Full fibre internet, also known as fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), represents the gold standard in broadband technology. Unlike traditional connections that rely on slower copper wires, full fibre delivers lightning-fast speeds directly to your home or business through fibre-optic cables. With this type of connection, the fibre optic cables run straight into your home and copper cables are not involved in the process.
This means that you can receive a much faster connection that allows you to do more with your internet. This advanced technology offers unmatched reliability, minimal lag, and the capacity to handle the growing demands of streaming, gaming, and remote work.
What is the Difference Between Part Fibre and Full Fibre?
The main difference between part fibre and full fibre broadband is the type of cables used to connect your home to the internet. Part fibre uses fibre optic cables from the exchange to your street cabinet, and then copper cables to your home. The problem is that copper cables are older and less reliable than fibre optic cables.
Full fibre uses fibre optic cables from the exchange directly to your home. Full fibre broadband is also faster and more reliable than part fibre broadband.
Why Do People Choose Full Fibre Over Part Fibre?
Most people choose a full fibre connection over a part fibre connection because of the benefits it provides and the fact that it’s much faster. These extra speeds allow you to do much more with your internet connection and they provide extra convenience since there’s no buffering or lag to worry about.
With a full fibre connection, even the busiest and largest households will be able to:
- Work from home without interruptions.
- Download films and TV shows in UHD in seconds.
- Play data-heavy games online without lag.
- Connect a large number of devices thanks to the larger bandwidth.
How Does Full Fibre Broadband Work?
Full fibre is a lot simpler than other types of fixed broadband. With no street cabinet to get in the way, it’s a straightforward case of fibre cables connecting directly from your provider’s exchange to your property.
The internet data you need is received by your provider at its broadband exchange. Then, the data is sent at lightspeed through your provider’s fibre-optic cable network. Lastly, the data arrives at your home, where it’s sent out from your router’s Wi-Fi signal to your device.
What Are the Advantages of Full Fibre Broadband?
Full fibre broadband provides various benefits, from high-speed connectivity to a reliable and stable internet connection. Here are the top 3 advantages of full fibre broadband:
High-Speed Connectivity
Full fibre broadband delivers extremely high-speed connectivity like you’ve never seen before. Copper connections, which are used by older broadband technologies, cause speeds to drop significantly before the internet even reaches your house. Full-fibre broadband delivers lightning-fast speeds straight to your door.
Equal Upload and Download Speeds
Traditional broadband technology throttles upload speeds to a fraction of your download speeds, making video calls and file transfers painfully slow.
With symmetrical upload and download speeds, you can work from home and make video calls with ease while downloading games and HD movies and streaming them with ease.
Reliable Connectivity
We rely on our internet-connected devices more and more, and we know how frustrating it can be when you lose connection. Extreme weather and electromagnetic interference are two examples of environmental issues that can interfere with full-fibre broadband.
Do I Need Full Fibre Broadband?
Most people can get away without full fibre broadband right now. Superfast fibre usually provides enough internet speed for a family to do all they need online without any issues and sometimes it’s cheaper than most full fibre plans.
However, you might need full fibre broadband in the next few years because of the following reasons:
- The internet speed households need will continue to rise as our activities require more data to be sent to our devices.
- The copper phone line network is getting old, and its reliability is worsening. So, even if households don’t necessarily need ultrafast speeds, a network based on full fibre will ensure a much stronger connection in the future.
Can I Get Full Fibre Broadband?
Currently, full fibre is not available across the UK and only a certain percentage of households have access to full fibre broadband. over 60% of the UK.
However, given the UK government’s pledge to connect full fibre to 85% of properties by the end of 2025, it’s likely that you’ll be able to get full fibre in the next few years.
How Do I Know if Full Fibre Broadband is Available In My Area?
You’ll need to put your address into a full fibre checker to see if it’s available in your area.
Providers are working hard to expand their networks across the country, and they quickly update their address logs once they’ve finished installing fibre cables in a new location. So make sure you regularly check your address to see if it’s available yet.
