Fibre broadband | Openreach

Engineer walking to a customer's premises

Helping you find the right connection

Whether you're confused about connectivity or just need to check what's available at your address, we're here to help.

Below we explain the different ways we connect you. You can find out about our latest technology, Ultrafast Full fibre, where we're cutting out the cabinet to deliver lightspeed broadband direct to your door.

Openreach engineers build and maintain the UK's communication network, and have done for many years. Our network is used by over 650 Communication Providers which you can choose from to get your broadband. Enter your postcode into our fibre checker to see what connection is available in your area.

Confused by connectivity?

There are three ways we connect you to our broadband network

Fibre to the Premise (FTTP)

Download speeds of up to 1,600 Mbps

Also known as Fibre to the Home (FTTH) or Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband. This is our most reliable, fastest broadband with a pure fibre optic cable straight into your home or business directly from your nearby exchange.

Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)

Download speeds of up to 76Mbps

Until FTTP is built to more of the UK, this is our most widely available and popular broadband type powering both our Superfast Fibre broadband and GFast Fibre broadband products. FTTC provides a fibre optic cable from your nearby exchange to your local cabinet. From the cabinet to your home or business, we use traditional copper wires to power your connection.

Copper network (ADSL)

Download speeds of up to 21Mbps

Standard broadband access uses a copper phone line connected all the way from your property through your local cabinet and to your nearby exchange.

Want to know even more about our connection types?

Find out how we use fibre optic cables to connect homes and businesses to our network across the UK.

Transcript

Saying hello, tapping out an email, streaming movies, gaming, it all started with a simple piece of copper wire. We've been using it to connect to each other for over a century. Today it is likely that your internet connection will be fibre optic cables. 27 million homes currently use a system called Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC).

FTTC is where our network of fibre optic cable goes as far as the green cabinet in your street, and then copper wires connect your home or your business from there. But life has changed a lot since broadband first launched. Now everyone has multiple devices, even our fridges, toasters and showers are smart.

We want everyone to have a network that lets us keep pace with our changing world. That's why we're starting to build a new kind of fibre optic network - Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). FTTP means faster speeds, a more reliable signal and as many devices connected as you need. It's a network not even the great British weather can disrupt. It's a future we're excited to build.

Openreach. Connecting you to your network.

Why should I upgrade to Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband?

No go-slow and always on

Get better performance, impressive speeds and fewer drop-outs with fibre connected straight to your home.

It never lets you down

According to the national Infrastructure Commission, Full Fibre has five times fewer faults than copper connections.

Ready for anything

Be unstoppable on everything from phones, tablets, laptops, VR headsets – even your home’s heating controls.

Two students playing on a game console with his friend, in student accommodation

What is a good download and upload speed?

Get the lowdown on broadband speed essentials in our informative blog. Uncover the differences between download and upload speeds, and learn how to keep your connection running smoothly.

Explore the ultimate guide to broadband speed

Woman talking on the phone with a laptop whilst sitting on the sofa.

Heard of Wi-Fi calling but don’t know how it works?

Learn all about Wi-Fi calling, a feature that allows you to make phone calls over a Wi-Fi network instead of using your phone provider’s network.

Discover how Wi-Fi calling works

Image of an engineer working on a fibre node

The UK's Full Fibre future is within reach

Research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) shows that Full Fibre could provide a real boost to communities across the country, reduce pollution and increase UK productivity by £59 billion by 2025.

Read the Cebr research report

Fibre options for different groups

Ultrafast Full Fibre Broadband

Meet the next generation of the internet - Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband, built by Openreach. Check now to see if it's available for your home or business. It's ready for anything - are you?
Fibre for business

Get faster internet speeds to your business with a fibre connection. Find out how Openreach is building the future of broadband by growing the fibre network.
Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband for developers

Want to provide Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband for new developments? Explore how your developments can connect to Openreach's reliable network.