FTTP broadband (or fibre-to-the-premises) is the latest broadband technology which brings the lightning-fast speeds of fibre right to your home.

Traditional DSL or even more recent ‘fibre’ broadband use copper cables to bring broadband into your home – these cables are susceptible to environmental factors and interference, resulting in slower speeds and less reliability.

Full-fibre broadband has removed the need for copper cables entirely, so there’s no loss of speed and you get a super stable and reliable connection.

When we install our full-fibre broadband in your home, we’ll fit an ONT (Optical Network Terminal) to bring the fibre into your home. This will be connected to an Adtran dual band WiFi 6.0 router.

The detailed router specifications can be found by following the below links:

Standard Router for up to PureFibre 900 customers (Adtran 834-v6)

Standard Router for PureFibre 2000 customers (Adtran 854-v6)

Smart WiFi+ (Mesh) Units (Adtran 841-t6)

When we install full-fibre in your home, we’ll recommend the best place to place your router to make sure as much of your home receives great service as possible.

If you’re experiencing issues with your WiFi, there are a few things you can do to help:

• Make sure your router is located as near as reasonably possible to the areas where you need WiFi the most
• Some non-WiFi equipment transmits data on the 2.4Ghz WiFi band and can cause interference or reduced performance. Keep the following items as far as possible from your router to help:
• • Baby monitors
  • DECT cordless phones
  • Xbox controllers
  • Some alarm and door entry systems
  • Microwave ovens
  • Zigbee remote controllers (used by some smart home devices)

If you’re still experiencing issues, you may need to use WiFi extenders to boost the signal in weaker areas of your home. Check out our Smart WiFi+ solution that does this and much more.

Our fibre network is built using XGS-PON technology. XGS-PON stands for Extended Gigabit Passive Optical Network. 

XGS-PON is a type of technology that helps provide very fast and reliable internet to your home or office. It’s like having a superhighway for internet data.

Here are some benefits of using XGS-PON:

Really fast internet

With XGS-PON you can get internet speeds as fast as 10Gbps – that’s fast enough to download an entire HD movie in just a few seconds! 

Upload and download speeds are equal

It’s not just about downloading stuff quickly; XGS-PON also lets you upload things to the internet just as fast – super handy for activities like video calls or sending big files.

Great for streaming and gaming

Whether you’re streaming movies, playing online games, or working from home, XGS-PON ensures a smooth and speedy experience without annoying lags or buffering.

Secure and reliable

It’s designed with security in mind, so your internet connection is safe from snooping or hacking. Plus, it’s super reliable, so you can count on it working well all the time.

In a nutshell, XGS-PON is like having a supercharged internet connection that’s incredibly fast, works really well for all your online activities and is as secure as a fortress. Everything you need to make your internet experience awesome! 

If you have our Smart Home WiFi service, you can open the mobile app and run a speed test from there. You can also view historical speed test data for the last 7 days. If you don’t have our Smart Home WiFi service, we recommend using speedtest.net by Ookla to get an accurate test of your current speeds.

• Close all open programs and applications on your device (including any VPN software) and make sure you’re the only person using your broadband connection
• The results are more accurate if you download the speedtest app rather than using a browser. You can complete this on any internet-connected device (laptop, phone, tablet)
• Once loaded, press “GO” – the app will now complete a speed test from the device you’re using
• Once completed, you’ll be provided with the ping, download speed and upload speed results

Speed tests are best carried out over a wired connection (where possible) rather than over a wireless connection as WiFi is iften slower. If you’re unable to connect your device using an ethernet cable, test your wireless device while standing next to the router, making sure the device is up to date and has 5Ghz capability if possible. The results won’t be as accurate as WiFi signal interruptions can affect the speed/quality of the internet service you receive on your device.

The speed test results are often unique to the device you’re using, so you may find slight differences between different devices. If your speed test is lower than expected, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to help. Please make sure you’ve followed all the instructions above before you call. 

Ping

Ping is the reaction time of your connection (how quickly you get a response after you’ve sent out a request). A fast ping means a more responsive connection, especially useful in applications where timing is key such as video conferencing and gaming. Anything under 59ms is great – the lower the ping the better!

Download Speed

The download speed is how fast you can pull data from the server to you. Traditional fibre-to-the-cabinet connections are designed to download much faster than they upload, since the majority of online activity such as loading web pages or streaming videos consists of data downloads.

Download speed is measured in megabits per second (Mbps)

Upload Speed

The upload speed is how fast you send data to others. Uploading is necessary for sending big files via email, using video calls to talk to someone else and online gaming.

Upload speed is also measured in megabits per second (Mbps)

Many factors can impact a speed test result. It’s always good to do multiple speed tests over a period of time using a different device, if you can.  This can help narrow down any issues to a particular device or connection. 

Devices

All devices have different capabilities, and some may not be able to measure the full speeds of your broadband service. Your test result will only be as fast as the slowest part of the connection between your device and the speed test server. Older devices typically operate at slower speeds than newer devices. 

Wired or Wireless

How the test is carried out will make a huge difference. Always test using a wired connection first if possible. WiFi speeds will be slower than a wired connection and can be affected by objects in your home including walls, doors, floors and even radiators. 

Cables

Not all ethernet cables are capable of carrying the full speeds of your broadband service. Cat5 can carry 100Mbps, Cat5e can carry 1000Mbps and Cat6 can carry 1000Mbps+. 

Timing

A speed test measures the connection at that point in time and will vary based on what is happening at that time, both on the device and within the home. More devices on the network in your home means more devices sharing the internet connection. This will affect the speed any single device can achieve. If the device is occupied doing something at the same as the speed test, it will react slower to the speed test giving a lower speed than is actually available. 

Your Device 

Mobile device test results will usually be different than tests using a computer or laptop due to the hardware processing limitations and may provide lower results than your broadband service speed. As an example, the Apple iPhone 6 has a maximum Wi-Fi connection speed of up to 120Mbps whereas recent laptop and desktop computers can achieve up to 1Gbps via a wired connection.

Your fibre connection is delivered to your home using our infrastructure.

We lay a fibre cable from the nearest telephone exchange to a toby box (small black box in the ground) outside your home. On the day of your installation our install engineers will extend the fibre cable from the toby box into your home. Our engineers will talk you through how they plan to get the fibre cable into your home.

Once this has been done, a small box called an ONT (Optical Network Terminal) will be installed in your home which will connect to the router we provide.

As part of our Calls package, you get unlimited calls to UK landlines and mobiles. Prices start from as low as £4.99 per month.

Visit our availability checker to see if we’re available in your area. If we are, you can sign up on our website and you can select to add calls to your package.

Alternatively, call one of our friendly team on 0330 236 9900, tell them you want to sign up including our calls package and they’ll do everything for you. 

Simply put, Smart WiFi+ is WiFi that just works.

Our Smart WiFi+ device will extend coverage throughout your home, acting as a WiFi extender, while also providing enhanced network security and parental controls through a dedicated app where you can monitor your home’s usage.

Read more about Smart WiFi+ here.

If you need to check our broadband service status you can head over to our Service Status page.

If there’s any planned maintenance or outages, we’ll send an email and SMS with regular updates to keep you informed, as we know how important your broadband connection is. 

As standard our broadband connection comes with basic parental controls. By logging into the router you can enable/disable the blocking of adult and malicious content. You can also set basic time access profiles for your WiFi networks.

If you would like enhanced parental controls we suggest you use our Smart WiFi+ product, which has extra functionality.

To login to your router, ensure you are connected via WiFi or ethernet cable and open a web browser. Then navigate to https://192.168.1.1 and login with the username ‘admin’. You can find your admin password on the underside of your router.

Once you login you’ll be able to configure common settings, such as guest WiFi and port forwarding.

If you have our Smart WiFi+ service, you’ll be able to use the mobile app to manage your router.

No, we’re proud to say that our broadband doesn’t have any speed restrictions.

If you’re an existing customer, you can add a static IP address to your account at any time. If you’re a new customer, just place your broadband order, then get in touch to let us know you’d like a static IP. 

Most home users don’t need a static IP address and we don’t offer more than one static IP address to home broadband users. When you request a static IP address we may ask you a couple of questions as to why, this allows us to ensure we’ve recorded the justification for the IP address use.

For residential customers we only offer 1 static IP address. For business customers if you require more than 1 static IP address, please contact us to discuss.

A static IP incurs an extra charge of £9.99 per month.

Broadband is the physical connection that runs from the exchange to your property – this is the connection we provide and control. WiFi is a wireless connection from your WiFi router to your devices – your phone, laptop, smart TV or gaming system.

You can connect to your broadband connection in one of 2 ways:

• Hard Wired – This provides a direct connection to your broadband service by plugging your device into your router using an ethernet cable. This will provide you with the fastest and most stable connection possible. We recommend using a Cat5e or higher ethernet cable.
• WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) – This technology allows you to connect to the physical broadband connection without using any cables. This means you can connect multiple devices at one time and use them around your house. WiFi speeds will be slower than a wired connection and can be affected by objects in your home including walls, doors, floors and even radiators. As every home is different, we cannot guarantee speeds over WiFi connections. If you have a large house we recommend using our Smart WiFi+ mesh system.

If you’d prefer to use your own router, then you can. However, please note that we will not be able provide support for your broadband service or 3^rd party router.

If you have a broadband service issue, before we can start troubleshooting we will request that you plug the router we provide into your connection. This allows us to view diagnostic information and troubleshoot any issues.

If you choose to use your own router, please contact us and we will provide you with the information you need to get your connection running. If you have any difficulties setting up your router, please refer to the manufacturer or other technical support.

We don’t offer firewalls. Our standard router comes with a basic firewall, however if you require something more advanced you can install your own firewall on your devices.

• Keep your router visible – avoid hiding it in a cupboard or on the floor, where the WiFi signal will be obstructed
• Think about the position of your router to reduce the number of walls slowing down your signal. If you can eliminate even one wall between your workspace and the router, you can drastically improve performance
• Try to avoid having your router near a window – your router broadcasts WiFi in all directions and your signal will go outside, rather than your home if you have it near a window
• Try to avoid having your router behind your TV or near metal objects as they can reflect and disperse the signal
• Keep your router high – mount it high on the wall or on the top shelf to get a better signal
• Ensure cables are not bent or tightly wound up as this can damage the cables and impact your signal
• Disconnect devices you aren’t using
• Order our Smart WiFi+ service to boost the signal around your home with our mesh satellites

You can find your SSID and password on the label on the bottom of your router. If for any reason this has been lost or damaged, you can call our support team on 0330 236 9900 who can help you retrieve it!

If you’d like to change your SSID and/or password you can login to your router through a web browser and adjust the settings as you desire.

If you have our Smart WiFi+ service you can change the SSID and/or password through the mobile app.

This is due to our internal network configuration which uses CGNAT (carrier grade network address translation). If you need to control this, you can add a static IP address to your broadband connection.