Full fibre is the technology that delivers the fastest possible broadband. The good news is that nearly seven in 10 UK households already have access2 and this number is growing.
You don’t have to break the bank to get fibre. If your home already has a full fibre connection, you can get a deal at the high end of “superfast” for less than £25 a month and “ultrafast” speeds for under £30.
So, what exactly is fibre broadband? And how do different providers compare? Here’s everything you need to know when choosing a deal.
Fibre broadband is delivered through threads made of plastic or flexible glass, known as optical fibres. Data is converted into light signals, which travels incredibly fast along the fibres before being converted back into data. In theory, fibre broadband operates at the speed of light. Of course it’s slower in the real world. This is partly because the optical fibres are always coated and put into some kind of sheath or tube to protect them from damage. But fibre broadband is still the absolute fastest internet you can get.3
There are two main types of fibre broadband:
The fibre network hasn’t reached every home in the UK yet, but it has reached the vast majority of roadside cabinets. So a substantial number of UK homes have a local cabinet on the fibre network but connect to it using the older-style telephone wires. It’s a bit like if you lived near a train station on a high-speed route but could only reach it on a slow bus. That’s hybrid fibre, or part fibre. For obvious reasons, it’s also known as Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC). It’s slower than full fibre, but still capable of speeds in the “superfast” category.
As the fibre rollout is still in progress, some homes have a full fibre connection but still have an active older-style connection too. If that’s you, you get to choose between full fibre and hybrid fibre.
Full fibre broadband means that your home is connected directly to the exchange by fibre optic cables. There’s no need to go via the roadside cabinet. This gives the fastest, most reliable internet connection possible.
If several people share your internet connection, full fibre is your best option for letting everybody stream, Zoom and game to their heart’s content. But it’s only possible if the fibre rollout has already reached your home. Use our bandwidth calculator to get an idea of what speed you need.
Fibre broadband speeds can be split into three categories:
The “superfast” category starts at 30Mbps4, which doesn’t feel particularly fast these days. Over 95% of UK homes and businesses have access to these speeds5, although take-up is a bit lower (around 75%).2
You don’t need a full fibre connection for superfast broadband, but you do need a hybrid fibre (FTTC) connection.
Ofcom also defines ultrafast broadband as an internet connection offering speeds of 300Mbps or higher6, 10 times more than superfast.
Using superfast or ultrafast broadband should let you:
You need a full fibre connection or cable internet for ultrafast broadband speeds.
Gigabit broadband is capable of delivering 1Gbps (1,000Mbps). It’s the very fastest possible in 2025. At least 80% of UK homes have a gigabit-capable connection and the number is growing.
As fibre broadband becomes the standard, the prices are falling. When we looked at the fibre broadband deals people bought through Go.Compare last year, we found that £29.008 was the price right in the middle of the range.
Slower hybrid fibre deals tend to be at the cheaper end, while you’ll pay more for the very fastest full fibre speeds.
Every provider offers fibre broadband these days, but the deals you can actually get depend on where you live. Put your postcode into our address checker to see what’s available.
Sky offers both hybrid fibre and full fibre broadband. The fastest package at the time of writing is the Gigafast deal with an average speed of 900Mbps. If you’re looking to combine digital TV with your broadband deal, Sky has lots of options.
Like Sky, BT offers both hybrid and full fibre broadband deals and has a 900Mbps option.
The Cheshire-based ISP sees itself as part of “a new breed of alternative networks”. This means focusing on its full fibre offering. Use our postcode checker to see if 4th Utility has reached your part of the UK.
Compare 4th Utility broadband deals
Vodafone offers a mix of hybrid and full fibre deals at a range of speeds and prices. Full Fibre 1.6Mbps offers serious speed (probably more than most people need).
Compare Vodafone broadband deals
These might include:
Fibre is standard these days and most UK homes have either a full fibre or part fibre connection. If your home has already been upgraded to full fibre and the older line has been deactivated, fibre broadband will actually be your only option.
If you’re on hybrid fibre but full fibre is available in your area, you might be wondering if it’s worth upgrading. This depends a lot on what broadband speed you need.
Hybrid fibre can deliver speeds comfortably in the “superfast” category. The deals range between 30Mbps and 80Mbps. This should be more than enough to watch Netflix or make a video call.
If you’re heavily into online gaming, you might need speeds of 100Mbps or more. These need a full fibre connection. But higher speeds usually come with a bigger price tag. Check out our guide: What broadband speed do I need?
Use our postcode checker to see if you can get fibre broadband where you live.
Fibre broadband:
There are many things to consider when comparing fibre broadband deals, including:
Fibre broadband speeds can be affected by all sorts of factors, from location to peak usage times and even the weather.
Compare fibre broadband deals based on your preferred providers' average speeds. This should give you an idea of what to expect from each tariff.
You’ll usually pay more for higher speeds, so think about what you (and the people you live with) actually need to do online. (Our guide to recommended broadband speeds should help.)
It’s usually a trade-off between flexibility and cost, with 24-month contracts typically offering a lower monthly price than 12-month deals.
If you really need the option of cancelling within a year - perhaps because you’re a student or in temporary accommodation - check out our short term and no contract broadband deals.
It might be cheaper and easier for you to bundle your fibre broadband in with your other home services, like a landline phone or premium digital TV channels.
Compare broadband bundles to see what’s on offer.
You can’t get the top full fibre speeds with a hybrid connection. You might have to pay an installation fee to get your connection upgraded, so factor this in when you’re comparing costs.
Fibre is the standard for UK homes, but it’s not your only option.
Mobile broadband can’t reach the top speeds of full fibre broadband, but it’s a great option if you’re not staying in one place for long.
Satellite broadband is expensive and only worth it if you’re one of the few people who can’t get a fixed internet connection or decent mobile broadband.
For example, if you're in a remote rural area with no 5G coverage.
Yes. Fibre internet is more reliable than the older system of delivering the internet through telephone wires. That’s why the UK is retiring its network of phone cables9. The job should be finished by 2027.
Yes, there are plenty of options for getting hybrid or full fibre broadband without a landline.
If you’re on hybrid fibre, upgrading to full fibre will require an engineer visit. You’ll probably need to wait a few weeks for your appointment.
The actual job (drilling a hole in the wall and putting the cables through) can take less than an hour if everything goes smoothly. But if you’re taking time off work to give the engineer access, allow half a day just in case of problems.
You have the right to cancel a broadband contract early, but your provider also has the right to impose an early leaving penalty. This is usually calculated based on how long your current contract has left to go, so the earlier you leave the more expensive it is. Switching providers can be a good way to save, but not if the savings are wiped out by exit fees.
The “up to” speeds in the marketing for a broadband deal are the highest speeds that the technology can achieve in good conditions. It’s a maximum, not a minimum. So it’s not guaranteed, but it does have to be possible.
If a significant number of customers are unlikely to ever get the headline speed, the provider has to make this clear in their description of the deal and say what percentage of customers are always in the slow lane.10
Yes, most business broadband deals offer fibre broadband.
The price of a full fibre connection has come down a lot in recent years as the technology becomes standard across the UK. Sometimes full fibre deals can compete on price with their hybrid counterparts, so always compare rather than assuming it’s the more expensive option.
There’s still a strong connection between speed and price, though, and it’s definitely a waste of money to have a faster connection than you need. Use our bandwidth calculator to get an idea of what speeds will keep you - and the people you live with - happy.
Last updated: 18th February 2025
[1] As of 3 February 2025, there are 27 providers offering fibre broadband through Go.Compare
[2] Ofcom, Full-fibre broadband reaches nearly 7 in 10 homes, published 5 December 2024, last checked 3 February 2025
[3] NAI, What Is Optical Fiber Technology, and How Does It Work?, last checked 3 February 2025
[4] Ofcom report, UK Home Broadband Performance, published May 2018, last checked 3 February 2025
[5] House of Commons library, Access to broadband, published 1 September 2023, last checked 4 February 2025
[6] Ofcom report, UK Home Broadband Performance, published April 2017, last checked 3 February 2025
[7] Ofcom, 24 million UK homes can get gigabit broadband, 24 April 2024, last checked 4 February 2025
[8] The median cost of Fibre broadband, on completed UK quotes through Go.Compare in the months July 2024 to December 2024
[9] BT Openreach, Openreach puts the stopper on copper, published 2023, last checked 4 February 2025
[10] Advertising Standards Authority, The need for speed: Navigating speed claims in broadband & telecoms ads, published 8 August 2024