What is fibre broadband?
FTTC vs FTTP, speeds, and what it all means.
Fibre broadband uses light through glass cables instead of electrical signals through copper wire. Here is what that means in practice, the difference between part fibre and full fibre, and how to know what you are actually getting.
Fibre broadband uses fibre optic cables to carry data as light rather than electricity. It is faster and more reliable than standard copper broadband. There are two types: FTTC (part fibre) which is the most common and runs fibre to the street cabinet then copper to your home, and FTTP (full fibre) which runs fibre all the way to your door. Full fibre is faster, more reliable, and increasingly available. Most people on a standard broadband or ADSL package are not on fibre at all.
What is broadband and how does fibre fit in?
Broadband is a high-speed internet connection that is always on, as opposed to the old dial-up connections that tied up your phone line. What is broadband in practical terms: it is the pipe that brings internet data to your home. The type of broadband you have determines how wide that pipe is and therefore how fast your internet can go.
There are three main types of home broadband connection in the UK in 2026. Standard ADSL broadband uses your copper phone line entirely and delivers speeds of 10 to 17Mbps. FTTC fibre broadband uses fibre to the street cabinet and copper for the final section, delivering 35 to 80Mbps. FTTP full fibre broadband uses fibre optic cable all the way to your home with no copper at all, delivering 100Mbps to 1Gbps and above.
Fibre broadband covers FTTC and FTTP. When people ask about fibre or standard broadband, standard broadband means ADSL copper-only and fibre means either FTTC or FTTP. What is broadband internet in its simplest form: a permanent high-speed connection to the internet delivered to your home through a cable. When a provider advertises fibre broadband without being specific, they are often talking about FTTC rather than full fibre. This distinction matters because the speeds and reliability are significantly different. What is fibre optic broadband in the truest sense is FTTP, where light travels through glass fibres with minimal signal loss over distance.
What is the difference between FTTC and FTTP broadband?
This is the most important distinction in UK broadband. What is fttc broadband and what is fttp broadband are different questions with different answers, even though both are marketed under the fibre broadband banner.
FTTC: Fibre to the Cabinet
Fibre optic cable runs from the telephone exchange to the green street cabinet near your home. From the cabinet to your home the connection uses the existing copper phone line. The further you are from the cabinet, the slower your speeds will be. This is what most people in the UK currently have when they say they are on fibre broadband. Also called superfast broadband. Available to around 96% of UK premises. What is part fibre broadband: this is it.
FTTP: Fibre to the Premises
Fibre optic cable runs all the way from the exchange directly to your home. No copper wire in the connection at all. Faster, more reliable, and consistent regardless of distance from the cabinet because there is no copper section to degrade. Also called full fibre broadband or ultrafast broadband. Availability is growing rapidly with Openreach, Virgin Media, and a number of independent providers building FTTP networks across the UK. Does fibre broadband need a phone line: FTTP does not.
Many providers market FTTC as simply fibre broadband without specifying that it uses copper for part of the connection. If you see a provider advertising fibre broadband at 36Mbps or 67Mbps, that is almost certainly FTTC part fibre, not full fibre FTTP. Full fibre packages typically start at 100Mbps or above. If you want to know exactly what type of connection you are getting, look for FTTP, full fibre, or gigabit-capable in the product description, or ask the provider directly.
What broadband speeds can I get with fibre?
What is broadband speed and how do the different fibre types compare? Speed is measured in megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps). Here is what the different types deliver in practice.
| Connection type | Typical download speed | Upload speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADSL standard broadband | 10 to 17Mbps | 1 to 2Mbps | Light browsing and email only |
| FTTC superfast fibre | 35 to 80Mbps | 8 to 20Mbps | Most households, HD streaming, working from home |
| FTTP full fibre entry | 100 to 200Mbps | 20 to 50Mbps | Busy households, heavy streaming, large uploads |
| FTTP ultrafast / gigabit | 500Mbps to 1Gbps | 100Mbps to 1Gbps | Power users, large families, home offices |
What is ultrafast broadband: the Ofcom definition is anything above 300Mbps download, which only FTTP connections can achieve. What is gigabit broadband: a connection capable of 1,000Mbps download, increasingly available from FTTP providers across the UK. Gigabit broadband voucher scheme funding has helped accelerate rollout in underserved areas.
Broadband speed is measured as advertised average speed across all customers at peak times. Your actual speed may vary depending on how many people are on the network, the time of day, and the quality of the internal wiring in your home. Full fibre FTTP connections are less affected by peak time congestion than FTTC because the fibre network has much higher capacity.
How does fibre optic broadband work and how is it installed?
How does fibre broadband work at a basic level: fibre optic cables are made of glass or plastic strands thinner than a human hair. Data is transmitted as pulses of light along these fibres. Light travels faster than electrical signals and loses far less signal strength over distance, which is why fibre is faster and more consistent than copper.
How does fibre optic broadband get to your house and how does fibre optic broadband connect to my house are the same question. For FTTC, it connects via your existing copper phone socket. For FTTP, a new fibre cable is run directly to an ONT box installed on your wall. How does fibre optic broadband get to your house depends on the type. For FTTC, the fibre runs underground from the exchange to the green street cabinet, then your existing copper phone line carries the signal the final distance to your home. For FTTP, an engineer installs a new fibre optic cable from the Openreach or provider network to a small box called an ONT (optical network terminal) on the wall inside your home, usually near where your router will sit.
How is fibre broadband installed for FTTP: an Openreach or provider engineer visits your home to install the ONT and run the fibre cable. If fibre has not yet been laid to your street, there may be a prior civils visit to install the external infrastructure. Most fibre broadband installation processes take two to four hours. The fibre broadband installation diagram is straightforward: fibre cable from the pavement to your wall box, then an ethernet cable from the wall box to your router.
A fibre broadband router connects to the ONT or phone socket and distributes the connection around your home via wifi or ethernet. Most providers include a router as part of the package. The router provided with a full fibre FTTP connection is typically more capable than the routers provided with FTTC packages because FTTP providers need to handle much higher speeds.
Do I need full fibre broadband, and is it worth the switch?
Is full fibre broadband worth it compared to standard FTTC? For most households the answer is yes, if it is available at your address and the price difference is modest. The benefits of full fibre broadband are real and measurable. Speeds are significantly faster, upload speeds in particular improve dramatically which matters for video calls and working from home. The connection is more consistent because there is no copper section to degrade in wet weather or with distance. And the long-term trajectory is clear: the UK government has committed to nationwide gigabit-capable broadband coverage, meaning FTTP is the future infrastructure regardless.
Is fibre broadband better than standard broadband? Yes, consistently. Even FTTC part fibre is significantly better than ADSL copper-only broadband for most households. The difference between fibre and standard broadband is most felt when multiple people are using the internet simultaneously, when streaming in 4K, when video calling, or when uploading large files.
Do I need full fibre broadband specifically rather than FTTC? If you are currently on FTTC at 50 to 70Mbps and you are happy with your connection, the urgency to switch to FTTP is lower. If you are on a slow FTTC connection because you live far from the cabinet, or if you work from home and upload frequently, the improvement from switching to full fibre is significant.
If you have no fibre broadband available, no fibre broadband in my area is a frustrating situation shared by around 4% of UK premises. Options include mobile broadband using a 4G or 5G router, which can deliver 50 to 300Mbps in well-served areas, or satellite broadband. The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme provides funding to help rural communities and businesses connect to gigabit-capable networks where commercial rollout has not happened. Check your eligibility at BDUK.gov.uk.
Disadvantages of fibre optic broadband: what to know
Fibre broadband is better than copper in almost every meaningful way, but there are a few things worth knowing. The disadvantages of fibre optic broadband are relatively minor but real.
Phone lines on FTTP. When you switch to full fibre FTTP, your landline phone may need to move to a digital voice service rather than the traditional analogue phone line. Your provider will advise on this. Digital voice phones work fine but need to be plugged into your router rather than the old phone socket, and they do not work during a power cut unless your router has a battery backup.
Installation disruption. FTTP installation requires an engineer visit and sometimes external civils work if the fibre infrastructure has not yet reached your street. This can involve a short wait for an installation appointment and some minor external work on the outside of your property.
Not everywhere yet. Full fibre FTTP is not yet available at every UK address. Availability is expanding rapidly but if you are in a rural area or a postcode that has not been prioritised for rollout, FTTC may be your best option for now. Use a postcode availability checker to find out what is actually available at your address before committing to a contract.
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Compare broadband dealsQuestions people ask about fibre broadband
Fibre broadband uses fibre optic cables to carry internet data as pulses of light rather than electrical signals through copper wire. It is faster and more reliable than standard broadband. There are two types: FTTC which runs fibre to the street cabinet then copper to your home, and FTTP full fibre which runs fibre cable all the way to your door. When providers say fibre broadband they often mean FTTC, not full fibre FTTP.
What is full fibre broadband: it is a connection where fibre optic cable runs all the way from the telephone exchange directly to your home with no copper wire involved at any point. Also called FTTP (fibre to the premises). It delivers speeds from 100Mbps to 1Gbps and above, is more consistent than FTTC, does not degrade with distance from the cabinet, and does not require a traditional phone line.
FTTC fibre broadband uses the copper phone line for the final section of the connection and typically requires a phone line, though you do not need to make calls on it. FTTP full fibre broadband does not use phone lines at all. If you want broadband without a phone line, look for FTTP full fibre packages. Most FTTP providers offer broadband-only packages. When you move to FTTP your landline phone moves to a digital voice service connected via your router.
Broadband is the general term for any always-on high-speed internet connection. Fibre broadband is a type of broadband that uses fibre optic cables. The difference between fibre and standard broadband is the cable type: fibre optic glass versus copper wire. Fibre is faster, more reliable, and less affected by distance and interference. Broadband vs fibre is not quite the right framing since fibre is a type of broadband. Standard broadband means ADSL copper. Fibre broadband means FTTC or FTTP.
Is full fibre broadband worth it for most households: yes, particularly if you work from home, have multiple people streaming simultaneously, or are currently on a slow FTTC connection. The price difference between FTTC and entry-level FTTP has narrowed significantly. Speeds are dramatically faster, upload speeds improve considerably, and the connection is more consistent. If full fibre is available at your address at a comparable price, it is almost always worth switching.
FTTP stands for fibre to the premises. It means the fibre optic cable runs all the way from the telephone exchange to your home with no copper wire in the connection. What is fttp broadband in practical terms: it is full fibre broadband, the fastest and most reliable type of home internet connection available in the UK. FTTP delivers speeds from 100Mbps to 1Gbps depending on the package. It is being rolled out across the UK by Openreach, Virgin Media, and independent providers.
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