Living in a digital age means our connection to the internet is almost as vital as electricity or water. If you are a resident of London, you have likely seen the vans or heard the buzz about a specific provider shaking up the market. That provider is Community Fibre. While the big names often dominate the airwaves with expensive ad campaigns, this ISP has been quietly building a reputation for blistering speeds and fairer pricing.
But is the hype justified? In this extensive guide, we will strip away the marketing gloss and look at the hard facts. From their technical infrastructure to their customer service record, we’re covering every angle to help you decide if Community Fibre deserves a spot in your home.
What is Community Fibre?
Community Fibre is an internet service provider (ISP) based in London, dedicated to bringing full-fibre broadband directly into homes and businesses. Unlike many traditional providers that still rely on copper wires for the final leg of the journey (known as FTTC or Fibre to the Cabinet), Community Fibre operates a pure FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) network.
This distinction is crucial. By eliminating copper entirely, they can offer symmetrical speeds—meaning your upload speed is just as fast as your download speed. This is a game-changer for content creators, remote workers, and gamers who rely on stable, low-latency connections.
The Mission Behind the Brand
The company isn’t just about speed; it’s about connectivity equity. Community Fibre has worked closely with London councils and housing associations to ensure that high-speed internet isn’t just a luxury for the wealthy. They have been instrumental in connecting community centers and social housing, aiming to bridge the digital divide across the capital.
Why Choose Community Fibre Over Big Providers?
When you compare Community Fibre to giants like BT, Virgin Media, or Sky, the differences are stark. Here is why thousands of Londoners are making the switch.
1. True Full Fibre Technology
Many providers advertise “fibre” speeds but actually deliver the service via copper phone lines from the street cabinet. This technology effectively bottlenecks your speed. Community Fibre builds its own dedicated network. This means they don’t rent lines from Openreach, allowing them total control over quality and pricing.
2. Symmetrical Speeds
Most ISPs offer high download speeds but throttle upload speeds significantly. For example, a 100 Mbps package might only give you 10 Mbps upload. With Community Fibre, if you buy a 1 Gbps package, you generally get 1 Gbps upload speeds too. This symmetry is vital for:
- Video conferencing (Zoom, Teams)
- Cloud backups
- Live streaming to Twitch or YouTube
- Uploading large files for work
3. Fairer Pricing Models
We have all been there: you sign a contract, and six months later, the price hikes arrive. Community Fibre has built a reputation for transparency. While many providers implement annual price rises based on inflation plus a percentage (often reaching 10-14%), Community Fibre has historically offered fixed-price contracts or significantly clearer terms regarding any increases.
4. Local London Focus
Because they are laser-focused on London, their customer service and engineering teams are local. You aren’t just a number in a national database; you are part of a specific London network. This localization often results in faster repair times and more knowledgeable support staff.
Breaking Down the Speed Packages
Community Fibre offers a range of speeds tailored to different households. Whether you live alone and just browse the web, or you live in a shared house with five gamers, there is a tier for you.
Essential Package (Social Tariff)
This is designed for those receiving benefits, ensuring affordability doesn’t mean sacrificing quality.
- Speed: Typically around 35 Mbps.
- Best for: Email, browsing, standard definition streaming.
The Standard Tiers (150 Mbps – 1 Gbps)
Most households will fall into these categories.
- 150 Mbps: Perfect for couples or small families streaming 4K content on 1-2 devices.
- 1 Gbps (Gigafast): The gold standard for modern connectivity. This allows you to download a standard HD movie in seconds. It supports heavy smart home usage, multiple 4K streams, and large downloads simultaneously without buffering.
The Extreme Tiers (3 Gbps – 5 Gbps)
Community Fibre is one of the few providers pushing boundaries with multi-gig speeds.
- 3 Gbps / 5 Gbps: These are “future-proof” speeds. Currently, very few individual devices can even utilize 5 Gbps. However, for a household with 10+ heavy users, or a home office moving massive video files, this bandwidth ensures zero congestion.
Comparing the Speeds
| Feature | Copper/Part-Fibre (Traditional) | Community Fibre (Full Fibre) |
| Connection Type | Copper from cabinet to home | Fibre optic directly to the router |
| Upload Speed | Approx 10% of download speed | Symmetrical (Equal to download) |
| Reliability | Susceptible to weather/distance interference | 99.9% uptime reliability |
| Latency | Higher (worse for gaming) | Extremely low (best for gaming) |
| Max Speed | Usually caps at ~70-100 Mbps | Up to 5000 Mbps (5 Gbps) |
Hardware and Installation: What to Expect
Switching ISPs can be daunting because of the installation process. Here is how Community Fibre handles it.
The Installation Process
Because Community Fibre uses its own network, they cannot use your existing phone socket. An engineer must visit your property to bring the fibre optic cable from the street into your home.
- Drilling: A small hole is drilled through your exterior wall to feed the cable through.
- ONT Box: They install an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) on the wall inside. This is a small white box that converts the light signals into digital data.
- Router Setup: The engineer connects the supplied Linksys Velop router to the ONT and tests the speed before leaving.
Premium Hardware: Linksys Velop
Unlike the cheap, plastic hubs provided by many competitors, Community Fibre partners with Linksys. Depending on your package, you receive a Linksys Velop Intelligent Mesh router.
- Tri-Band Technology: Reduces interference.
- Mesh Capability: If you have a large home, you can easily add more nodes to eliminate dead zones.
- Aesthetic: It looks more like a smart speaker than a piece of ugly tech hardware.
Coverage: Is Community Fibre Available in Your Area?
This is currently the biggest limitation. Community Fibre is exclusive to London and parts of the surrounding areas. They are expanding rapidly, aiming to cover over half of London’s homes by the end of 2025.
Key Boroughs with Strong Coverage:
- Brent
- Camden
- Croydon
- Hackney
- Hammersmith & Fulham
- Islington
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
- Newham
- Southwark
- Tower Hamlets
- Wandsworth
- Westminster
If you see their engineers digging up your street, it’s a good sign that Community Fibre will be live at your address within a few weeks. It is always worth checking their postcode checker on their website regularly.
Customer Service and Satisfaction
In an industry notorious for terrible customer support, Community Fibre stands out. They boast a high rating on Trustpilot, consistently hovering around 4.6 to 4.8 out of 5 stars.
What Customers Love
- Speed of Answer: Call wait times are generally much shorter than national averages.
- Technical Knowledge: Support staff are often praised for understanding the technical nuances rather than reading from a basic script.
- Installation Quality: Engineers are frequently described as polite, tidy, and efficient.
Common Complaints
No ISP is perfect. The few negative reviews regarding Community Fibre usually revolve around:
- Installation Delays: Sometimes, obtaining permissions (wayleaves) to cross private land or install in apartment blocks can delay activation.
- Router Issues: While Linksys routers are high quality, setting up complex mesh networks in thick-walled Victorian London homes can sometimes require tweaking.
Cost Analysis: Is It Worth the Money?
When evaluating value, you must look at the price-per-Mbps.
Let’s look at a hypothetical comparison. A standard provider might charge £30 a month for 67 Mbps. That is roughly £0.45 per Mbps.
Community Fibre often runs promotions where you can get 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) for around £25-£30 a month. That brings the cost down to a staggering £0.03 per Mbps.
Even if you don’t need 1 Gbps, their lower tier 150 Mbps packages are often cheaper than the entry-level packages from BT or Sky.
Hidden Costs?
Community Fibre is generally transparent.
- Setup Fee: Often waived during promotions.
- Exit Fees: Like all contracts, leaving early incurs a fee, but they don’t hide this deep in the fine print.
- Price Rises: They have committed to clearer pricing policies compared to the CPI+3.9% model used by others.
Gaming and Streaming with Community Fibre
For the gamers out there, latency (ping) is king. You can have the fastest download speed in the world, but if your ping is high, you will lag.
Community Fibre excels here because fibre optic technology transmits data at the speed of light.
- Ping: Users typically report ping times of 3ms to 8ms to local servers.
- Jitter: Extremely low jitter ensures smooth gameplay without “rubber-banding.”
- Twitch Streaming: The symmetrical upload speeds mean you can stream at 1080p 60fps or even 4K without affecting anyone else in the house watching Netflix.
Community Fibre for Business
It isn’t just residential customers who benefit. Small businesses in London are often held back by slow, expensive leased lines. Community Fibre offers business packages that include:
- Static IP Addresses: Essential for hosting servers or secure remote access.
- SLA (Service Level Agreements): Guarantees on fix times if the connection drops.
- Priority Support: Dedicated business support lines.
For a startup or a creative agency in Shoreditch or Brixton, having affordable 1 Gbps or 3 Gbps connectivity can be a significant competitive advantage.
The Future of Connectivity in London
Community Fibre is driving a shift in the market. Their aggressive expansion and competitive pricing have forced other providers to up their game. They are investing millions into infrastructure, reducing London’s reliance on the aging copper network.
By choosing an independent provider like Community Fibre, you are essentially voting for competition. You are signaling that consumers demand better speeds, symmetrical connections, and fairer pricing.
Environmental Impact
Fibre optic cables are more energy-efficient than copper networks. They require less power to transmit signals over long distances and degrade less over time, reducing maintenance visits (and the carbon footprint of engineering vans). Community Fibre has also made strides in using sustainable practices in their office and field operations.
How to Switch to Community Fibre
Switching is easier than you might think, though it currently requires a “Cease and Re-provide” approach rather than a seamless switch, because they use a separate network from Openreach.
- Check Availability: Use the Community Fibre website to confirm they serve your address.
- Select a Package: Choose the speed that fits your usage.
- Book Installation: Pick a date for the engineer to install the fibre.
- Cancel Old Provider: Once your Community Fibre installation date is confirmed (or after it is installed, to be safe), contact your old provider to cancel your service. Note: Check your contract end date to avoid early termination fees from your old provider.
Final Verdict
If you are lucky enough to live in a Community Fibre enabled area, the decision is almost a no-brainer. They offer faster speeds, better technology (symmetrical fibre), and often lower prices than the legacy providers.
While the hassle of a new installation (drilling a hole) might put some off, the long-term benefit of a future-proof, robust connection is worth the minor inconvenience. Community Fibre is arguably the best ISP operating in London today, setting a benchmark that national providers are struggling to reach.
Whether you are a casual browser, a hardcore gamer, or running a business from home, Community Fibre provides the reliability and bandwidth necessary for modern life.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can I keep my landline number if I switch to Community Fibre?
Yes, but with a caveat. Community Fibre offers a VoIP (Voice over IP) phone service. You can port your existing landline number over to them, but your phone will plug into the router rather than the wall socket. They usually handle the porting process for you, but you must inform them during sign-up that you wish to keep your number.
2. Does Community Fibre use the Openreach network?
No. Community Fibre builds, owns, and operates its own dedicated full-fibre network. This is independent of the Openreach network used by BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and Plusnet. This independence allows them to offer symmetrical speeds and competitive pricing without paying “line rental” to Openreach.
3. How long does Community Fibre installation take?
The engineer will discuss the best route for the cable with you, drill a small hole, install the socket, and set up the router. Complex installations (e.g., flats on high floors or buildings with difficult access) may take longer or require a pre-installation survey.
4. Is Community Fibre good for gaming?
Absolutely. Community Fibre is widely considered one of the best ISPs for gaming in London. Their full-fibre network offers extremely low latency (ping) and jitter. Crucially, the symmetrical upload speeds ensure that if you are hosting a game or streaming your gameplay, your connection remains stable and fast.
5. What happens if I move house?
If you move to a new address within London that is also serviced by Community Fibre, you can usually take your contract with you for a small fee (or sometimes free). However, if you move to an area where Community Fibre is not available, you may have to pay an early termination fee if you are still within your contract period. It is always best to check coverage at your new postcode before moving.
