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Fibre optic broadband continues to grow in coverage and popularity throughout the UK, helping to make our internet connections faster than ever before. This high-speed broadband uses fibre optic cables and can better transfer data for online gaming and streaming movies. So exactly what is fibre broadband, how fast is it, do you need it and is it available in your area?
Fibre broadband is different from standard broadband in a few ways, with this newer technology ultimately resulting in faster speeds and a more reliable connection. This makes it ideal for busy households where everyone tends to be online at once, across multiple devices.
Along with asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) and cable, fibre is one of the three most widely available types of broadband in the UK. Because fibre optic cables can handle a much larger amount of data than a copper cable (used for ADSL) without degrading, fibre optic broadband is quicker than its standard counterpart, as the signal strength and speed can be maintained over greater distances.
Next, we’ve talked about FTTC and FTTP – the two most common types of fibre broadband in the UK.
Fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) is the more common type of fibre broadband and is also referred to as superfast broadband. This works by connecting copper cables in your home to fibre optic cables that run between the telephone exchange and phone cabinet on your street.
With around 95% coverage in the UK, this type of fibre broadband is the most popular option for ‘superfast’ download speeds.
Fibre-to-the-premises or fibre-to-the-home (FTTP or FTTH) isn’t currently available everywhere in the UK, but does offer much faster fibre broadband. This speed comes from cutting copper cables out of the equation altogether. Instead, fibre optic cables run right into your home.
Doing away with copper cables means that FTTP can provide ‘ultrafast’ or ‘gigabit’ speeds. As a result, it’s also the more expensive option of the two.
Because of the very fast connection speeds that fibre broadband can offer, you’ll usually end up paying more for it than you would ADSL or cable. Really then, whether or not you need fibre broadband comes down to how much you use the internet and how many people are in your household. We’ve categorised internet users into three different groups to help with this decision:
So if you fall into the second or third category and live in a house with several other people then you might want to think about upgrading to fibre broadband if it’s available in your area.
There’s no doubt that fibre broadband is faster than other alternatives, including ADSL and cable. Superfast fibre broadband (FTTC) can achieve speeds of anywhere from 30Mbps to 300Mbps (with many basic fibre packages falling within the 30-60Mbps range). Meanwhile, an ultrafast FTTP connection can offer speeds between 300Mbps and 900Mbps.
Right now, most fibre connections in the UK are superfast FTTC, so you’ll likely end up with download speeds of at least 30Mbps.
However, the exact speed you get will depend on a few other factors:
The biggest advantage of fibre broadband is that it’s much quicker, meaning that it can support multiple people and devices at once, even when high bandwidth applications like HD and 4K TV streams are in use.
With fibre broadband, you can do the following faster than with standard broadband:
Because the distance between the roadside cabinet and your home is shorter than with standard broadband, your connection will also be much more stable and less likely to lose connection at any time.
Also, fibre optic cables are stronger than copper phone lines. This makes them more resistant to electrical interference and cold weather – with these being conditions that can otherwise worsen your broadband connection.
When it comes to broadband, moving further away from the phone exchange will cause your signal strength to drop. This can cause some homes to have very slow internet speeds. When compared to copper phone lines, fibre optic cables can transport larger amounts of data over greater distances, meaning they tend to have stronger signal strength.
Bandwith is the amount of data that can be transferred in a certain time. A lower bandwidth means slow internet speeds, especially when multiple devices are being used in your household at the same time.
Standard copper lines weren’t designed for data transfer which is why they lose bandwidth as they get further from the telephone exchange. Because FFTC connections only use copper cabling from the street cabinet, this bandwidth is lost much more slowly. With FTTP, using fibre-optic cables all the way to the house means no loss of bandwidth at all.
For fibre broadband to be available, fibre optic cables need to have been laid from the exchange to the cabinet nearest your home. Openreach is continuing to roll out fibre across the UK, focusing on parts of the country with the highest populations (such as cities and large towns).
You can check if fibre broadband is available in your area by using a handy broadband checker tool. Cable’s broadband checker simply requires you to enter your postcode and it’ll tell you the best deals, speeds and providers where you live.
You can also use a site like Compare the Market to hunt around for the best broadband deals!
This depends on where you live and what you already have in place. When fibre broadband is installed, you’ll likely require some new equipment to access it. Your provider will tell you in advance if anything will be required.
Possibly. Some providers do require you to have a modem and router for the installation of fibre broadband. When switching providers, you’ll be told about any requirements such as this.
Because FTTC broadband will be on a copper line, it’ll require a landline to properly function. Full-fibre broadband (FTTP) doesn’t however, as this only uses fibre optic cables.
When thinking about this, be aware that many fibre broadband packages come with a landline regardless (and removing the landline doesn’t always make your broadband deal cheaper).
Pretty much any kind of fibre connection should be more than quick enough to stream in HD or 4K. Just be aware that other factors can affect the quality of your connection – such as how many people live in your home and the amount of streaming/gaming that happens at the same time.
Setting up a new fibre broadband service will generally take around 5-10 working days. That isn’t to say you’ll be offline for that long. On the installation day, your broadband and landline will be briefly disconnected while an engineer connects your service at the roadside cabinet. You’ll then get an email or text to say that everything’s up and running.
When switching from a different provider, there’s a 10-working-day minimum period that you’ll have to wait before fibre broadband can be installed.
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