CommunityFibre connect London’s first 8.5Gbps home broadband line

Alternative network operator and UK ISP CommunityFibre, which has deployed their full fibre broadband (FTTP) network to 1.4 million homes (mostly in London and the South East), has today boosted their top package speeds from 5Gbps to 8.5Gbps (symmetric) and connected their first live customer to the new tier. But you’ll need deep pockets.

The move could be seen as a response to rival providers, such as EE (Openreach), YouFibre (Netomnia) and CityFibre’s network, offering or starting to offer similar speeds to their consumer broadband customers (at present, none of those have any coverage at these speeds in London). The first 8.5Gbps connection via CommunityFibre’s network was activated this week at a home in Beckton, Newham.

“As homes increasingly rely on cloud services, AI-powered applications, immersive digital experiences, ultra-high-definition streaming, advanced gaming and dozens of connected devices, demand for faster and more resilient full fibre broadband continues to accelerate. Multi-gigabit connectivity is rapidly moving from a luxury to a necessity“, claimed CommunityFibre.

However, leaving the hype aside, we’d disagree that 8.5Gbps is anywhere close to being a “necessity” for current consumers. The vast majority of homes would struggle to harness all that speed when online due to various limitations with existing hardware, software and online services (Why Buying Gigabit Broadband Doesn’t Always Deliver). The multi-gigabit domain thus remains more of a premium luxury.

Pushing the boundaries of modern technology is, however, part of what can make an operator exciting (marketing carries power) and as coverage matures then service performance / quality inevitably becomes the next battleground, alongside price. Technological evolution rarely waits for the slowest users to catch up.

Peter Rampling, Chief Commercial Officer at Community Fibre, said:

“Every major advance in connectivity has changed how people live, work and interact with technology. What once felt unnecessary quickly becomes indispensable.

Bringing 8.5 Gbps broadband into a London home is another significant step in that journey. It demonstrates what’s possible when world-class infrastructure is paired with relentless innovation and long-term investment.

Community Fibre has consistently stayed ahead of demand, leading the transition to multi-gig broadband and building a network designed for the future. As AI applications, cloud services, immersive entertainment and connected devices continue to grow, we’re ensuring Londoners have the connectivity needed for the next generation of digital experiences.”

The new 8.5Gbps package, which is actually advertised as offering an average speed of 8.2Gbps, includes a free setup but will still set you back.. £300 per month over a 24-month minimum term. Lest we forget that CommunityFibre’s mid-contract price rises will increase this by £3 monthly once each year and then £4 again at the end of your contract, but anybody paying £300 per month probably won’t be worrying about such things.

Just as a quick comparison, YouFibre currently charges £50 per month (normally £99) for the same sort of speeds, although Netomnia’s network doesn’t reach into London and so this may be a moot point. Meanwhile EE’s 8Gbps plan goes from £74.99 per month on a 24-month term, but that’s still technically a part of Openreach’s limited pilot and coverage is gradually being expanded.

Finally, we should point out that the previous 5Gbps tier is still available and hasn’t been directly replaced by the new option, although at the time of writing we couldn’t see the new 8Gbps+ plan available for sale via their website. Instead CF only seems to be selling it via the phone for now (0808 196 6056), which will hopefully change soon.