Are you in despair on the sluggish speeds obtainable out of your present supplier? Or do you need to know if you will get quicker broadband so you'll be able to obtain recordsdata quicker and stream in 4K to a number of TVs round your property?
With many individuals nonetheless utilizing ADSL broadband and struggling together with obtain speeds of round 10Mbps (or much less!), the potential for upgrading to fibre broadband could be life-changing.
Fibre – which means fibre optic, the strategy of sending knowledge utilizing mild as a substitute of electrical energy – at the moment gives the quickest broadband speeds within the UK. And the supplier which might ship these speeds is Group Fibre, with obtain speeds of 3Gbps (3000Mbps). That’s over 3 times quicker than the 900Mbps provided by most rivals, together with BT, however the snag is that you just Group Fibre is simply obtainable in sure elements of London.
Nonetheless, there’s excellent news in case you stay elsewhere as a result of broadband speeds are about to get lots quicker within the UK. The roll-out of full fibre is nicely underway and BT’s Openreach is aiming to have 25 million houses connected by the tip of 2026. And it's possible you'll not have to attend that lengthy: some areas have already got it, whereas others are being upgraded over the following few months.
There’s another, too. Virgin Media has accomplished the improve of its cable community, which means round 15.5m UK houses have already got the choice of signing as much as its Gig1 plan. This has common obtain speeds of just a little over 1.1Gbps. By the tip of 2027, Virgin plans to broaden Gig 1 to a different 7m houses.
If you happen to can’t get Virgin at your deal with, then the 900Mbps full fibre service is the following quickest possibility, obtainable from BT, TalkTalk, EE, Vodafone and others.
Do not forget that these are all obtain speeds. Add speeds could be a lot, a lot slower. Virgin Gig1 has a nominal add pace of 52Mbps, for instance, which is about 95% slower than the obtain pace. With 900Mbps full fibre from BT, TalkTalk and others, add speeds are round 110Mbps.
Add speeds are necessary for video calls the place your video must be despatched to the others on the decision, and a quicker add pace means any movies it's essential publish on YouTube will likely be uploaded faster. Equally, if in case you have safety cameras which document to the cloud, that video must be uploaded commonly, so don’t solely ever have a look at the obtain speeds.
Some suppliers provide equal add and obtain speeds, which might make them a more sensible choice in case you do a whole lot of video calls, or add a whole lot of video or different giant recordsdata to the cloud. One instance is Gigaclear, which gives 300Mbps, 500Mbps and 900Mbps plans, however Hyperoptic and Group Fibre even have matching add and obtain speeds.
Wherever you reside, the probabilities are that you just can get faster speeds at your deal with. And in case you’re involved that switching is an excessive amount of trouble, there’s extra excellent news: the method is about to get lots easier due to Ofcom’s new One Contact Change.
Quickest broadband in rural areas
If you happen to stay in a rural space, you’ll virtually actually discover that full fibre and Virgin’s Gig1 service aren’t obtainable to you. There are a couple of choices for going quicker than what’s obtainable over your copper phone line, together with cell broadband (4G or 5G from Vodafone, EE, Nationwide Broadband and others) and satellite tv for pc broadband (Starlink, Freedomsat). Once more, you’ll want to make use of every supplier’s protection / postcode checker to seek out out if you will get their companies.
Though these are the quickest speeds obtainable from suppliers, one other method to have a look at “quickest” is to take the typical speeds obtainable throughout the nation. Broadband Genie has simply finished this (in March 2023) by working virtually 416,000 pace exams as a part of its annual broadband awards.
It discovered LightSpeed (based mostly in Lincolnshire) was quickest total with a median obtain pace of 312Mbps. Virgin positioned twenty second with with 149Mbps and BT was forty seventh with 66Mbps.
Elon Musk’s Starlink was the quickest wi-fi service with a median of 87Mbps, however it prices £460 for the {hardware} and £75 per 30 days.
The quickest broadband plans within the UK
Right here’s what the quickest broadband packages value, and the speeds they provide.
1. Group Fibre | Obtain / Add Velocity: 3Gbps
Contract size | 24 months |
Month-to-month value | £99 per 30 days (£109 after contract) |
Setup value | £0 |
Group Fibre gives an unbelievable 3GBps, for uploads in addition to downloads, which might be much more than you want. It’s solely obtainable in elements of London. Even in case you can get it, it is probably not the perfect concept. That’s as a result of present Wi-Fi routers and gadgets fall nicely wanting that pace. Certainly, the Zyxel Wi-Fi 6 router that Group Fibre supplies can ship speeds of solely 400-650Mbps, so 3Gbps is overkill until you propose to spend money on a quicker router.
2. Virgin Media Gig1 | Obtain / Add Velocity: 1130Mbps / 52Mbps
Contract size | 18 months |
Month-to-month value | £45 per 30 days (£62 after contract) |
Setup value | £0 (normally £35) |
That is the value for broadband solely. However if you'd like, you will get a cellphone line for an additional £4 per 30 days or go for the Final Volt bundle which provides 230+ channels with Leisure, Anytime calls, Netflix Customary + O2 limitless SIM for £85 per 30 days ( deal total).
You will discover out if Virgin is available in your area. Usually Gig1 prices £62 per 30 days, with an extra £35 arrange payment, however a deal on the time of writing waived that payment and lowered the month-to-month worth barely.
3. Hyperoptic 1Gb | Download / Add Velocity: 900Mbps
Contract size | 24 months |
Month-to-month value | Free for 3 months, then £45 per 30 days (£60 per 30 days after contract) |
Setup value | £0 |
Hyperoptic’s quickest broadband plan is known as 1Gb, however which runs at 900Mbps on common. Crucially, and in contrast to BT’s providing, add speeds are additionally 900Mbps, which makes this superb worth certainly – if you will get it. Examine on Hyperoptic’s web site to seek out out.
4. BT Full Fibre 900 | Obtain / Add Velocity: 910Mbps / 110Mbps
Contract size | 24 months |
Month-to-month value | £40.99 per 30 days (£58.99 after contract) |
Setup value | £9.99 |
BT’s quickest broadband is similar as it's from all the opposite suppliers which use the Openreach full fibre community. Meaning obtain speeds of round 900Mbps, and uploads of as much as 110Mbps. You'll be able to add to the bottom bundle with further options similar to Full Wi-Fi (for a wi-fi sign all through your property) and Hybrid Join which switches over to EE’s cell community if there’s ever an issue with the fibre broadband. You may also add BT TV to your bundle.
Discover the newest costs and offers on BT’s website, the place it's also possible to verify if Full Fibre 900 is out there to you. On the time of writing, BT was throwing in a 12 months’s Xbox Recreation Go Final free of charge.
5. Vodafone Gigafast 900 | Obtain / Add Velocity: 910Mbps / 105Mbps
Contract size | 24 months |
Month-to-month value | £49 per 30 days (£46 for Vodafone pay month-to-month clients) |
Setup value | £0 |
Vodafone’s Gigafast isn’t cell broadband: it’s the identical full fibre connection that BT makes use of. That’s why the speeds are the identical, however the month-to-month value at the moment dearer. That is the bottom, broadband-only plan, however you'll be able to see all Vodafone Gigafast plans.
6. Sky Gigafast 900 | Obtain / Add Velocity: 900Mbps / 90Mbps
Contract size | 18 months |
Month-to-month value | £53 |
Setup value | £0 |
Sky is one other supplier utilizing the Openreach full fibre, however the distinction right here is that the contract is shorter at 18 months. For £5 further per 30 days, Broadband Enhance provides you a robust Wi-Fi sign in each room and assured minimal speeds of 600Mbps. Most suppliers provide a minimal pace assure with out paying an additional payment, however the £5 is value it to have Wi-Fi all through your property.
You may discover that the quickest bundle Sky can give you is Ultrafast Plus. That’s 500Mbps with 60Mbps add speeds for £39 per 30 days.
Past the 5 listed above, these following suppliers have been different top-performing broadband suppliers within the UK:
If you happen to resolve pace isn’t your primary precedence, you may want to make use of our software beneath to seek out the perfect offers obtainable proper now. Listed below are all the perfect offers obtainable proper now. Keep in mind which you could’t merely decide the one you want most. First, it's essential verify if the service is out there at your deal with. Protection can fluctuate in the identical city or metropolis. The truth is, the speeds and suppliers obtainable will rely upon the precise road you reside on.
That’s why you’ll have to enter your postcode and click on ‘Examine availability’ to see which which gives apply to you.
Which broadband pace is correct for me?
All of the suppliers above additionally provide slower broadband plans which value much less. And it’s value asking your self in case you want 900Mbps or extra. It’s nice for downloading giant recordsdata rapidly, or streaming 4K video in a number of rooms. However in case you simply need to stream in HD, make the occasional video name in HD and aren’t too fussed about ready a bit longer for recordsdata to obtain and add, than you don’t essentially want full fibre.
As talked about, many UK houses aren’t but related to full fibre anyway, which implies they’re reliant on their historical copper cellphone cables, or the 4G or 5G cell broadband obtainable within the space.
For most individuals, obtain speeds of 30-40Mbps are okay, however it’s nonetheless attainable to rise up to 80Mbps on what’s known as fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC). That is totally different from full fibre as a result of the fibre optic cable doesn’t go proper to your property – solely to the ‘cupboard’ in your native space. That cupboard connects to your property utilizing copper cellphone traces, that are what limits the pace, and the precise pace you’ll get depends on how far your property is from the cupboard.
You'll be able to learn our information to picking a broadband service for a extra in-depth rationalization of the jargon, in addition to the opposite issues it is best to look out for moreover pace.
Right here, although, is a fast overview of the speeds you really need.
5-15Mbps: Appropriate for a family of two folks at most the place occupants browse the net and verify e mail. Streaming video is normally from a single gadget, and by no means in 4K.
40-80Mbps: This pace is okay for family of as much as 5 folks always utilizing their telephones, streaming video to a number of TVs in numerous rooms, even in 4K and enjoying on-line video games. Good gadgets are scattered across the residence and there are a handful of safety cameras importing to the cloud.
200-900Mbps+: Perfect for large households with 5 or extra folks, the place adults make money working from home and are incessantly on video calls and have to add giant recordsdata to the cloud. Such speeds cater for a lot of good gadgets, particularly safety cameras recording to cloud storage.