Your full fibre FAQ - everything (hopefully!) you need to know 💡

Broadband Discussions
1

Ever feel a bit scared to ask exactly what full fibre means - and what it might take to get your own home hooked up?

The team at Broadband Genie get it - and even better, they’ve got answers too. They’ve just launched a brand new full fibre installation guide - give it a read and if it still leaves anything uncertain - just ask!

The guide covers:

  • What is full fibre broadband?
  • Why go full fibre?
  • How to find a good deal before you start
  • How to order and book your installation
  • Preparing for the engineer’s arrival
  • Exactly what will happen on the day, from those wires go to how to make sure you’re happy
  • Troubleshooting and follow-ups

Have you had a look? Does it cover what you need to know?

full fibre checklist

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2

If my Virgin cables to the house were installed about 20 years ago, does this mean that I actually have full fibre? I haven’t had an engineer round for at least 7 years.

If I haven’t got full fibre, how do I check with Virgin and get it?

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3

Hiya @greenwellys you likely have a coaxial cable installed for Virgin Media if it’s been that long. Virgin uses a mix of coaxial and fibre optic cabling. Unlike other providers who run on the Openreach network, you won’t be affected by the copper landline switch off. It’s not in the habit of upgrading networks unless there’s a real issue in the area.

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I took the plunge and got ‘full fibre’ on Wednesday. The broadband I had (Now TV) was going to up my charges by a ridiculous amount, I don’t even have their TV package, so I decided to get rid.

The Openreach engineer installed the cable in under 90minutes, the broadband (from Vodafone) took about six hours after that to come through online.

So far, so good.

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5

That’s reassuring to hear - I’ve just used this guide to help move my sister over to Community Fibre, engineer visiting next week. She’s losing her home phone but her current provider (Plusnet) was still going to charge £25 for 74mbps (I think!) and is stopping offering phone lines at all. The CF deal seems to be 500mbps (which is probably a bit excessive but nice for when visitors come) for £16 / month, and even when it goes up she’ll still be paying less than she would if she just renewed the contract. We had a bit of difficulty visualising exactly what would happen with the fibre installation so the illustrations in this guide are super helpful - we didn’t realise you’d need two power sockets free!

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That’s great news @boomer - definitely goes to show that when it comes to broadband loyalty doesn’t always pay. Don’t forget to keep an eye on your new contract end date - but hopefully you’ve got a year or two of decent speeds and service to enjoy first!

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Ah, it’s briliant that the guide has been useful to you / your sister @TinCansAndString - thanks for letting us know. Hope your switch and install is as smooth as @boomer’s!

If anyone reads this and thinks “but
I still have questions”, just pop them in here and see if the community - or some of our team geniuses (genii? I think geniuses
) - will try to help!

(not a member yet? It’s free to be a Broadband Genius - sign up in seconds)