How to upgrade to full fibre broadband

Full fibre is available to an address, not just to a town or a street, so check your own postcode with your provider and with other providers' checkers. Our guide on how to check full fibre availability explains the checkers and their results.

Don't rely on the word "fibre" alone. Since 16 September 2024 Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, has required providers to label the technology full-fibre, part-fibre, cable or copper before you buy and in your contract summary. A deal labelled "part-fibre" isn't the upgrade you're after.

To see full fibre deals for your home side by side, enter your postcode in the comparison on our fibre broadband deals page. It shows live deals from our comparison partner; it doesn't place orders or switch you itself.

Openreach says that when its Full Fibre reaches your address, you upgrade from part fibre through your broadband provider, not Openreach. Here's what the providers whose pages we could check say (October 2026); where a cell says "not stated", ask.

See BT broadband deals, Plusnet broadband deals and Zen broadband deals for each provider's current packages at your postcode. Plusnet's full fibre is broadband only, so read the landline section below before you order.

Two other moves worth knowing about. Sky launched a 1.6Gbps full fibre tier on Openreach on 25 September 2026 for new customers and said existing customers would be able to upgrade later (see Sky broadband deals). NOW's Speed Guarantee says that if your download speed stays below the guaranteed minimum for three or more consecutive days, you can leave without early termination charges or upgrade without upfront fees.

We couldn't find a current help page from Sky, Vodafone, EE, TalkTalk or Virgin Media on how existing customers move to full fibre, so ask them through your account and get the answers in writing.

Often, yes, but not without your agreement. An upgrade to full fibre is usually a new product, and providers often treat it as a new contract with a fresh minimum term (the period you're committed to before you can leave without paying early termination charges). What the rules stop is a provider quietly extending your contract.

Even on networks that are already full fibre, moving to a faster package usually resets the clock. Airband says upgrading starts a new contract, including for customers on a 30-day rolling contract, and that you can't downgrade until the current term ends. Rise Fibre's terms say you can upgrade at any time by committing to a new contract, without early termination charges on the old one. YouFibre's October 2026 offers for upgrading customers need a new 24-month term.

You don't have to stay with your current provider to get full fibre. Another provider may sell full fibre at your address when yours doesn't, or offer a deal that suits you better. Our broadband providers hub lists the providers we cover, including the smaller full fibre networks known as altnets.

Unless a full fibre box can be activated remotely, the upgrade needs an engineer visit. Our guide to what to expect from a full fibre installation covers the day in detail; on the Openreach network the essentials are:

• Who must be home: a decision maker aged 18 or over, for the whole appointment.
• Permission: renters need the landlord's permission for drilling, and the engineer may ask you to sign a permission form before digging or drilling.
• How long: Openreach says most installations take between one and four hours; its installation checklist says it usually takes around four hours. Some take longer, for example if a duct is blocked.
• What happens: the engineer runs fibre from the nearest pole or underground duct, brings it in through a small drilled hole, fits the ONT, connects your router and tests the line.
• Where it goes: Openreach suggests a router spot near a double power socket with good Wi-Fi coverage, not a cupboard under the stairs, with the ONT close by. Zen says ONT placement depends on cable length and wall structure.

Lead times vary: Plusnet says a new installation is usually within 3 to 10 working days, Zen typically 6 to 20 working days, and some homes need a survey or outside visit first. Rescheduling goes through your provider. BT, for example, needs at least one working day's notice to change an appointment and says installation charges can't be refunded once work has begun.

Full fibre doesn't use the old analogue phone line. Openreach says your landline moves to a digital phone service through the router. GOV.UK says the change may be as simple as plugging your phone into your broadband router rather than the wall socket, and Ofcom says you can keep your phone number. Traditional lines are going digital anyway: Openreach gives 31 January 2027 as the date.

Provider differences that catch people out:

• Plusnet: sells broadband-only packages. Its broadband page says taking broadband without a landline means the home phone is disconnected and the number is lost, and in 2024 it confirmed it wouldn't offer home phone to existing customers after the analogue switch-off, pointing them to BT instead. If you want to keep your number, sort that out before you order.
• TalkTalk: says its Full Fibre works without a landline and its Digital Voice home phone is available to existing customers only.
• Sky and NOW: on full fibre, calls are made over your broadband. Sky says these products aren't available to customers who rely on their landline for emergency services or have an emergency care alarm, and NOW's terms say something similar.
• Zen and Vodafone: Zen says its Digital Voice keeps your existing number; Vodafone says you can keep your number when switching.

Keeping your number when you change provider is a regulated right under Ofcom's number portability rules, and Citizens Advice says you should be able to unless you're moving house. Say you want to keep it when you order. Our guide to keeping your landline number when switching has the details.

If an intruder alarm, health pendant or wrist alarm uses your phone line, Openreach advises telling your provider before the installation, and GOV.UK says anyone with alarm systems or telecare devices on the line should contact their provider or the equipment maker. GOV.UK also warns that digital phones and routers won't work in a power cut without back-up such as a battery; see our guide to telecare alarms and digital landlines.

• If you switch provider with One Touch Switch, your old service ends automatically once the new one works. Any early termination charge will be in the switching information you received.
• The copper line stays in service until Full Fibre reaches your area, Openreach says, and under a stop sell existing customers can keep their current product until it's withdrawn.
• Old routers: check whether yours must go back. BT, for example, says replaced hubs must be returned within 60 days or a charge may apply.
• Virgin Media cable customers: we couldn't find a Virgin Media page explaining how existing cable customers move to its full fibre, or whether that needs a new contract or an engineer, so ask Virgin Media and get the terms in writing. Our Virgin Media network guide explains its two networks, and Virgin Media broadband deals shows what's available at your postcode.

• Test your speed. Use our broadband speed test, ideally on a wired device, and compare the result with the minimum speed in your contract summary. If it's regularly lower, see our guide to the broadband minimum speed guarantee.
• Changing speed later is easier. Openreach says that once you're on Full Fibre you can change speed tier without another engineer visit, though a change of package may still mean a new contract with your provider.

Illustrative example, not a real customer. You're 15 months into a 24-month part-fibre contract and full fibre has reached your street. Check your provider's account area for full fibre deals and ask whether moving starts a new term. Enter your postcode on our broadband deals page to see what others offer. Ask your provider what you'd pay to leave now. If it will move you without charging for the old contract, you're simply comparing new contracts; if switching elsewhere means an exit fee, weigh the fee against the saving, or wait for your end-of-contract notification.