Broadband is one of those words that gets used constantly but rarely explained. Understanding the meaning of broadband and its various types can help you decide the best broadband option when you get new deals and even help you understand the reason behind your zoom call lags.
Lauren Davies of VoIP and broadband company bOnline explains: “Whether internet, Wi-Fi or broadband, there are important distinctions between all of this jargon we all use in our day to day lives. The utility of each is inextricably linked to each in their own way and people actually have less of an understanding than you may think in day to day life. Ultimately, education around this, much like other things, is key.”
Broadband and Wi-Fi are two completely seperate things. Broadband is the high speed wired connection delivered to your premises by your Internet Service Provider. Wi-Fi is the high speed, wireless, radio frequency, router broadcasted connection to devices in your home.
The Main Types of Broadband in the UK
ADSL
For most of the 2000’s and 2010’s, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) was the most frequent form of broadband in the UK. It was the most common form, especially in rural areas, but was of course slower than the modern alternatives. 2027 will signal the end of ADSL as it exists today, with the switch-off of the PSTN and the cessation of all the UK’s analogue telephone services.
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FTTC
FTTC stands for fibre to the cabinet and is the broadband technology used in most homes in the UK. FTTC connects a fibre-optic cable from the exchange to a green street cabinet and then uses copper wire to connect from the cabinet to the home. With FTTC, you can achieve a broadband speed of up to 80 Mbps. FTTC is faster than ADSL, but is still bound by the copper ‘last mile’. The farther away from the street cabinet, the slower the speeds. Most homes in the UK that have FTTC can now access full fibre where it is available.
FTTP
FTTP stands for fibre to the premises and is also referred to as ‘full fibre’. FTTP connects a fibre-optic cable directly from the exchange to the home or business. With FTTP, the speeds of broadband can achieve up to 3,000 Mbps (3 Gbps). Since fibre-optic cables are not bound by distance, FTTP is a faster and better connection than FTTC.
Mobile Broadband
4G and 5G fixed wireless broadband uses mobile network signals rather than a physical cable. A router receives the mobile signal and distributes it around your home, with no digging or installation required. Speeds vary significantly by location: 4G typically delivers 20 to 100 Mbps, while 5G can reach 100 to 300 Mbps in areas with strong coverage.
What is a Good Broadband Speed?
Ofcom, UK’s communications regulator, has a four-tier system to define broadband speed. The Universal Service Obligation minimum, which is the speed that all UK homes and businesses are entitled to request, is 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. All broadband of 30 Mbps and higher is classified as ‘Superfast’. ‘Ultrafast’ broadband is 100 Mbps and higher, while ‘Gigabit’ broadband is 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps) and higher. These definitions have provided a helpful structure, but the broadband speed that is fine for your household is also dependent on how many users will be active.
UK Average Broadband Speed
Ofcom reported that the average broadband download speed in the UK in 2025-26 was 157 Mbps, which was a significant improvement from the 2022 speed of 69 Mbps and attributed to the rollout of full fibre throughout the UK. This average speed continues to improve as more homes move to gigabit packages, while the median broadband speed for most households remains at around 80 Mbps.
Best Broadband Speeds For Home
Someone working alone at home, who is doing video calls and streams video, would find 25-30 Mbps acceptable, but more realistically, 50-100 Mbps would be ideal. A family of 3-4, with multiple devices that 4K streams video, makes video calls, plays games and runs smart devices all at the same time, would find 100 Mbps a more reasonable starting point. Households that frequently download larger files, use cloud storage a lot, or run advanced smart home devices, would benefit from at least 300 Mbps.
Home Broadband vs Business Broadband
Business broadband packages are designed with different use cases than home broadband packages. For home broadband, the largest concern is how fast the download speeds are compared to how much the package costs. For businesses, the biggest concerns are how fast the upload speeds are, how reliable the connection is, how quickly the support team responds and the SLA of the contract.
The 2027 PSTN Switch-Off
The PSTN switch-off will have particular consequences for business VoIP systems. After January 2027, all businesses will rely on VoIP systems as a result of the decommissioning of landlines. VoIP runs over the Internet, which means that the quality and reliability of broadband directly impact the quality of voice calls. Any business that is, or is likely to be, reliant on VoIP communications, should consider a business broadband solution that includes guaranteed minimum speeds, prioritisation of voice traffic and a robust SLA.
