Most homes and businesses in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough can now access superfast broadband and faster through a mix of commercial delivery and the Connecting Cambridgeshire broadband roll-out project.
The Connecting Cambridgeshire programme is now working hard with Government and Suppliers to ensure that as many premises as possible can access gigabit-capable broadband.
Gigabit broadband (also known as full fibre) or gigabit-capable broadband is the future of fast, reliable broadband. It means download speeds of at least 1 gigabit-per-second (1 Gbps or 1000 megabits per second, Mbps) which is really, really fast.
As the world around us is changing and the demand for connected devices is growing, we require internet connections with more capacity and reliability.
A 1 Gbps download speed would allow a high-definition film to be downloaded in under 1 minute.
But gigabit broadband isn’t just about a faster internet experience, it’s about everyone in a household being able to do their own thing online, all at the same time.
Benefits of gigabit speeds include:
- Being able to stream films and watch catch-up TV
- Using multiple devices at the same time
- Playing games online
- Using smart home technology
- Working from home and increased employment opportunities
- Video chatting with family and friends
- Accessing online health and government services
all with no delays or buffering.
Growing demand for faster, more reliable internet services to support homeworking, learning and entertainment using multiple devices means residents are looking for ways to get faster, future-proof gigabit-capable broadband such as Fibre to the Premise (FTTP)*.
Gigabit-capable broadband is being delivered in our area by:
- Commercial fibre delivery – there are many suppliers in addition to Openreach and Virgin Media now actively planning and delivering fibre networks in our towns and villages (we’ve produced a list of suppliers that we’re aware of who are actively delivering fibre in our area).
- Project Gigabit procurement project – this is the government-funded project aiming to award a contract to deliver fibre to the harder to reach premises not being covered by commercial rollout.
- Rural Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme – for groups of premises in rural areas not being covered by Project Gigabit or firm supplier delivery plans.
Check current and planned broadband coverage for your area using our postcode checker which links to advice on how to upgrade or go to our getting better broadband page for more advice.
*While most gigabit-capable broadband is being delivered via full fibre (Fibre to the Premise (FTTP)) it can also be delivered by a range of technologies including high-speed cable broadband (such as Virgin Media O2’s cable network), wireless and potentially 5G networks. Find out more on our broadband technologies page).
Gigabit-capable broadband in Cambridgeshire
We’re now seeing an increasing number of fibre broadband providers actively planning and delivering fibre networks across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
This is good news for our area, and we’re actively working with suppliers and local authority teams to support this. However, this much competition can sometimes lead to confusion.
Because of the highly competitive market, providers don’t generally announce rollout plans ahead of delivery. If they do, these may change at short notice.
Most suppliers are actively engaging with communities before build work starts. But we’ve noticed that this build work can sometimes raise questions, especially as the fibre providers will generally be using sub-contractors and occasionally share the same sub-contractors.
If you’d like to check the situation where you live, use our postcode checker to find out if gigabit-capable or superfast broadband is already available.
We’ll tell you if superfast or gigabit-capable broadband is available in your area and whether there are plans to provide full fibre in your postcode over the next few years. We will provide our best view of any plans based on the information we have but please bear in mind that we may not always have full details of all suppliers’ plans, and that some plans could change.
We have a list of suppliers we know are active in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough so you can check your postcode with them directly.
The Connecting Cambridgeshire team are talking regularly to suppliers to ensure proactive community engagement and we encourage anyone with questions or concerns to contact us and we will do our best to help.
Help to get online
For anyone unable to currently upgrade, or struggling to afford faster broadband, we have some helpful tips about how to increase your current speed and details about social tariffs on our help to get online page.
