Community Fibre broadband review 2025: Is it any good?

Dan Howdle • May 8th, 2025

Community Fibre is a London-based broadband provider that offers high-speed, Full Fibre connections of up to 5000Mbps (5Gbps) to 32 London boroughs as well as some parts of Surrey and West Sussex. It uses its own pure fibre network and does not run on the Openreach network used by the majority of UK broadband providers. It is therefore classed as an 'altnet' or alternative network.

Our review of Community Fibre

Community Fibre offers an extremely reliable ultrafast, fibre broadband service, but it does have a few downsides as well.

Community Fibre offers five core speeds of 100Mbps (100Mbps actual), 300Mbps (350Mbps actual), 1Gbps (920Mbps actual), 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps (5000Mbps actual), all of which are symmetrical, which means that your upload speed will be the same as your download speed. Unlike most other broadband connections, Community Fibre only supplies Full Fibre broadband, which means that the fibre cables go straight into your home and into your router – there are no copper wires to slow down your speed.

Some of the free routers supplied by broadband providers aren’t exactly top-notch, but those provided by Community Fibre are some of the best we've seen when it comes to free routers. For packages offering speeds of 1Gbps and under, customers will receive the excellent Linksys Velop Wi-Fi 6 router. For the 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps packages, a Technicolor (Vantiva) Wi-Fi 6 router is supplied.

Community Fibre offers its 'Premium Wi-Fi' service that uses mesh technology to guarantee Wi-Fi coverage in up to five bedrooms and 12 rooms in total. Along with your main router, you will be supplied with additional mesh routers that create consistent Wi-Fi coverage throughout your home. It also guarantees an absolute minimum speed of 50Mbps in every room and if this doesn’t happen, the guarantee means you can claim three month’s free broadband in compensation. Premium Wi-Fi is included as standard with the 1Gbps Premium Wi-Fi, 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps packages.

Overview

Here’s a quick look at what you can expect with a Community Fibre deal – the details will vary depending on which speed you choose.

Broadband speeds

Community Fibre offers a range of download speeds to suit every household, so whether you live alone or share with a lot of housemates, or whether you just like to browse websites or do a lot of streaming in 4K, Community Fibre will have a speed that is right for you.

100Mbps Full Fibre Broadband

A 100Mbps fibre connection is also offered by Virgin Media and BT, but neither of these two providers also offer 100Mbps upload speed as well. A 100Mbps download speed is ideal for most average households and will enable you to stream TV in HD and support a generous handful of devices.

300Mbps Full Fibre Broadband

Community Fibre’s 300Mbps package offers significantly faster speeds than many standard broadband options, with symmetrical 300Mbps upload and download speeds. This tier is ideal for households with several users who regularly stream in high definition, participate in video calls, and use multiple smart devices simultaneously. The upload speed, which is typically much lower with providers like BT or Virgin Media, is a standout feature here and supports fast file sharing and smooth remote working.

1Gbps Full Fibre Broadband

After 300Mbps, the next step up is a giant one to 1Gbps (920Mbps average, but branded as 1Gbps) – which is a speed that will support pretty much any household. It will keep at least 100 devices connected easily and multiple UHD streaming will be a breeze. And as with all Community Fibre deals, the upload speed is the same as the download speed, so gamers and anyone that regularly uses Skype, Zoom or Facetime will also be delighted with the ultrafast symmetrical upload speed. This package comes in two variations depending if you need or want the 'Premium Wi-Fi' add-on or not.

2.5Gbps Full Fibre Broadband

The 2.5Gbps package from Community Fibre is a high-performance option for households with very heavy usage demands. Offering symmetrical 2.5Gbps upload and download speeds, this tier is ideal for large families, shared homes, or anyone running multiple high-bandwidth applications simultaneously, such as 4K streaming, gaming, cloud backups, and video conferencing. It also comes with Community Fibre’s Premium Wi-Fi as standard, ensuring excellent coverage and speed throughout even the largest of homes.

5Gbps Full Fibre Broadband

Community Fibre’s 5000Mbps speed is only available in certain locations. To find out if your street is connected, you can use the availability checker on the providers’ website or get in touch via phone, email or live chat. We don't know why anyone would need internet this fast, but then no one really needs to drive a McLaren, but plenty of people want one.

Premium Wi-Fi

Community Fibre offers a 'Premium Wi-Fi' add-on, which provides a whole home mesh Wi-Fi solution designed to ensure consistent coverage throughout your property. It guarantees a minimum speed of 50Mbps in every room, using mesh nodes to eliminate dead spots, and includes a bespoke engineer setup and priority support. This service is available as an optional upgrade on any package, including the standard 1Gbps tier. However, Premium Wi-Fi is included as standard with the 1Gbps Premium Wi-Fi, 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps packages.

Upload speeds

Most broadband providers prominently advertise their download speeds but often downplay upload speeds, which are typically significantly slower. This is not the case with Community Fibre, whose upload speeds are symmetrical to their download speeds across all packages. For example, if you sign up for the 1Gbps service, you will receive both download and upload speeds averaging 920Mbps. This symmetry is particularly beneficial for activities such as video conferencing, cloud backups, and uploading large files.

In contrast, Virgin Media’s Gig1 package offers an average upload speed of 104Mbps, which is sufficient for most households. However, if you regularly upload content to the internet—such as videos on YouTube, photos on Instagram, or large work files—you will appreciate the significantly faster upload speeds offered by Community Fibre.

See Community Fibre deals

Packages

Community Fibre’s Full Fibre broadband packages are by default broadband-only, as they do not require a traditional telephone line. However, you can choose to add a phone service if required. This is provided via a digital line or Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology using a phone adapter that connects to your router. You can keep your existing handset and phone number.

All calls are made through your internet connection, with no per-minute charges or call caps. You simply pay a fixed monthly fee for the call service, and the adapter is supplied to enable phone functionality.

If you're looking for a broadband, phone, and TV bundle, Community Fibre has partnered with Netgem to offer a feature-rich TV service. This includes over 230 live channels and access to more than 40 apps, including BBC iPlayer, ITVX, UKTV Play, YouTube, and TikTok.

You can also subscribe to additional premium services such as Netflix, Prime Video, BritBox, Hayu, NOW, Discovery+ Premium, and TNT Sports.

Routers and installation

Community Fibre provides fast, reliable Wi-Fi 6 routers tailored to your broadband package. Whether you're on a standard or premium plan, you'll get a router that ensures strong coverage and performance throughout your home.

Linksys Velop Wi-Fi 6 Router (for speeds up to 1 Gbps)

If you choose a broadband package up to 1 Gbps, you'll receive the Linksys Velop Wi-Fi 6 router. It's a tri-band router with built-in mesh technology that ensures stable, high-speed Wi-Fi throughout your home and supports multiple devices with ease.

Technicolor FGA5330 Router (for 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps)

If you sign up for the 2.5Gbps or 5 Gbps packages, you'll be provided with the Technicolor FGA5330 router. This speed and indeed this router is massive overkill for most homes – worth bearing that in mind.

Premium Wi-Fi Installation

If you opt for Premium Wi-Fi, Community Fibre will install additional mesh nodes to guarantee coverage across your whole home—up to five bedrooms or 12 rooms. This setup ensures you get at least 50Mbps in every room, perfect for large homes or where walls and distance impact signal strength.

Installation

Community Fibre does not charge for installation, and advises it should take no more than two hours. However, installation times may vary depending on your property and requirements. The engineer will advise the best position for your main router and will drill a small hole in the outer wall of your property to bring the cable into your home – it is likely to be near a door, window or balcony. The fibre socket, modem and router will be wall-mounted, and if you have chosen to add the Premium Wi-Fi service, the engineer will place additional routers in optimal positions around your home.

Once connected, the engineer will test the speeds, both through a fixed connection to your router and over Wi-Fi, and you will then be given your username and password.

Customer service

Community Fibre is not included in Ofcom’s annual report into customer service standards, but according to reviews on Trustpilot, the provider scores an impressive 90% excellent (customers awarding 5/5 stars) rating, suggesting a high level of customer satisfaction.

Community Fibre offers a responsive Live Chat service or you can get in touch via social media, including Twitter and Facebook. You can also phone Customer Services seven days a week, 365 days a year. Lines are open on Monday to Friday, 8am – 10pm and on Saturday and Sunday, 9am – 7pm. As well as English, customer assistance is available in a number of other languages, subject to request. It is recommended to confirm the latest supported languages directly with Community Fibre.

Our verdict: Excellent

For anyone living in London or the surrounding areas where it's available, we would say getting Community Fibre is a no-brainer. Its Full Fibre network provides ultrafast, reliable download speeds – and symmetric upload speeds too, all for laughably cheap pricing considering the equipment, speed and service you're getting. The superior router will not only guarantee you receive optimal speeds but the mesh system means you will also avoid having to deal with any black spots in your home if they occur.

Its TV service is also surprisingly comprehensive, offering everything you'd expect from a fully-fledged TV subscription, including an excellent set-top box compatible with all the apps you'd expect and offering the ability to add on whatever premium channel packages you wish.

That you can get 5Gbps for £59 a month from Community Fibre is astonishing, both for the fact of the absurd speed itself, and that you'll still pay less than you would for competing 1Gbps packages from some other providers (many of whom will also supply you a worse router). No one needs 5Gbps, but then no one needs a Bugatti either.

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