Broadband postcode checker

Almost every home in the UK should be able to get standard ADSL broadband, but speeds and availability can vary across the country.

According to the latest Ofcom figures (December 2023):

• Most UK properties can now get decent broadband – at least 10 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 1 Mbps upload speeds.
• Superfast broadband with download speeds of at least 30 Mbps is available to 97% of the UK.
• Full fibre broadband is now available to over 17.1 million homes (57%) across the UK.
• Gigabit-capable broadband with download speeds of 1 Gbit/s or higher, is now available to around 23.2 million (78%) UK homes.

If you live in one of the few areas that still can’t get decent broadband, you might be eligible for the Broadband Universal Service. This gives you the right to ask for a decent and affordable broadband service.

Find out more about the Broadband Universal Service on Ofcom’s information page.

Broadband availability can vary widely between different areas, and even between different homes with the same postcode. There are several reasons for this, including:

• How far your home is from the nearest exchange
• The type of infrastructure available to you (ADSL, FTTC or FTTP)
• The type of property you live in. 

If you live in a remote area, you might find you can only get ADSL via your copper phone line rather than faster fibre broadband. It could be that the network providers can’t justify the costs of laying cables to supply such a small population or are unable to carry out the work in protected conservation areas. 

Surprisingly, some densely populated areas like parts of London may also have limited broadband availability. This is mainly because of the difficulty in laying cables in such busy locations. Large blocks of flats may also have a limited choice of broadband options, as may many new homes that were built in recent years without the infrastructure for fibre broadband services.

It all depends on the cables that connect to your home. If you’re in a particularly remote area, you may only have access to an ADSL connection. This type of connection:

• Relies entirely on the traditional copper phone lines to transmit your data. These copper lines can’t maintain high performance over long distances, which means the further you are from your street cabinet, the slower your connection.
• Has average broadband speeds of about 10Mbps.

Fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) connections are widely available across the UK. FTTC connections:

• Use fibre-optic cables to the street cabinet, before the final leg of the journey uses the copper line. This still means your speed might suffer if you live far from the cabinet, but the connection feeding that cabinet is much quicker. If you live in pretty much any town or city in the UK, it’s likely you’ll have access to a FTTC connection. 
• Have speeds that usually average between 50-70Mbps.

Finally, fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) connections are the fastest of the fast. FTTP connections:

• Use fibre-optic cables plugged directly into your home so the connection is consistently ultrafast – but the cables need to be connected directly to your home. This requires a lot of new cabling to be laid, which takes time and money.
• Have average speeds of up to 1,000Mbps.
• Are currently only available in larger towns and cities, but this will improve over time.

If you’re just looking for the cheapest broadband, a good place to start is our broadband comparison tool. Just enter your postcode and we’ll compare broadband deals available in your area with all our providers. From there, you can filter your results to show the cheapest at the top and choose whichever you like.

Just be aware, by going with just the cheapest broadband deal, you could really be missing out on speed. Don’t just decide based on price, as you could improve your speeds for just a few pounds more a month.

• ADSL connections are generally the cheapest but only offer average speeds of around 10 Mbps.
• Fibre broadband offers speeds of around 50-70 Mbps, a huge leap in performance, and doesn’t normally cost that much extra now. 

It's worth looking at bundled broadband and phone deals. Most broadband packages need a landline anyway, and it could often work out cheaper than paying for your home phone and internet separately. You can find fibre unlimited and phone deals through us for as little as £20 per month. 

If you’re on a low income and receive certain government benefits like Universal Credit, you might qualify for a social broadband tariff. These are much cheaper than standard tariffs – around £10 to £20 per month – and offer an affordable way to get the internet you need. Only a handful of providers offer social tariffs though, so your options may be limited.

With 97% of the UK now having access to superfast broadband, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to get it.

Use our broadband checker to find out if there are fibre broadband deals in your area – and if not, what the fastest broadband alternatives are.

Switching broadband is pretty simple. Once you decide to switch, your new provider should take care of the whole transfer for you.

But if you’re switching between completely different types of broadband (for example, cable broadband provided by Virgin to a fibre-optic service provided by BT or vice versa), your old service can’t be switched automatically. In this case, you’ll need to cancel with your existing provider and start a new contract with your new provider.

If you want to switch before your old contract ends, check whether there’s an early cancellation fee to pay. However, you may not need to pay this if your broadband speed falls below the guaranteed minimum promised by your provider.

Find out more in our guide to switching broadband providers

Use our postcode checker to find the best broadband deals available in your area. You can then compare deals based on monthly cost, speeds, data allowance, contract length and more.