Myth buster: All “fibre” broadband is the same

If you’ve shopped for broadband recently, you’ve probably noticed providers talking about ‘full fibre’ and ‘part fibre’.

At first glance, it can sound like marketing. After all, if both services use fibre optic technology, surely they’re the same thing?

Well, not quite.

Because while both use fibre, there are some very important differences in how they’re delivered. And those differences can affect the speeds and performance you experience at home.

So why all the different names?

Part of the confusion comes from the way broadband has been marketed over the years.

If you cast your mind back to the early days of broadband, there was just a single variety. Good old-fashioned copper (or ADSL) broadband used exactly the same wires as us old’uns used for our dial-up internet connections (i.e. the telephone network).

Then came fibre to the cabinet (FTTC), which brought fibre much closer to people’s homes. Instead of copper wires carrying broadband signals to and from the telephone exchange, they now only had to communicate with the nearest street cabinet. And the less copper involved in the journey, the faster the connection.

Internet service providers were keen to distinguish this new type of broadband from ADSL and so started to advertise it as “fibre”.

But then full fibre came along, and that caused a problem. Because now you had two different kinds of broadband each being referred to as “fibre”.

An older ‘superfast’ broadband connection, using FTTC tech, and an ‘ultrafast’ fibre optic connection that used fibre right up to the user’s home or office.

Fibre confusion

That created a situation where the word fibre became more confusing than helpful.

If you’re on the lookout for broadband and see the word “fibre”, if that’s all the information you’re given, you actually have no idea what you’re getting.

Which is why providers have now tried to make the whole thing a bit easier to understand.

What’s the difference between part fibre and full fibre?

Nowadays, you’ll see providers using terms such as part fibre and full fibre. It’s a clearer way of explaining the different types of available broadband technology.

Part fibre broadband uses fibre optic cables for most of the journey, but the final stretch into your home still uses a traditional copper phone line. It’s a lot better than older copper broadband, but it isn’t quite fibre all the way.

Full fibre does use fibre optic cables all the way into your property. And while that might not sound like a huge difference, it’s a very important one.

Because full fibre doesn’t rely on that final copper section, it can deliver faster speeds and a more consistent performance.

Think of it like a motorway.

Part fibre gets you most of the way there on a fast road, but the final part of the journey still takes place on a winding country lane. Full fibre keeps you on the motorway all the way to your destination.

Does that mean part fibre isn’t any good?

Not at all.

Part fibre remains a fast, reliable broadband service that’s well suited to everyday activities such as browsing, streaming, online shopping, social media and home working.

For many households it provides everything they need.

And if full fibre hasn’t reached your area yet, part fibre is often the best broadband technology currently available.

So why is everyone talking about full fibre?

Because the way we use the internet has changed.

Today’s homes are filled with connected devices. We stream films and TV, make video calls, game online, work from home and connect everything from doorbells to smart speakers.

As our reliance on broadband grows, so does the demand we place on it. And that’s where full fibre comes into its own.

Because the connection runs all the way into your home, it’s built to support faster speeds and the growing demands of modern households.

So is all “fibre” the same?

No.

Part fibre and full fibre both use fibre optic technology, but only full fibre uses it all the way into your home.

That doesn’t mean part fibre isn’t a great service. But if full fibre has reached your area, it’s worth checking whether it’s now available at your address.

And if it hasn’t arrived yet, don’t worry. Part fibre remains a fast, reliable way to stay connected while you keep an eye on future full fibre rollout plans.