Beware! Is your fibre connection truly fibre? Know what you need to look out for

Picture this, you’ve just bought a sandwich for your lunch, maybe some of those fancy hand-cut crisps, and a nice coffee too, but there’s nothing that could sadden your sourdough more, than realising you’ve only got half a sarnie in the packet.

You’d be straight back to the deli and kicking up a stink.

In reality, many broadband customers are going through the exact same scenario, every single day, without even realising it.

The good news is, UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, recently laid out new guidance which would only allow a broadband provider to use the terms ‘fibre’ and ‘full fibre’ on their websites and in contracts “if their network uses fibre-optic cables all the way from the exchange to the home”. 

That means, consumers can no longer be led to believe their home is enjoying ‘ultrafast’, ‘lightning speed’ or whatever jargon was advertised, unless the connection truly is fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP).

Why is it important? Well, it’s shocking to note just how many consumers think they have full fibre, but they actually don’t. You may be paying for what you believe to be an FTTP connection, but if the fibre stops at the cabinet at the side of your road, it will still travel down the old copper wire on its way to your house, known as fibre-to-the-cabinet or FTTC.

Under Ofcom’s proposal for fibre terminology, internet service providers (ISPs) may be expected to include a short description on their websites and contracts around the underlying technology of their network — using terms such as ‘fibre’, ‘cable’, ‘full fibre’, ‘copper’ or ‘part fibre’. Crucially though, providers will only be able to use the terms ‘fibre’ and ‘full fibre’ when referring to fibre-to-the-premises networks (FTTP).

We think this is so important, particularly given Ofcom’s own research highlighted that only 46% of customers who reported being on full fibre broadband were actually living in areas where it is available.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again — we believe in building a future-proofed broadband network for the UK, which supports the way society lives, works, and plays. That infrastructure must deliver the guaranteed speeds people need now and for years to come.

Because our connectivity is full fibre down to the ‘last mile’ – right up to your door – customers enjoy the connectivity they pay for, not merely a proportion of it! You wouldn’t ever accept paying for a full sandwich but only getting to eat half! So why is the internet any different?

To find out if you can access BeFibre’s full fibre broadband, visit be-fibre.co.uk/availability and input your postcode.