By BT offers a choice of Full Fibre 100, Full Fibre 500 & Full Fibre 900 plans on FTTP technology. Compare the plans and speeds available.
In the UK, BT now offers full fibre broadband with download speeds of up to 900Mbps. It uses a fibre optic connection all the way into your home so you’ll get download speeds that are up to 15 times faster than normal fibre broadband. You’ll also get a more reliable broadband service as it doesn’t rely on a copper phone line into your home.
At present, you can choose from three full fibre broadband plans on BT: Full Fibre 100, Full Fibre 500 and Full Fibre 900.
In this article, we’ll review and compare BT’s Full Fibre broadband plans, including the speeds available and what you can do on each one. We’ll also look at the best full fibre deals and how to get a BT reward card when you sign up. Finally, we’ll look at BT’s full fibre hub and the current availability of the service.
Get a £50 reward card on BT Full Fibre →
| Prices From: | £29.99 per month |
|---|---|
| Best Offer: | £50 reward card (currently available on BT Full Fibre 100) |
| Contract Length: | 24 months |
| Download Speed: | 150Mbps (Full Fibre 100) 500Mbps (Full Fibre 500) 910Mbps (Full Fibre 900) |
| Upload Speed: | 30Mbps (Full Fibre 100) 73Mbps (Full Fibre 500) 110Mbps (Full Fibre 900) |
| Router: | Smart Hub 2 |
| Coverage: | 8 million+ homes (check your postcode) |
Contents
What is Full Fibre Broadband?
In the UK, what we traditionally know as a “fibre broadband” connection should more accurately be described as part-fibre or a fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) connection.
With fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband, a fibre optic cable runs from the telephone exchange to a cabinet near your home. The final section (the “last mile”) between the cabinet and your home uses an old copper phone line. Because of this, the download speeds will rarely go above 67Mbps (with a maximum of 80Mbps if you live very close to the cabinet).
In contrast, full fibre broadband (also known as fibre-to-the-premises or FTTP broadband) uses a fibre optic connection all the way into your home. There are four major benefits to using full fibre technology:
- You can access download speeds of up to 900Mbps. With full fibre broadband, you’ll be able to access much faster download speeds. A full fibre connection can be up to 15 times faster than regular fibre broadband.
- Your broadband service will have capacity for more devices at the same time. You can have more devices sharing your home broadband connection at the same time. BT often says their full fibre service will allow you to connect up to 100 devices to the internet at the same time.
- You’ll get a more reliable service. As full fibre broadband doesn’t rely on an old copper phone line, it isn’t susceptible to the same noise and interference problems that can sometimes affect regular fibre broadband.
- You’ll get a lower latency connection. With full fibre, you’ll normally get a lower amount of latency or ‘lag’ on your connection. According to Ofcom (the UK’s telecommunications regulator), BT’s full fibre broadband has a typical latency of 7-8ms. This compares with 10-12ms for regular fibre broadband and 15-35ms for pure copper broadband. The lower latency should give you a more responsive experience, especially when you’re playing games online.
As of 2022, BT offers full fibre broadband to around 8 million UK homes. This represents around 30% of all UK homes (you can check the availability at your address here). The current ambition is for this to increase to 25 million homes by the end of 2026.
BT Full Fibre Plans
If you’re living at an address with access to BT’s full fibre broadband, you’ll currently have a choice of three full fibre plans: Full Fibre 100 (with an average download speed of 150Mbps), Full Fibre 500 (with an average download speed of 500Mbps) and Full Fibre 900 (with an average download speed of 910Mbps).
The following table shows a side-by-side comparison of the three plans:
| Full Fibre 100 | Full Fibre 500 | Full Fibre 900 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price: | £29.99 per month | £39.99 per month | £44.99 per month |
| Best Offer: | £50 reward card | £50 reward card | £50 reward card |
| Download Speed (average): | 150Mbps | 500Mbps | 910Mbps |
| Upload Speed (average): | 30Mbps | 73Mbps | 110Mbps |
| Inclusive Features | |||
| Phone Line: | Optional (using Digital Voice) | Optional (using Digital Voice) | Optional (using Digital Voice) |
| BT Virus Protect: | 15 devices | 15 devices | 15 devices |
| Stay Fast Guarantee: | 100Mbps | 250Mbps | 455Mbps |
| Technology | |||
| Technology: | Full Fibre (Fibre 100 & 250 also on Gfast) |
Full Fibre | Full Fibre |
| Router: | Smart Hub 2 | Smart Hub 2 | Smart Hub 2 |
| Availability: | 8 million UK homes Check availability → |
8 million UK homes Check availability → |
8 million UK homes Check availability → |
In addition to the above, you can order BT’s regular fibre broadband plans to be delivered using a full fibre connection (Full Fibre Essential, Full Fibre 1 and Full Fibre 2). If you choose one of these plans, you won’t benefit from the faster speeds available on full fibre. However, you can still benefit from a more reliable service and lower amounts of latency.
If you’re living in a home with access to a G.fast connection, you’ll be able to choose between the Fibre 100 and Fibre 250 broadband plans from BT.
Full Fibre 100
At present, BT’s Full Fibre 100 is their most popular broadband plan using full fibre (FTTP) technology. It offers an average download speed of 150Mbps, with a minimum ‘Stay Fast’ guaranteed download speed of 100Mbps. You’ll also get an average upload speed of 30Mbps.
The Full Fibre 100 plan should be sufficient for most UK households. It’s more than twice the speed of BT’s Fibre 2 plan which is the fastest you’re able to get on a regular fibre broadband connection.
With Full Fibre 100, you can stream ultra-HD video on up to six devices at the same time. You can also download a full HD-quality film in only four minutes.
At present, you can get BT’s Full Fibre 100 broadband for £29.99 per month. You'll also get a £50 reward card when you sign up:
| Service | Download Speed | Monthly Cost (will rise each April by £3) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
 Full Fibre 100 | 150Mbps average download | £29.99 per month No upfront fee £50 reward card 24 month contract | See deal |
See all BT Full Fibre 100 deals →
The Full Fibre 100 plan comes with BT’s Smart Hub 2 router. If you add a home phone service, this will be provided using BT’s Digital Voice technology. There are also optional add-ons in the form of Complete Wi-Fi for a guaranteed wi-fi signal in every room of your home and Hybrid Connect for a 4G-based broadband backup service.
Customers choosing the Full Fibre 100 plan will receive BT’s Virus Protect software to use on up to 15 devices.
Full Fibre 500
If you’re looking for a mid-range full fibre broadband service, you can choose BT’s Full Fibre 500 instead. This offers an average download speed of 500Mbps, with a minimum ‘Stay Fast’ guaranteed download speed of 250Mbps. The Full Fibre 500 plan has an average upload speed of 73Mbps.
If you choose the Full Fibre 500 plan, the download speeds will be more than three times faster than on Full Fibre 100. For instance, you’ll be able to stream ultra-HD video (4K quality) on up to 20 devices at the same time. Alternatively, you can download a entire HD-quality film in around one minute.
It costs £39.99 per month to get Full Fibre 500, with a £50 reward card when you sign up:
| Service | Download Speed | Monthly Cost (will rise each April by £3) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Full Fibre 500 | 500Mbps average download | £39.99 per month No upfront fee £50 reward card 24 month contract | See deal |
See all BT Full Fibre 500 deals →
You’ll get six months of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate included (worth £10 per month) when you sign up on an eligible BT Full Fibre 500 plan. You’ll also get inclusive BT Virus Protect online security.
Full Fibre 900
If you’re looking for BT’s fastest available broadband service, you can get Full Fibre 900 which has an average download speed of 910Mbps. The minimum guaranteed ‘Stay Fast’ download speed is 455Mbps and the average upload speed is 110Mbps.
If you’re using Full Fibre 900, you’ll get download speeds that are around six times faster than on Full Fibre 100. This means you can download a full HD-quality movie in around 36 seconds. You’ll also be able to stream 4K-quality content comfortably on up to 36 devices at the same time. This means it will easily handle demand, even from the busiest households.
You can get BT’s Full Fibre 900 plan for £44.99 per month, with a £50 reward card when you sign up:
| Service | Download Speed | Monthly Cost (will rise each April by £3) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Full Fibre 900 | 910Mbps average download | £44.99 per month No upfront fee £50 reward card 24 month contract | See deal |
See all BT Full Fibre 900 deals →
On the Full Fibre 900 plan, you can get gigabit download speeds (up to 1,000Mbps). However, BT has marketed it as a 900Mbps plan as most home network setups will not allow you to benefit from the full speeds. For instance, you’ll normally need to plug in a Gigabit Ethernet cable directly into the Smart Hub to access the fastest available speeds.
You’ll get 12 months of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate included when you sign up on an eligible Full Fibre 900 plan. You’ll also get a new Smart Hub 2 router included.
Optional add-ons include a home phone service (provided using Digital Voice) and a flexible television service through BT TV. There’s also a whole home mesh wi-fi system with BT’s Complete Wi-Fi add-on and a 4G-based broadband backup service with Hybrid Connect.
Other Broadband Plans
Alongside BT’s full fibre broadband plans, you can also choose one of their regular fibre broadband plans. In some cases, these plans can also be delivered to you using full fibre technology. This will allow you to benefit from the increased reliability of full fibre technology, but not the faster speeds available.
If you’re looking for one of the regular plans, you can choose from Full Fibre Essential, Full Fibre 1 and Full Fibre 2:
| Service | Download Speed | Monthly Cost (will rise each April by £3) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Fibre 2 | 67Mbps average download | £29.99 per month No upfront fee £50 reward card 24 month contract | See deal |
Fibre Essential | 36Mbps average download | £29.99 per month No upfront fee 24 month contract | See deal |
Fibre 1 | 50Mbps average download | £30.99 per month plus £31.99 upfront £50 reward card 24 month contract | See deal |
See all BT fibre broadband deals →
In the past, BT also offered a Full Fibre 300 plan. This is no longer available to new BT customers as it has since been replaced by Full Fibre 500.
BT Full Fibre Speeds
If you’re using BT’s full fibre broadband, you’ll be able to get an average download speed between 150Mbps and 910Mbps, depending on your plan.
The following table shows the average download speed and upload speed you can expect on each of BT’s full fibre broadband plans:
| BT Broadband Plan | Download Speed | Upload Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Full Fibre 100 | 150Mbps (100Mbps guaranteed) |
30Mbps (10Mbps guaranteed) |
| Full Fibre 300† | 300Mbps (150Mbps guaranteed) |
49Mbps (10Mbps guaranteed) |
| Full Fibre 500 | 500Mbps (250Mbps guaranteed) |
73Mbps (10Mbps guaranteed) |
| Full Fibre 900 | 910Mbps (455Mbps guaranteed) |
110Mbps (10Mbps guaranteed) |
† BT’s Full Fibre 300 plan is no longer offered to new customers.
On all of BT’s full fibre broadband plans, you’ll benefit from the Stay Fast Guarantee for Full Fibre. This says your broadband connection should never be slower than the minimum guaranteed speed. If either the download speed or upload speed to your hub falls below the guaranteed minimum, you’ll be able to claim a £20 gift card as compensation from BT (up to four times per year). In some cases, you may also be able to cancel your contract without penalty.
It’s worth emphasising that the Stay Fast Guarantee applies to the speed as measured at your hub and not on your individual devices. In practice, things like a poor Wi-Fi signal can lead to slower speeds on your individual devices. You can add BT’s Complete Wi-Fi service to benefit from a minimum guaranteed speed in every room of home (you’ll get a minimum of 10Mbps in every room of your home with BT’s Complete Wi-Fi Guarantee).
BT Full Fibre Hub
When you sign up for BT’s full fibre broadband, you’ll receive a Smart Hub 2 router to use with the service. This will produce a Wi-Fi network through your home for other devices to connect to. You’ll also get 4 Gigabit Ethernet sockets for connecting wired devices to your home network.
If you add BT’s home phone service using Digital Voice technology, your Smart Hub 2 will also give you DECT wireless connectivity for connecting a cordless home phone.
The following table shows the technical specifications of BT’s Smart Hub 2 router:
| BT Smart Hub 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Availability | ||
| BT Broadband Plans: | Full Fibre 100 Full Fibre 300 Full Fibre 500 Full Fibre 900 |
|
| Connectivity | ||
| Dual-Band Wi-Fi: | Yes | |
| Wi-Fi Connectivity: | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) | |
| Wi-Fi Speed: | Up to 2022Mbps total | |
| 2.4GHz Wi-Fi: | 3×3 MIMO (up to 289Mbps) | |
| 5GHz Wi-Fi: | 4×4 MIMO (up to 1733Mbps) | |
| Mesh Wi-Fi: | Yes (requires BT Complete Wi-Fi) | |
| Ethernet: | 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports | |
| Phone (Digital Voice): | 1 FXS phone port 2 DECT antennas |
|
| USB ports: | 1 USB 2.0 port | |
| Other: | WPA2 / WPA security Built-in firewall Automatic channel selection & optimisation |
|
| Other | ||
| Colour: | Black | |
| More Information: | BT Website | |
In addition to the Smart Hub 2 router, you’ll get an Openreach modem installed in your property, unless you have one already. This is also known as the Optical Network Termination unit (ONT).
Coverage & Availability
BT’s full fibre broadband makes use of full fibre connectivity (FTTP) through the Openreach network.
As of 2022, BT offers full fibre broadband to around 8 million UK homes. This equates to about 30% of all UK households. The current ambition is for this to increase to 25 million homes by December 2026.
To see whether BT’s full fibre broadband is available where you live, you can use the availability checker on their website. This will show you whether BT’s full fibre plans are available where you live.
Check BT Full Fibre Broadband Availability →
Frequently Asked Questions
| What is BT Full Fibre 100? | At present, BT’s Full Fibre 100 is their most popular broadband plan using full fibre technology. It offers an average download speed of 150Mbps (more than double the speed on BT’s Fibre 2 plan). You’ll also get an average upload speed of 30Mbps and a more reliable service that doesn’t depend on an old copper connection. See BT’s Full Fibre 100 broadband deals. |
|---|---|
| How does Full Fibre 100 compare to Full Fibre 500 and Full Fibre 900? | If you choose the Full Fibre 500 or Full Fibre 900 plans, you’ll benefit from a faster download speed and upload speed as follows:
|
| How does BT’s Full Fibre broadband service work? | With regular fibre broadband, the fibre optic connection only goes to a cabinet near your home. The ‘last mile’ between the cabinet and your home uses an old copper phone line so is subject to things slowing down.
With full fibre broadband, the fibre optic connection goes all the way into your home. This means you’re able to get much faster speeds along with a more reliable broadband connection. |
| How do I check the availability of BT’s full fibre broadband where I live? | At present, BT’s full fibre broadband is available in around 8 million UK homes. You can check for availability at your address by entering your postcode on their website.
BT is aiming to roll out full fibre broadband to 25 million homes by December 2026. |
More Information
For more information about BT’s full fibre (FTTP) broadband service, please see BT’s official full fibre webpage.
You may also find it useful to read our BT Broadband review and our guide to full fibre broadband services in the UK.
Woody said:
Having recently installed BT Full Fibre 900 I am achieving download speeds of 945Mbps at the hub with 110Mbps upload. We also have 3 booster discs throughout the house. On mobile devices e.g. iPhone and iPads download speeds range from 150 to 350 Mbps depending on location. Upload speeds are consistently > 100Mbps. TV’s steam 4K and UHD without any problems so overall we are very happy. I understand that to achieve higher speeds would require an Ethernet connection directly to the hub which we have not tried and do not need. As a previous comment mentioned wireless speeds will depend heavily on the speed of the device receiving the signal from the hub.
Ajay said:
Ken,
thank you for your informative article.
I was reading this as Open Reach are presently turning my street into a chaotic building site to install FTTP conduit, and I was wondering if it is worth going to full fibre – after the dust settles? In my use case, the answer is a resounding… no.
Why? Our local VDSL FTTC speeds are 80Mbps (60/20), which is a dream speed for many people. The green box is just meters away. Full HD content streams with little or no dropped packets. So unless I want holes in my driveway, with more diggers, more tarmac, more dust, and spend a lot more money, it’s just not worth it.
If I want speed, I’ll await the arrival of 5G and buy a window antenna. But then I have neighbours who think 60Mbps is SLOW and they need more speed, because the “internet is getting faster” and they need to keep up.
As for download speeds, I wish BT would educate the public that those speeds are to the hub (WAN side). Their device speeds (LAN side) are their problem. Faster internet will NEVER make a slow device run faster, even if ‘broadband experts’ tell you it does.
AJay
Ray Proudfoot said:
Hi Ken. Useful article, thank you. I switched to the 900 package two weeks ago and whilst I can download at 900Mbps on a Ethernet connected PC the download speed on a 6 year-old iPad is only 88.5Mbps. But the upload speed on the iPad is 106Mbps.
The iPad is via Wi-fi of course but the SmartHub 2 is in a bedroom right above me plus there’s a BT Disk in the lounge 3 metres away from my position. Signal strength is excellent.
On my previous BT package – FTTC – download speeds via Ethernet and Wi-fi were very close around 50Mbps. I’m struggling to understand why my download speeds via Wi-fi appear to be throttled compared to uploads. I’m the only user in the house.
Running the same test on a 2 year-old Android smartphone gives me 140/110. It seems very dependent on kit. Hope you can throw some light on things.
Andrew Youll replied:
All WiFi devices conform to varying standards known as the 802.11 Family, there is:
– 802.11a
– 802.11b
– 802.11n
– 802.11ac
– 802.11ax
and within these standards there are sub standards such as MiMo, which depends on number of antennas etc. as such not all devices are equal, over wifi it is generally your device you are using that is the limiting factor.