This BT and Virgin Media rival proves why you’re paying too much for broadband

If you want access to ultra-fast broadband then BT and Virgin Media are top choices. Both of these Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer ludicrously fast speeds with customers able to whizz the web into their living rooms at over 1Gbps – at that rapid rate, you can download a full HD movie to your TV in under 40 seconds. That’s clearly something we’d all like but getting these speeds isn’t exactly cheap with both Virgin and BT charging in excess of £55 per month for the privilege.

It’s an expensive business but one smaller rival is shaking things up by offering blistering broadband at a much more affordable price. Community Fibre, which supplies homes across the capital, currently has its 1,000Mbps speeds up for grabs for just £35 per month – that’s £20 less than BT and £25 less than Virgin.

As well as fast downloads, users also get access to the very latest Linksys Wi-Fi 6 router which helps improve the reliability of the signal around the home. Another bonus of joining Community Fibre is there’s no set-up fee to pay.

Of course, unlike BT and Virgin, Community Fibre is only available in around 600,000 homes but it does show that there are much cheaper ways to get much faster speeds.

There are plenty of smaller ISPs popping up all over the country and it’s worth checking to see if any have arrived on your street as you might be able to boost your downloads while paying less for the privilege.

For example, Hyperoptic also has its best 1Gbps service available for just £35 per month and Gigaclear has 900Mbps for £49 per month.

Here are how some of the fastest broadband speeds compare:

BT Full Fibre 900 • £55.99 per month (£27.99 first 3 months)
INCLUDES: 900Mbps speeds, unlimited downloads plus 12 months access to Xbox Games Pass.
SMALL PRINT: 24-month contract | £9.99 setup fee
SEE THE DEAL HERE

Virgin Media Gig1 • £60 per month
INCLUDES: 1Gbps speeds, unlimited downloads and a Virgin Media WiFi Hub
SMALL PRINT: 18-month contract | £35 setup fee
SEE THE DEAL HERE

Community Fibre • £35 per month
INCLUDES: 1Gbps speeds, unlimited downloads and a Linksys Wi-Fi 6 hub.
SMALL PRINT: 24-month contract | £0 setup fee
SEE THE DEAL HERE

Hyperoptic • £35 per month
INCLUDES: 1Gbps speeds, unlimited downloads.
SMALL PRINT: 24-month contract | £0 setup fee
SEE THE DEAL HERE

So do you actually need 1Gbps speeds?

Opting for 1Gbps speeds is perfect for busy homes that have lots of people trying to access the web at the same time. If your kids are all watching Netflix whilst you are attempting to join the weekly Zoom call then the faster your broadband is the better.

It’s also a good option if you love downloading movies or playing endless titles on your console.

A home with 1Gbps broadband will be able to whizz a 50GB game to a PS5 in just 7 minutes – that’s compared to almost two hours via standard 70Mbps.