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Fibre, switching and speeds

Long reads on full fibre, how a UK switch actually works, and what download and upload numbers mean. The rest of The Briefing sits underneath.

Issue 01 · Autumn 2026 · Double

Reviewed 10 September 2026

118 features · Independent editorial

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Three in-depth articles

Cover story

Three fibres on one street

Britain’s full-fibre build is no longer a promise on a slide. It is a street-level fact — and in many postcodes, more than one network is already at the door.

18 min read · Cover

Fibre

What is full fibre, and when is part-fibre enough?

Full fibre means the fibre reaches the premises. A faster advert, a new router, or the word fibre on a poster does not.

14 min read · Networks

Switching

How switching broadband works, without the myths

The new provider leads the switch. That does not cancel your questions about price, timing, or whether the product can be ordered.

15 min read · Switching

Speeds

What broadband speeds mean: download, upload and the bit you feel

The number on the advert is a property of a product. The number on a phone in the kitchen is a property of the room.

14 min read · Hardware

Switching

Inside a One Touch Switch

You do not cancel first. You choose a new provider. They run the switch. The rest is messages, dates and the things that still sit outside the rules.

16 min read · Switching

Money

Broadband price rises: new-contract rules and older contracts

CPI plus 3.9% is no longer allowed on a new contract. A number in pounds still is. The difference only helps if you read it before you click.

15 min read · Money

Policy

The discount sitting in plain sight

Ofcom still finds that most eligible homes have never heard of a social tariff. The products exist. The gap is knowledge, eligibility lists and a speed that may or may not fit the household.

14 min read · Policy

Retailers

Sky is not a network

A brand can sit on several plants. You buy the plant at your door, wrapped in a logo you already have on the television.

13 min read · Retailers

Regions

London is an overbuild city

The capital’s question is rarely ‘is there fibre’. It is ‘which fibre, which building, which wayleave, which year’.

14 min read · Regions

Rural

Project Gigabit without the slogan

Subsidy builds networks. It does not switch your line. The difference is why a village can be ‘covered’ on a slide and still on copper on a Tuesday.

14 min read · Rural

Work

Broadband for two people working from home: what to compare

The household that needs two concurrent calls is a specification. It is not a lifestyle brand, and it is not 900 megabits down.

13 min read · Work

Contents

In this issue

The rest of the issue

Each piece has takeaways, worked examples, FAQs and sources.

Switching

17 features

Money

17 features

Networks

16 features

Policy

9 features

Home

13 features

How we write

Journalism first. Rankings in another room.

The Briefing is edited to the same rules as our guides: dated reviews, no fake reviews, no “Ofcom-approved” posters, no promised downtime. If we may earn a commission on a later comparison, that sits on the money page — not in the standfirst.