Millions of BT, Virgin, TalkTalk users have unlocked supercharged fibre broadband speeds

THE ROLL-OUT of speedier full-fibre broadband across the UK means millions of BT, TalkTalk and Virgin Media customers can now access the fastest full-fibre speeds.

By Aaron Brown, Express Affiliate Development Editor with 10 years of experience writing about the latest developments in consumer technology, product reviews, and buying advice

ofcom 8 million full fibre broadband speeds uk bt sky talktalk virgin media

Ofcom reports that 8 million homes in the UK can now access future-proofed full-fibre broadband (Image: GETTY)

More than eight million homes across the UK can now access full-fibre broadband – an increase of three million homes compared to this time last year, regulatory body Ofcom has confirmed. Full-fibre connections are speedier, more reliable and do not require line rental fees, unlike traditional copper cables. Some of the best-known brands, including BT, TalkTalk and Virgin Media, now offer customers the chance to upgrade to a full-fibre broadband connection. And if you're lucky enough to live in one of the eight million premises now hooked up to this next-generation connection, there are a number of benefits to switching to this technology. 

BT Full Fibre 900
Partner image £55.99 View Deal

If you're lucky enough to live in an area that has been upgraded to the latest full-fibre infrastructure, Full Fibre 900 is the fastest broadband bundle currently available from BT. While the download speeds might be a little slower than Virgin Media (although, at almost 13x faster than the UK average, you're still able to download feature-length films to your devices in under a minute!), the upload speeds are much faster, which will make backing up photos to the cloud speedier.

Average Download Speed: 900Mbps | Average Upload Speed: 110Mbps | Set-up Cost: £9.99 | Minimum Contract Length: 24-months

Sky Broadband Gigafast

With download speeds up to 900Mbps, this full-fibre upgrade unlocks the fastest broadband speeds we've ever seen from Sky Broadband. And with a minimum contract term of 18-months, you'll be able to renegotiate a new deal sooner than those who pick BT.

Download speed: 900Mbps | Upload speed: 90Mbps | Speed guarantee: Yes, 600Mbps minimum | Contract length: 18-months | Upfront cost: £0

TalkTalk Future Fibre 900Mbps

Since TalkTalk relies on BT's Openreach to supply its broadband connection, if you can get full-fibre from BT at your home – then you can take advantage of this deal from TalkTalk too. As it's a full-fibre connection, there's no landline fee or home phone included, and while the minimum guaranteed speeds are lower than BT ...the price is too! You'll also get an Amazon-designed Eero 6 Pro included as your Wi-Fi router, which costs £160 when bought separately and offers some truly clever features

Average Download Speed: 900Mbps | Average Upload Speed: 91Mbps | Set-up Cost: FREE | Minimum Contract Length: 18-months

Virgin Media Gig1

Virgin Media's Gig1 service is now available in over 15 million homes across the UK. Prices start from £60 per month with Virgin promising downloads in excess of 1,000Mbps

Average Download Speed: 1120Mbps | Average Upload Speed: 50Mbps | Set-up Cost: £35 | Minimum Contract Length: 18-months

Fibre optic cables have long been used to increase internet speeds to the cabinet in your street, with the last few metres to the Wi-Fi router in your home covered by copper cables. These are much slower than fibre, and more unreliable – broadband speeds delivered via copper cables can be impacted by bad weather, for example. If you have a full-fibre connection, the same powerful cables that bring the internet to the cabinet in your street continue to your front door. Of course, this usually requires some digging up parts of the road and pavement in your street, which is why upgrading older connections takes so long.

Full fibre connections don't require a separate line rental charge and can be bought without a phone line. For those who do want a landline number, specially-designed handsets that use the broadband connection, like a FaceTime Audio or WhatsApp call, are available that offer improved call quality. With a full-fibre broadband connection, you can expect gigabit broadband speeds. At 1,000Mbps, that's over 14 times faster than the average home broadband connection in the UK.

ofcom 8 million full fibre broadband speeds uk bt sky talktalk virgin media

Fibre replaces slower copper cables to bring broadband from these cabinets to your front door (Image: GETTY )

At those lightning-fast speeds, you'll be able to download a film in 1080p High Definition in under 36 seconds, or an ultra-high quality 4K film in less than three minutes. In busy households, with multiple people streaming music, bingeing boxsets on Netflix, downloading software updates, backing-up photos to the cloud, and posting on social media... gigabit connections have more than enough bandwidth that nobody should see any slowdown or buffering.

It's worth noting that while Virgin Media has upgraded all of its 15.5 million customers to gigabit-capable connections, not all of these users have full-fibre broadband. Instead, Virgin Media is leveraging the existing DOCSIS 3.1 technology built into its network to crank-up the speeds available to customers. Virgin Media is also upgrading its customers to full-fibre to help future-proof its network, but for now, millions can already access some of the fastest speeds in the UK.

BT's Openreach, which provides the underlying infrastructure for BT, TalkTalk, Sky, Plusnet, and a number of other popular broadband firms, has connected more than five million homes to its full-fibre infrastructure. Interestingly, despite relying on the same cables as TalkTalk and BT, which both offer gigabit speeds, the fastest broadband bundle available from Sky is currently 500Mbps – around half the speed!

It's unclear why the satellite television company has decided to hold off offering these next-generation speeds to those in upgraded areas, but rumours have been swirling for some time that .

What Is Full-Fibre Broadband, And Why Is It Better Than Your Current Connection?

Fibre broadband is the future of the internet, and telecoms firms like Virgin Media and BT's Openreach have been hard at work upgrading their networks to deliver these super-fast download speeds. While existing broadband connections rely on copper cables to deliver internet from those green communication boxes littered throughout UK streets, full-fibre broadband – as the name suggests – uses more powerful (and reliable) fibre-optic cables to your front door instead.

The fastest fibre broadband speeds currently available in the UK is offered with Virgin Media's Gig1 package, which boasts average download speeds of 1,130Mbps. That's light years ahead of the average broadband download speed in Blighty, which stands at around 70Mbps as measured earlier in 2021.

As an example of the benefits of fibre connections, Gigabit broadband will let you download a feature-length movie in High Definition in just 36 seconds, or a crisp Ultra HD 4K film in under three minutes. These speeds mean busy households will be able to back up their photos, download software updates, make video calls, binge boxsets in 4K, and play video games online all at the same time at peak times without a hint of buffering. It also future-proofs homes for the next wave of technology, including 8K video quality, virtual reality, and more.

By the end of 2021, Virgin Media upgraded its entire network of 15.5million homes to gigabit-capable broadband (although it will take longer until all of those customers are using full-fibre connections). So if you're covered by Virgin Media you can sign up right away. While BT's Openreach will finish its full-fibre network upgrade (some 25 million homes) by December 2026. So far, the super-fast downloads are available to more than five million properties covered by Openreach, which supplies infrastructure for BT, TalkTalk, Sky, Plusnet, EE, Vodafone, and many more. 

Smaller companies, like Hyperoptic, Gigaclear and Community Fibre, have sprung up to bring full-fibre broadband to areas not currently served by either Virgin Media or Openreach. These include projects specifically targeted at rural villages or commuter towns. If you can't wait for next-generation broadband, these are a great option – and can be cheaper than better-known brands too.

According to the report from Ofcom, around 7.4 million broadband customers in the UK are currently out-of-contract and therefore able to switch to a new provider or a new deal with their existing supplier. Sticking on the same monthly fee after your contract ends you're likely to be paying higher prices for slower speeds.

“Many families now have multiple devices on the go at the same time for work, learning and entertainment – and the festive holidays can see a particular battle for bandwidth,” said Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s Network and Communications Group Director.

Full fibre is helping meet those demands, with millions more benefitting from faster speeds and more reliable connections

Lindsey Fussell

“Full fibre is helping meet those demands, with millions more benefitting from faster speeds and more reliable connections. But some homes in hard-to-reach areas still struggle to get decent broadband, so there’s more work to do to make sure these communities get the connections they need.”

Around 123,000 homes (0.4 percent of the UK) still do not have access to a "decent" broadband connection, which Ofcom defines as offering download speeds of 10Mbps and upload speeds of 1Mbps. At this speed, it would take 90 minutes to download a feature-length film in High Definition.

If you're currently one of the 7.4 million people outside of their minimum contract, it's worth checking out the latest deals available. It's incredibly likely that you'll be able to save on your monthly bills or boost your download speeds – and those with very old contracts will probably be able to do both at the same time! Express.co.uk has rounded up the latest broadband deals in the UK below...

Three 5G Home Broadband – 50% Off
Partner image £20 £10 View Deal

For a limited time, Three is offering 50% off its speedy broadband. Powered by superfast 5G, you can expect download speeds comparable with the best fibre packages!

Average speeds: 100Mbps | Unlimited download allowance | Contract length: 24-months

Vodafone Superfast 2 (73Mbps)
Partner image £22 View Deal

Vodafone has slashed the cost of its broadband plans – making speedy downloads more affordable. For a limited time, you can bag download speeds of 73Mbps and a speed guarantee of 37Mbps. There are also no upfront costs either – bargain!

Download speeds: 73Mbps | Speed Guarantee: 37Mbps | Upload speeds: 18Mbps | Set-up costs: £0 | Minimum contract length: 24-months

NOW Super Fibre Broadband (63Mbps)
Partner image £22 View Deal

This Sky-owned broadband firm offers download speeds of 63Mbps with no activation fee and the minimum contract term is just 12-months – so you'll be able to renegotiate a new deal next year, much better than being locked-in for two years like most other deals at this price!

Download speeds: 63Mbps | Speed Guarantee: 62.1Mbps | Upload speeds: 18Mbps | Set-up costs: £0 | Postage: £5 | Minimum contract length: 12-months

Plusnet Unlimited Fibre Extra (66Mbps)
Partner image £22.99 View Deal

Plusnet has dropped its £10 activation fee on this plan – and added a £75 Gift Card to its popular Fibre Extra to spend anywhere that accepts Mastercard. In terms of the broadband bundle, you'll get acceptable 66Mbps speeds and unlimited usage. The 18-month minimum contract isn't the shortest on this list, but it won't tie you in as long as some providers (like BT!)

Download speeds: 66Mbps | Upload speeds: 18Mbps | Upfront cost: £0 | Contract Length: 18 months

Vodafone Superfast 100 (100Mbps)
Partner image £25 View Deal

Vodafone offers download speeds of 100Mbps for much less than rivals like Virgin Media, Sky and BT. There's no upfront cost either. Bargain!

Download speeds: 100Mbps | Speed Guarantee: 50Mbps | Upload speeds: 18Mbps | Set-up costs: £0 | Minimum contract length: 24-months

Virgin Media M100 Fibre Broadband (108Mbps) + Phone
Partner image £26 View Deal

Here's a little tip... Virgin Media charges less for the same broadband speeds when you bundle it with a landline phone, compared to its broadband-only packages. Those same broadband speeds cost £44 a month when bought without the free landline calls!

Download speeds: 108Mbps | Upload speeds: 10Mbps | Contract Length: 18 months | Upfront cost: £35

Sky Ultrafast Broadband (145Mbps)
Partner image £32 View Deal

With download speeds twice as fast as the average home broadband speed in the UK, Sky Ultrafast will ensure you can binge boxsets in crisp 4K Ultra HD and make video calls without buffering!

Download speeds: 145Mbps | Upload speeds: 27Mbps | Set-up costs: £0 | Contract length: 18-months

BT Broadband Fibre 2 (74Mbps) + £110 Free Mastercard + One FREE month of Fibre 500 Speeds
Partner image £33.99 View Deal

BT is upgrading customers on its Fibre 2 plan to its eye-wateringly fast Fibre 500 bundle for an entire month – at no extra cost. And if you're looking for a good freebie, this deal comes with a £110 Gift Card to spend in any shop that accepts Mastercard ...which is basically everywhere!

Download speeds: 74Mbps | Upload speeds: 20Mbps | Set-up costs: £0 | Minimum contract length: 24-months

TalkTalk Future Fibre (900Mbps)
Partner image £49 View Deal

If you're lucky enough to live in an area that's fitted with full-fibre broadband from Openreach, look no further than this incredible deal from TalkTalk. For £13 less than Virgin Media charges, you'll unlock 900Mbps download speeds – that's over 12x faster than the average home broadband connection in the UK!

Download speeds: 900Mbps | Upload speeds: 91Mbps | Set-up costs: £0 | Minimum contract length: 18-months

Sky Gigafast Broadband (900Mbps)
Partner image £55 £52 View Deal

Sky Broadband contracts are just 18-months, that means you'll be able to renegotiate a new deal with Sky or switch to a better deal from a rival provider 6 months earlier than BT or Vodafone!

Download speed: 900Mbps | Upload speed: 90Mbps | Contract length: 18-months | Upfront cost: £0

BT Full Fibre 900 (900Mbps) + 12-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass for FREE
Partner image £55.99 £27.99 View Deal

If you want the best full-fibre connection available from BT, you'll need its Full Fibre 900 plan, which boasts top speeds of 900Mbps and a guaranteed download speed of 700Mbps. That's lightning fast. And to take advantage of that speed, BT is throwing in a one-year subscription to Xbox Game Pass to download and stream the latest blockbuster games!

Download speeds: 900Mbps | Upload speeds: 110Mbps | Set-up costs: £9.99 | Minimum contract length: 18-months

Virgin Media Gig1 Fibre (1,130Mbps)
Partner image £60 View Deal

A staggering 15.5 million Virgin Media customers nationwide can access the company's fastest broadband speeds – more than 1,000Mbps. That's fast enough to download a two-hour blockbuster film in crisp HD from Netflix in under 100 seconds!

Download speeds: 1,130Mbps | Upload speeds: 52Mbps | Contract Length: 18 months | Upfront cost: £35

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