What is gigabit internet?
Broadband connections are getting faster each year and the next step in home broadband is the jump to gigabit speeds.
With superfast speeds up to 70Mbps available to 98% of the country, the majority of UK households are able to get decent internet speed at home. But nowadays more than 85% of UK homes can also get access to full fibre or Virgin Media broadband, which can provide speeds over 1,000Mbps with gigabit internet.
Gigabit internet explained
Gigabit internet delivers download speeds of around 1Gbps, the equivalent of 1,000Mbps.
These kinds of speeds are typically only available in locations with fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), commonly known as ‘full fibre’ connections, or areas covered by Virgin Media's network.
However, the biggest difference between full fibre and cable internet is the significant difference between their upload and download speeds. Upload speeds on Virgin Media's cable network are relatively low compared to what's capable with full fibre, where they're sometimes equal to the download speed.
86% of all UK homes have access to gigabit-capable broadband
*according to Ofcom in January 2025
Can I get gigabit broadband?
Gigabit-capable broadband connections are continually increasing across the UK, with nearly 26 million homes (86%) now able to access these top-end speeds.
| Access to gigabit-capable services | September 2023 | January 2024 (interim update) | July 2024 | January 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | 78% | 80% | 83% | 86% |
| England | 78% | N/A | 84% | 86% |
| Northern Ireland | 92% | N/A | 94% | 95% |
| Scotland | 72% | N/A | 77% | 79% |
| Wales | 64% | N/A | 74% | 78% |
You can see more stats and information about internet access across the UK on our broadband statistics page.
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What can I do with gigabit internet speeds?
Obviously the higher your download speed, the faster you can download files and the better quality you can stream smoothly, and gigabit internet offers speeds ten times faster than average superfast broadband.
There are a few key instances when this incredible speed can be incredibly useful.
Streaming video
The largest files most of us use each day are video files, and so streaming video, whether that’s Netflix, YouTube or Disney Plus, is where you’ll see some of the most noticeable increases in performance when you have gigabit internet. This is especially true when streaming in 4K, which uses four or five times as much bandwidth as streaming in HD – aka 1080p.
By itself, 4K streaming shouldn’t be a problem for most superfast fibre broadband connections, the problem comes when there are multiple users in one household. With two or three people using 4K devices in your home, even a 100Mbps connection can get clogged up pretty quickly, leaving not much bandwidth for anything else.
So if you have a household full of devices, gigabit internet is sure to give you plenty of spare bandwidth no matter who’s streaming what.
Online gaming
Online gaming with gigabit internet
There are few things more frustrating when gaming online than a bad ‘lag’. This is the time between you making your move on the controller and seeing it on the screen. Those that receive their gigabit internet via a full fibre connection will have similar upload and download speeds and often won’t have to worry about slow ping rates or weak connections.
Another benefit of getting gigabit internet via full fibre is that, with your upload speeds matching your downloads, you can stream your gameplay much more smoothly on platforms like Twitch.
Immersive media
Immersive media
Taking media one step beyond streaming and gaming, immersive media, such as 360-degree video and VR is quickly becoming more popular and could greatly benefit from gigabit internet. Faster download and upload speeds, as well as dramatically-reduced latency, will mean a smoother, more realistic experience in immersive digital environments.
Working from home
Working from home
Those of us who have swapped our office chairs for sofas quickly realised that our home broadband was no match for some of our daily work requirements. Sending and receiving large files, uploading high-resolution images or videos, all the usual tasks you could perform in seconds on the work Wi-Fi that you took for granted.
Gigabit internet reduces the strain on your home network and leaves you with plenty of bandwidth for other members of your household to get on with Zoom calls, home workouts and Netflix binge sessions
Cloud-based storage
Traditional methods of backing up data such as local storage and external hard drives are vital for data-heavy files like videos and high-resolution images, but cloud-based storage services have quickly become the new norm. Services like Google Drive and Dropbox give you access to your files wherever you are, and make automatic backups a breeze.
With gigabit internet, using cloud-based storage could be just as quick as using a USB stick or an external hard drive. For more tech-savvy users, you might even want to consider setting up your own server, which can provide huge amounts of storage that can be accessed via online platforms whenever you need it.
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Which providers offer gigabit internet?
Almost all internet providers offer gigabit broadband these days, but their availability depends on where you live.
Providers that use the Openreach network can now supply gigabit speeds to about 70% of the UK, and Virgin Media's gigabit speeds are available to two-thirds of UK homes. There are also dozens of smaller gigabit networks dotted around the country.
What is Project Gigabit?
Project Gigabit is a government-backed scheme aimed at providing rural residents and businesses fairer access to fast, reliable broadband where installing it is usually more costly and impractical.
It’s based on the government’s pledge to ensure 85% of UK properties have access to gigabit broadband by 2025, which it succeeded with after reaching 86% at the start of the year.
Aimed at providing rural and remote properties with future-proofing broadband speeds, Project Gigabit provides funding to full fibre providers and other gigabit technologies to connect the hardest-to-reach areas of the country for a very low cost.
Project Gigabit is one of many projects underway to ensure full fibre and other gigabit broadband connections can be accessed by every property in the UK this decade.
However, the particular focus it has on giving access to people in hard-to-reach areas who have very few options available will hopefully ensure that no household is left behind.
You can also learn more about the different types of fibre broadband available in the UK here.
How is Project Gigabit different from other full fibre rollouts?
There are many network providers already building their own full fibre broadband infrastructure and expanding them across the country.
However, since these rollouts rely more on providers’ own budgets, there’s a limit to the areas where they can afford to supply and install fibre-optic broadband cables. Some neighbourhoods are so remote that it actually costs more for a provider to lay cables there than they could make back in revenue.
To combat this, Project Gigabit’s funding goes directly towards helping providers perform these very rural installations. This will allow providers to expand their networks to all possible homes, regardless of commercial interests or economic viability.
There’s also a plan for locations that fixed-line broadband has no chance of ever reaching, such as fully isolated properties in very remote locations. The team behind Project Gigabit is looking into supplying ultrafast 5G mobile broadband and satellite broadband connections to these areas, so they can still access very fast internet speeds through the UK’s mobile networks.
Don’t waste time and money waiting for full fibre
If your area hasn’t yet had full fibre installed yet, you might be able to switch to a faster deal while you wait. And if you’ve been using your current broadband package for at least a couple of years, you’re likely paying much higher prices than you should be for the internet speed you’re getting.
Compare broadband deals with Uswitch to find a package that suits the needs of your household.
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