Original article ISPreview UK:Read More
A new study from Go.Compare, which combined ONS data with the results from a YouGov survey of 2,000 UK residents (conducted on 25th February 2025), has estimated that “up to” 11 million internet users could have access to full fibre (FTTP) broadband without realising. This is important as some ISPs offer free upgrades to the faster service.
According to Ofcom’s most recent spring coverage report (here), some 86% of UK premises are now within reach of a gigabit-capable broadband network, which falls to 74% for homes with access to a full fibre network (based on January 2025 data). Suffice to say that a significant majority of locations should already be able to order a true fibre optic connection to their home.
However, the new survey claims that 26% of broadband users didn’t know whether or not their home already had a full fibre connection, which means that some users could be on a full fibre connection already without realising and others may simply be confused – possibly due to the misleading way in which broadband packages have been sold in the past (e.g. promoting hybrid copper and fibre solutions like FTTC as “fibre broadband“).
Interestingly, younger internet users were found to be “less likely” to know what kind of broadband connection their home has, with 37% of under-35s stating that they were unsure, compared to 21% of over-54s. Similarly, those who receive the worst service are the least likely to know their connection type. Of those who said they receive a very unreliable service, 40% did not know if their property had access to full fibre, compared to 23% of those who said their broadband is very reliable.
The issue of low awareness is not a new problem, particularly since many consumers often pay more attention to the advertised speeds they can get than the underlying technology being used. On top of that, today’s market reflects a bewilderingly complex array of rival network operators and hundreds of retail ISPs, all with differing network agreements and thus varying levels of availability. Trying to pick through all this while maintaining your sanity can be difficult.
On the other hand, the new survey found that 48% of respondents didn’t even know their existing broadband speeds, meaning they could be receiving slower speeds than promised without realising. In any case, we always recommend taking opinion surveys like this with a pinch of salt, as they don’t tend to provide for the most accurate representation of reality.