Faster than 1Gbps: what your home network needs

The most common complaint on a new 2Gbps-plus plan is that the speed test looks exactly like the old gigabit line. That is rarely a fault on the line. It is usually a port doing what it was built to do.

The usual culprit is a Gigabit Ethernet port (written 1GbE): a wired socket that runs at up to 1Gbps. ISPreview, the UK broadband news site, notes that most broadband routers have shipped with only 1Gbps ports, and puts the top usable speed of a single 1Gbps port, after network overheads, at around 987Mbps, or around 930Mbps on older set-ups without support for “jumbo frames” (larger data packets).

So a result in the 900s on a 2.3Gbps plan most often means something in the path is a 1Gbps link, though the test server or, on a 1.6Gbps plan, the line itself can also play a part. As Zzoomm puts it on its 2.3Gbps plan page, a laptop with only a 1Gbps Ethernet port is limited to that port's rate. A faster plan does not change the hardware inside your devices.

The rest of the line is not wasted, though: Zzoomm also notes that other devices can share the remaining capacity. That is the first decision to make. Do you want one device to go faster than 1Gbps, or lots of devices to share a bigger pipe? The second is far easier.

The faster Ethernet speeds on routers, switches and adapters are international standards from the IEEE, the body that writes the Ethernet rules, so kit from different makers works together.

These are the goals the IEEE set when work began (the 2.5G and 5G ones for “defined use cases and deployment configurations”), not a promise about the cable in your walls. In practice:

• 2.5GbE was designed with ordinary Cat5e in mind, so decent existing Cat5e or Cat6 runs may well carry it.
• 10GbE is more demanding: its original objectives allowed as little as 55m on Cat6 (Class E), with at least 100m set only for higher-grade Class F cabling. If you are planning long 10GbE runs, our wiring guide covers cable choice.
• Don't re-cable on a hunch. Zzoomm says replacing all your cables is not automatically needed for 2.3Gbps; it depends on the standard, cable category, length and condition, and replacing everything without finding the limiting link can cost money without improving speed.

For choosing and running new cable, including grades above Cat6, see our guide to wiring your home with Ethernet.

The same provider may supply different hubs on different plans, so check the hub for the exact package you order. This is what provider pages and ISPreview's reporting showed in October 2026.

Where the picture is less clear:

• Sky: ISPreview lists 10GbE ports on the Gigafast+ Hub, but when we checked, Sky's own Gigafast+ page showed “Max ethernet speeds: 1Gbps” for all its hubs, Gigafast+ included. Ask Sky to confirm before relying on a wired multi-gig connection, and compare Sky broadband deals to see which Gigafast+ plans reach you.
• Trooli: the port details come from Trooli's equipment help page as we read it on 8 October 2026. Trooli also offers a Nokia Beacon 9 and says a Wi-Fi 7 Beacon is included with selected packages; ISPreview reports that 5Gbps customers get a Nokia Beacon Wi-Fi 7 router. Ask which model comes with your tier.
• Virgin Media: its spec table lists the Hub 5x's network connection as XGS-PON and its Ethernet as one 10Gbps and three 1Gbps ports, without saying whether the 10Gbps port is for your own devices. Ask before you count on it.
• EE 8Gbps: ISPreview's sources said in July 2026 that these customers would probably get a temporary TP-Link router while EE's final hub was a few months away. We could not confirm its ports.
• YouFibre supplies the Wi-Fi 7 YouFibre Hub up to You 2000 and the Hub Pro (adding a 6GHz band) for You 8000, and allows your own router, but its router page gives no port speeds. Vodafone's Pro 3 comes with the Wi-Fi 7 Ultra Hub 7; we did not find its port speeds. Ask both before ordering.

Providers are open that multi-gig speeds are wired speeds. Community Fibre says its advertised speeds are for a single wired Ethernet connection to its router; YouFibre's offer terms say its You 8000 and You 2000 average speeds are only achievable via wired Ethernet at the router, not over Wi-Fi; and toob says its top speeds need a wired connection.

Community Fibre publishes its own “WiFi speed explained” figures for wired speed versus Wi-Fi in the same room as the router. These are the provider's figures, checked October 2026, not independent tests:

Going from 1Gbps to 5Gbps multiplies the wired figure by five, but the Wi-Fi range rises far less, even next to the router. Router makers' own wireless figures vary: Zen says the eero 7 supports up to 1.8Gbps wireless and the eero Max 7 up to 4.3Gbps, against 2.3Gbps and 9.4Gbps wired. Those are the manufacturer's maximums, not what a phone across the house will see. Vodafone is plainer still about Pro 3: no single device will get the full 2.2Gbps on its own, and to make the most of it devices should be on Wi-Fi 6 or newer, wired where possible and up to date.

Newer Wi-Fi helps. The Wi-Fi Alliance, the industry body behind the standards, says Wi-Fi 7 (introduced in 2024) brings 320MHz-wide channels in the 6GHz band (twice the throughput of Wi-Fi 6, it says), multi-link operation (using more than one band at once) and 4K QAM, a denser way of packing data that it says gives 20% higher transmission rates than Wi-Fi 6. The catches: your devices must support Wi-Fi 7 too, and the 6GHz band needs a Wi-Fi 6E or later device and covers less distance than 5GHz. Our guide to Wi-Fi 6, 6E and 7 explains the standards.

For most homes the Wi-Fi benefit of a multi-gig line is many devices busy at once without squeezing each other, not one phone hitting a huge number. If the problem is coverage in far rooms, look at mesh Wi-Fi versus extenders before paying for a faster line.

Multi-gig plans differ on upload speed (how fast you send data, such as photo backups or large files). Some are symmetrical, the same speed both ways; others have a much lower upload.

• Zzoomm describes its 2.3Gbps plan as 2.3Gbps in both directions.
• Community Fibre's 8.5Gbps tier advertises an average of 8,200Mbps download and upload on wired connections.
• Vodafone advertises Pro 3 at up to 2.2Gbps download and upload, and says devices should be wired to make the most of it.
• On Openreach's network, EE's 2.3Gbps plan has a 230Mbps upload, and ISPreview reports that Sky's Full Fibre 1.6Gbps uses Openreach's 1.8Gbps product with a 120Mbps upload.

If you mostly send big files, the upload figure may matter more than the headline. Our guide to download and upload speeds explains when it matters.

Before upgrading, or if your new speeds look capped, work through these steps:

1. Read the router's spec sheet. EE, for example, explains that the “wired connections” line in its hub specifications lists the Ethernet ports and their speeds. Note the WAN speed and which LAN ports beat 1Gbps.
2. Check your computer's link speed, the rate it agreed with the router or switch when you plugged in. On Windows 11, go to Settings, Network & internet, then Ethernet, and look for “Link speed”. To see every adapter at once, go to Settings, Network & internet, Advanced network settings, then “Hardware and connection properties” under More settings. On other devices, check the network settings or the adapter's manual. A reading of 1Gbps (1000Mbps) means that device cannot go faster.
3. Trace every box in between. Each switch, adapter and cable run (including any wiring behind wall sockets) is part of the chain, and one 1Gbps device caps everything behind it.
4. Test wired. Ofcom advises that the most accurate speed test uses a computer connected to the router by Ethernet, because Wi-Fi can slow the signal. Our broadband speed test runs in your browser through a third-party tool, and we have not confirmed it can measure above 1Gbps. It is useful for spotting a problem, but on a multi-gig plan judge your kit by its link speed and port specs rather than one test result: as Zzoomm notes, the server at the far end can be the limit.
5. Fix the slowest link first, then test again, rather than buying new cable, switches and adapters all at once.

We don't give personal advice, but these questions help you decide:

• What are you trying to fix? Zzoomm notes a faster plan does not improve a film stream's picture once it has the bandwidth it needs. If your 1Gbps line already copes with everyone online at once, more headroom may change little day to day.
• One device or many? Many devices sharing a bigger line mainly needs a router with a fast WAN port, though how your devices connect (for example through one 1Gbps switch) still matters. One device beating 1Gbps needs the whole chain upgraded. Vodafone, for one, pitches its 2.2Gbps plan at households where lots of devices are online at once.
• Will you need new kit? A multi-gig adapter, switch or router may be part of the real cost.
• Is it available? EE's 8Gbps launched on Openreach's XGS-PON pilot around Guildford and Woking, and altnets (independent full-fibre networks) such as Community Fibre, Zzoomm, Trooli and YouFibre each cover only parts of the country.

To see what you can order, enter your postcode in the comparison on our fibre broadband deals page or browse the broadband providers list. The comparison is run by our partner and shows live deals; we don't switch you ourselves, so confirm router and port details with the provider. For the official speed tiers, see superfast, ultrafast and gigabit explained.

Port speeds rarely appear in adverts, so ask, and keep the answers in writing if you can:

• Which router comes with this exact package, and what speed is its WAN port?
• How many LAN ports run faster than 1Gbps?
• Is the advertised speed wired or Wi-Fi, and an average or a maximum? What is the upload?
• Does the upgrade need a new ONT or an engineer visit?
• Can I use my own router, and what settings will I need?