More Openreach offers to encourage retailers to upsell full fibre especially faster speeds

Price competition is fierce in the UK broadband market, and for consumers who engage and chase deals full fibre broadband can buck the inflation trend.

Openreach has the largest full fibre network in the UK and is looking to ensure that as well as the largest network it gets retailers using its network to upsell people to faster packages that will improve the ARPU long term.

The effect of a number of some new offers is not likely to see millions abandon their part fibre services over night, but as retailers push upgrades or compete by teasing customers from other retailers onto a faster full fibre tier or winning them from other networks like Virgin Media O2 or alt-nets will ensure take-up continues to perform well for Openreach.

The latest detail for Openreach offers is:

• If a communications provider manages to get its ARPU to £19.32 a month for new or upgraded lines, they will see the effective ARPU charged capped at £19.32 a month. Starting 1st July 2026.
• Upgrades to the 1.8 Gbps speed tier will have the £90 fee for the ONT swap waived. Starts 1st July 2026.
• As of October 2026 more discounts where communication providers increase their volume of new to Openreach FTTP customers connections, with larger discounts if the product balance favours the higher speeds.
• £50 rebate if a provider wins new FTTP customers in areas where there is competition with Virgin Media O2. There are conditions with a baseline set to encourage marketing pushes to win customers from the cable network.

A continued push across the whole market to lower prices to get people to upgrade to full fibre and overcome the lethargy where millions moan about their broadband speeds and do have options for full fibre but don’t upgrade is likely to continue for the next year or so. At some point in the future the average price will rise, for now the millions who sit there paying over the odds while out of contract will be subsidising those who engage with the market place. This is not new but with annual price rises and for some people large out of contract price jumps.

The losers in terms of the public are those where there is either no full fibre available or there is no network competition. For the industry a race to the bottom risks there being no money to pay for network upgrades and something we’ve not seen en-masse for many years, and that is peak time congestion stopping people doing what they want to do.

More speed for less money can be very enticing, but make sure you know what you are signing up for, and after the 12, 18 or 24 month minimum term is up many will stick with a speed that may be overkill for them. We have a handy speed calculator for those that have no idea how much speed they do or don’t need.