds over 100Mbps.
Don’t try to save money by getting a slower speed than you need, as this can lead to frustration and poor quality service that you can’t use properly, resulting in your broadband being a waste of money.
There are two types of fibre broadband connections that you can get with fibre broadband deals. This is either an FTTC connection, which stands for fibre to the cabinet or an FTTC connection, which stands for fibre to the property.
Both of these connections are slightly different in how they work and, because of this, offer different speeds and reliability.
Fibre optic connections are transmitted throughout the country by wires that contain glass fragments. By being made out of glass, instead of an electric current to transfer data, light can instead be used, which is much faster.
These fibre cables are connected to cabinets. These are the typically green boxes that can be found on the streets, and the internet is transferred to your home from these cabinets.
With FTTC fibre broadband, it means that the fibre cables that are transporting data and your broadband connection only go as far as these cabinets. For the connection between the cabinets and your home, copper wire is used instead. These copper wires slow down the top speeds of your broadband significantly, which is why FTTC connections are much slower than the alternative.
FTTP connections (also known as FTTH, standing for fibre to the home) are a much faster type of fibre broadband connection.
Instead of having the fibre cables stop at the cabinet, an FTTP connection has this unique type of wiring continue the distance all the way to your home. The result of this is that the speeds that can be obtained are much faster.
This makes FTTP the much better option and is a type of connection used in the best fibre broadband packages. The catch is that FTTP is a bit more expensive and may not be as widely available as FTTC connections, which in turn use Openreach technology and can be accessed by a much larger pool of properties.
Currently, 1 out of 4 homes in the UK can get this complete fibre optic package, meaning that it is a limited option for many and that it’s best to check if you can get it in your area before considering it.
All of the top broadband providers in the UK offer some sort of fibre broadband, be it Full Fibre that uses FTTP connections or slower varieties that utilise FTTC.
In terms of figuring out the best fibre broadband packages, it is all relative to your personal needs. Although some are faster than others, your usage requirements and the total cost of the fibre broadband deals that each provider offers will dictate which one is best for you.
You should also consider the length of contracts, the bundles available, and even customer service reviews to help you find the best provider.
With that said, here’s some brief information about each provider’s fibre broadband offers so that you can make a more informed choice about which one you want to get.
BT Broadband owns the Openreach telecom network that most FTTC Fibre broadband connections use. BT fibre is widely available in the UK, and you’re able to get speeds of up to 80Mbps on their slower connections.
As well as offering FTTC fibre broadband, BT’s best fibre broadband packages include Full Fibre. This is a type of FTTP connection that wires fibre optic cables directly to your home.
With this Full Fibre package, you can get speeds of up to 900Mbps, which is perfect if you’re streaming their sports packages in 4K or have important online work meetings.
Their Full Fibre service can connect to 100 devices, meaning that if you’re a household that’s about to embrace smart appliances such as video doorbells and smart speakers, it’ll be able to handle all of those devices with no problem.
You can find out more about BT Broadband here.
Sky isn’t the fastest Fibre broadband provider available. However, what makes them an interesting option is that many of their fibre broadband deals include access to Sky TV, which can make it a very high-value option.
Sky offers two fibre broadband packages, Superfast 35, which can get you speeds of 36Mbps, and Ultrafast, which can get you speeds of around 145Mbps.
Although slower than what you can get with BT, Sky does offer a Speed Guarantee, which is where you’ll get money back if your speeds drop below your expected average for consecutive days.
Sky broadband is a bit expensive for the speeds you can obtain, especially as there are faster options for less. Despite that, Sky does offer the best fibre broadband packages for those wanting access to amazing digital TV, so it’s checking out what you can get with Sky Broadband.
TalkTalk offers unlimited fibre broadband. This means that there are no maximise usage limits, allowing you to stream and game as much as you want.
TalkTalk has a lot of fibre options, making them a good choice if you want to find fibre broadband deals that match your usage requirements.
You can get speeds as low as 38Mbps on their Fibre 35 plan or get speeds of 506Mbps with their Full Fibre Fibre 500 plan. There are also various tiers in between, allowing you to choose a tailored package that’s best for your circumstances.
Their fibre broadband prices can fluctuate a lot, with their slower broadband starting at £24 a month, while their faster, Full Fibre Packages cost nearly £50 a month.
Switch My Broadband compares many packages from TalkTalk, so you can find out more about what you can get with TalkTalk here.
EE is a part of the same company that owns BT, meaning that their fibre broadband is delivered in exactly the same way. What makes EE Broadband stand out is that they are predominantly a mobile network. This means that if you’re looking for a fibre broadband and mobile package, EE could be one of the best options as they provide a great mobile network service.
If you’re already a mobile customer with EE, then you can expect to get discounts and extra perks when getting their fibre broadband.
You can get various speeds with EE Broadband, although their prices are a little bit higher than others.
A Fibre Broadband package can cost around £27 to £31 a month, depending on your location, which gives you speeds of around 36Mbps on average.
If it’s available in your location, you can get their Full Fibre Max Gigabit package that offers speeds of around 900Mbps. This costs £54 a month and is perfect for households that have multiple devices that need fast broadband.
You can learn more about EE Broadband and compare their deals here on Switch My Broadband.
Now Broadband offer competitive fibre packages that are well priced and that also give you speeds that are suitable for a household of heavy users.
In addition to their ADSL broadband, you can get two fibre packages with Now, their Fab Fibre or their Super Fibre.
On their Fab Fibre plan, you can have an average download speed of 36Mbps, which is a bit slow compared to other types of fibre but can still perform well and is currently at a good price of £22. With this package, you can also get unlimited downloads, and there’s also no activation fee, which is consistent with all Now Broadband products.
However, Now’s best fibre broadband package is their Super Fibre option. This gives you speeds of 63Mbps, which is sustainably quicker, and it also has unlimited downloads. Now are currently offering this package at the same price as their Fab Fibre, making it an excellent value for money option.
Now also offers these packages on very short contracts when compared to other providers, making them a great option for those that like to switch broadband regularly to find the lowest prices.
You can browse all Now’s Broadband packages here on Switch My Broadband.
Plusnet has a reputation for offering some of the cheapest yet also some of the slowest broadband, so many may be surprised that they offer fibre broadband plans.
In fact, Plusnet can get you speeds of up to 66Mbps, which isn’t as fast as the likes of BT and other providers, but it’s still perfect for those in households who require good download speeds.
Plusnet’s packages offer unlimited downloads, so there’s no cap on what you can use your broadband for, and they also have no activation fees too.
Plusnet is also a great fibre broadband provider because you can regularly get gift cards from them, which can sweeten the deal and make your packages even higher value.
Find out more about what you can get with Plusnet here.
Virgin only offers Fibre Broadband, meaning that no matter what package you get with them, you’ll always have some pretty fast speeds.
Virgin offer some of the best fibre broadband packages out of all the provers, as their biggest fibre packages can get you speeds well over 500Mbps, which can suit pretty much every household and even some enterprises.
The catch with Virgin broadband is that their higher speeds can be pretty expensive, and they’re also not widely available everywhere, as Virgin does not use the Openreach network that most other providers do.
Virgin is so quick because although they use copper wires with their FTTC connections, these are created in a slightly different way to allow for information to move more efficiently, meaning that they can provide FTTC connections that are faster than average.
This makes them a really good option to consider, and you can use Switch My Broadband to learn more about Virgin packages.
Much like Virgin Media, Vodafone is a fibre-only provider. This means that the lowest speeds you can get with them are 36Mbps; they do not offer anything less.
This is great if you’re looking for reliable and fast speeds, although because of their fibre-only approach, you may not be able to get Vodafone in your location. In fact, Vodafone is one of the least available networks in the UK.
If you can get Vodafone, prices for their broadband start at just £22 a month, making them a good, economical option.
When looking at their faster packages, which offer around 200Mbps, you’ll have to pay around £35 a month. Compared to other ultra-fast packages from Sky and Virgin, this is a good price and means that Vodafone may be a good budget option for those seeking faster speeds.
You can compare Vodafone Broadband here and learn more about the provider on Switch My Broadband.
Fibre broadband works in a unique way to provide the best speeds. Instead of using a copper wire, which traditional ADSL broadband uses, it instead uses cables that are made up of glass fragments inside an insulated tubing.
With it being made out of glass, it meant that instead of sending electricity through the wires, light could instead be transmitted through the cables, which is much faster than electricity and is thus why fibre broadband is so quick.
In fact, the information that's being sent through the wires travels at the speed of light, allowing data to be uploaded and downloaded in less time.
To get into your home, fibre optic that uses FTTP will have this cable run directly into your home. With an FTTC connection, the cable runs as far as your on-street broadband cabinet, and then a copper wire is used from here to your home. This is why FTTC connections are much slower.
Fibre broadband is not available in every home in the UK, so it's worth checking online to see if you can get it in your postcode.
If you're happy with an FTTC connection, then it is likely that you'll be able to get fibre broadband, as this is widely available, and the connectivity is only growing as time passes. This availability is because most FTTC connections use the Openreach telecom network, which is widely available in the UK and was first implemented by BT Broadband.
If you're looking for faster FTTP connections, then it may be more of a lottery, as only 1 in 4 homes in the UK can get this type of broadband speed.
If you can't currently get fibre broadband in your area, you are able to register your interest. If enough people in your local area declare their interest in fibre broadband, then it may be installed in your area to meet this demand.
If not, you'll have to settle for ADSL. Although much slower, it should still be able to handle most internet users and can be a blessing in disguise because it is usually a lot cheaper than fibre.
If you've been previously using ADSL broadband, then it's most likely that the router, which is the device in your home that transmits Wi-Fi, will not be compatible.
Because of this, you will likely need to upgrade or swap your router so that the right connections can be made to it to ensure that your usage is maximised.
Some providers will charge you for a new router, which can increase the overall cost of their fibre packages, although the best fibre broadband packages will include a new router for free and will likely instal it for nothing too.
There's a possibility that the router you get for FTTC will be different from FTTP. This is because the port needed to connect each type of wired cable will be a bit different. Some routers will have both sockets so that if you upgrade to full-fibre, you won't have to replace your router again.
The prices of fibre broadband will vary drastically, and this depends not only on the prices of each provider but also on the different packages that they offer.
As a general rule of thumb, the slower broadband speeds will likely be a few pounds cheaper a month than the next tier of service.
On average, the UK household spends between £30 to £45 on fibre broadband, although it is possible to get it a lot cheaper depending on the speeds and packages that you get.
The best fibre broadband packages will likely cost around £20-£30 and represent good value providing that you're happy with having relatively slower speeds.
If you're getting FTTP Fibre, this will likely be a lot more pricey, as it will be giving you access to some intense internet speeds.
When looking for fibre broadband deals, be sure to compare various providers as the prices can be extremely drastic and different.