1 Gbps
Typical FTTP top speed on BT, Sky and Virgin Media Gig1
2 Gbps
Top UK tier from Virgin Gig2, Hyperoptic, Community Fibre and YouFibre
~80%
UK premises with FTTP availability across Openreach and altnets
FTTC ≤ 80 Mbps
Speed ceiling on the legacy copper-to-cabinet network
The three broadband technologies competing in the UK
Three networks now sell broadband to UK homes, and only two of them are still being built. Full fibre runs end-to-end glass into the property, cable uses fibre to the street and coaxial copper for the last mile, and FTTC is the legacy copper-to-cabinet service Openreach is actively retiring. Knowing which network feeds your address is the single biggest predictor of speed, upload performance and price.
FTTP (full fibre)
FTTP runs a dedicated fibre strand from the exchange to an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) inside your home. There is no copper anywhere on the line and no powered cabinet between the exchange and the property, so speeds stay consistent regardless of distance. Openreach FTTP now reaches more than 18 million UK premises, around 60% of the country, and is sold by every major ISP including BT, Sky, EE, Plusnet, Vodafone and TalkTalk. Altnet networks add another layer of coverage: CityFibre, Community Fibre, Hyperoptic, Gigaclear, YouFibre, brsk, Trooli and Netomnia together bring total UK FTTP availability to roughly 80% of premises.
Entry tiers start at 100-150 Mbps, mid tiers at 500 Mbps, and most networks now sell 1 Gbps as standard. Virgin Media Gig2, Hyperoptic, Community Fibre and YouFibre push to 2 Gbps, and a handful of altnets offer symmetric 2.5 Gbps. Altnets running XGS-PON also sell symmetric tiers where upload matches download, useful for remote workers, content creators and households running cloud backups.
Cable (Virgin Media DOCSIS)
Cable broadband runs fibre to the street cabinet and coaxial copper into the home, an architecture known as Hybrid Fibre Coaxial. Virgin Media O2 operates the only national cable network in the UK, covering around 16 million homes on the DOCSIS 3.1 standard. Headline download speeds are competitive (Gig1 at 1 Gbps, Gig2 at 2 Gbps) but the network is shared at street level, so peak-evening speeds drop when neighbours stream and game at the same time.
The bigger limitation is upload. DOCSIS 3.1 is asymmetric: a Virgin Media 1 Gbps line typically uploads at around 50 Mbps and Gig2 at roughly 100 Mbps. Virgin is now expanding through Nexfibre, a joint venture with InfraVia and Telefonica building XGS-PON full fibre to a further 5 million premises by 2026 and 2027. Customers on Nexfibre and Virgin's newer FTTP estates get symmetric speeds; legacy DOCSIS streets do not.
FTTC (legacy fibre-to-the-cabinet)
FTTC runs fibre to the green street cabinet and reuses the existing copper telephone line for the last few hundred metres. It tops out at 80 Mbps in theory, often less in practice, and degrades sharply with distance from the cabinet. Openreach has placed FTTC under Stop Sell in every exchange where FTTP is now available, meaning no new orders and no migrations onto FTTC. Existing customers will be moved to FTTP by the time the PSTN copper network is switched off on 31 January 2027.
FTTP vs cable: pros and cons
Where both technologies are available at your postcode, the choice usually comes down to upload requirements, contract flexibility and the quality of provider customer service. Cable wins on availability in some urban streets that Openreach FTTP hasn't reached yet; fibre wins on upload, latency and long-term viability.
Advantages
- Symmetric upload available on altnet FTTP (1 Gbps up = 1 Gbps down on Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, YouFibre)
- No peak-time congestion because each home has a dedicated fibre strand
- Future-proofed: speeds increase by upgrading the equipment at each end, not the cable in the ground
- No copper anywhere on the line, so weather and corrosion no longer cause faults
- No powered street cabinet, so the network draws far less electricity than DOCSIS
Disadvantages
- Installation requires an engineer to fit an ONT inside the property
- Not yet universal: around 20% of UK premises still wait for an FTTP option
- Altnet customer service varies, with some smaller networks slow to resolve faults
Virgin Media cable (DOCSIS 3.1)
Advantages
- Widely available in urban areas where Openreach FTTP hasn't yet been built
- Headline 2 Gbps download on the Gig2 tier, matching the fastest altnets
- Single national provider, so installation, billing and support are consistent
Disadvantages
- Asymmetric upload: a 1 Gbps download line uploads at roughly 50 Mbps
- Peak-time slowdowns when streets are saturated with simultaneous users
- Tied to a single supplier, with no wholesale market to switch within
- Older HFC architecture: long-term, Virgin's own roadmap is to overbuild with Nexfibre FTTP
Speeds and pricing in June 2026
Prices vary by postcode, contract length and promotional discounts, so the ranges below reflect the typical UK market in June 2026 rather than a specific deal. Altnet pricing is often more aggressive than Openreach ISPs at the same speed, particularly for symmetric tiers; Virgin Media bundles cable broadband with TV and mobile at competitive rates but tends to apply mid-contract price rises.
| Tier | Typical download | Typical upload | Price range | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry FTTP | 100-150 Mbps | 20-30 Mbps | £25-£30/month | BT, Sky, EE, Plusnet, Vodafone, TalkTalk, altnets |
| Mid FTTP | 500 Mbps | 75-115 Mbps | £35-£45/month | BT, Sky, EE, Vodafone, altnets |
| 1 Gbps FTTP | 1 Gbps | 115 Mbps (Openreach), 1 Gbps (altnet symmetric) | £40-£50/month | BT, Sky, EE, Plusnet, Vodafone, TalkTalk, Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, YouFibre |
| 2 Gbps | 2 Gbps | 100-200 Mbps (Virgin), up to 2 Gbps (altnet symmetric) | £50-£70/month | Virgin Media Gig2, Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, YouFibre |
| Virgin cable Gig1 | 1 Gbps | ~50 Mbps | £40-£50/month | Virgin Media (DOCSIS 3.1 footprint) |
Indicative UK ranges reviewed in June 2026. Exact prices depend on postcode, contract length and current promotions.
Why upload is the real differentiator
Headline download numbers grab attention, but upload is where the two technologies pull apart. Virgin Media's 1 Gbps cable line uploads at around 50 Mbps because DOCSIS 3.1 was designed for an era of mostly downstream traffic. Openreach FTTP is asymmetric too, typically 1000/115 Mbps, but altnets running XGS-PON sell symmetric tiers where upload matches download. For video calls, large cloud backups, live streaming, online gaming and remote work with high-resolution screen sharing, a symmetric 500 Mbps line consistently outperforms an asymmetric 1 Gbps cable connection.
The environmental case for fibre
Full fibre is materially more energy-efficient than cable. An FTTP line is passive between the exchange and the home: no powered amplifiers, no powered street cabinet, just a single fibre strand carrying light. DOCSIS networks rely on actively powered street cabinets along the route, which draw electricity continuously. Across a national footprint, the gap adds up to significant ongoing energy savings, which is one reason Virgin Media itself is overbuilding its own cable network with Nexfibre FTTP.
How to choose between fibre and cable
The first step is checking what is actually available at your address, since most UK households have a smaller real choice than the market headlines suggest. Many postcodes still have only one or two options, and the gap between FTTP and cable in availability often decides the question before any pros and cons do.
- Check Openreach FTTP through any major ISP (BT, Sky, EE, Plusnet, Vodafone, TalkTalk) using your postcode and house number.
- Check Virgin Media cable separately, since its footprint doesn't always overlap with Openreach FTTP.
- Check altnets one by one (CityFibre, Community Fibre, Hyperoptic, Gigaclear, YouFibre, brsk, Trooli, Netomnia), as many estates and flats are only served by one of them.
- Decide on upload requirements. If you work from home, stream, game competitively or back up to the cloud, prioritise symmetric FTTP over cable.
- Compare contract length and mid-contract price rises. Some altnets fix the price for the term; Virgin Media typically raises prices each spring.
For a deeper breakdown of UK broadband speeds and how to test what you actually receive at home, see our broadband speed test guide. For background on how the Openreach network underpins most UK fibre, our Openreach explainer covers the wholesale layer behind every major ISP.
Frequently asked questions
FTTP (fibre to the premises) runs a single fibre strand from the exchange all the way to the ONT inside your home, delivering 100 Mbps to 2 Gbps with low latency. FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) only runs fibre as far as the green street cabinet, then relies on copper for the final stretch, which caps the line at 80 Mbps and degrades with distance. Openreach has stopped accepting new FTTC orders in every exchange where FTTP is live.
On headline download speed, Virgin Media Gig2 (2 Gbps) matches the fastest Openreach FTTP tiers and beats BT, Sky, EE, Plusnet, TalkTalk and Vodafone, which top out at 1 Gbps over Openreach. On upload and consistency, Openreach FTTP wins: Virgin Media cable is asymmetric (a 1 Gbps line uploads at roughly 50 Mbps), and the shared coaxial network slows during peak evening hours. Altnets such as Hyperoptic, Community Fibre and YouFibre push to 2 Gbps and offer symmetric 1 Gbps options.
Roughly 80% of UK premises now have a full-fibre option from at least one network. Check Openreach availability through any major ISP (BT, Sky, EE, Plusnet, Vodafone, TalkTalk) and check altnet coverage separately on the CityFibre, Community Fibre, Hyperoptic, Gigaclear, YouFibre, brsk, Trooli and Netomnia websites. Many flats and new-builds are served only by an altnet, so a single postcode check is rarely enough.
Yes, on the same timeline as the PSTN switch-off. Openreach has placed FTTC under Stop Sell in every exchange where FTTP is available, meaning no new FTTC orders and no provider migrations onto FTTC. Existing FTTC customers are being migrated to FTTP at renewal, and the copper network is being switched off by 31 January 2027. After that date no UK home will run on FTTC.
Fibre, by a wide margin. Virgin Media cable is asymmetric on DOCSIS 3.1: the 1 Gbps tier uploads at about 50 Mbps and Gig2 at roughly 100 Mbps. Openreach FTTP is also asymmetric but more generous (1000/115 Mbps typical). Altnet FTTP networks running XGS-PON, including Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, YouFibre and Gigaclear, offer symmetric packages where upload matches download, which matters for video calls, cloud backups, live streaming and remote work.
Nexfibre is a Virgin Media O2 joint venture with InfraVia and Telefónica, building a brand-new XGS-PON full-fibre network to more than 5 million UK premises by 2026 and 2027. Virgin Media sells broadband over both networks: legacy DOCSIS 3.1 cable in its existing 16 million-home footprint, and full-fibre FTTP on Nexfibre to new addresses. The product names look similar but the underlying tech is different, with the Nexfibre service offering symmetric speeds and lower latency.
Next steps
Once you have confirmed which networks reach your postcode, run a speed test on your current line, then compare like-for-like FTTP tiers across Openreach ISPs and any altnets serving your address. Plan around the 2027 PSTN switch-off if you are still on FTTC, since the migration to FTTP will happen at your next renewal regardless.