CityFibre vs Openreach: Which Full Fibre is Better?
Comparing the two giants of UK infrastructure: The Incumbent vs The Challenger.
The Fibre War
You are one of the lucky ones. You have two engineers knocking on your door: one from Openreach (offering BT, Sky, EE) and one from CityFibre (offering Vodafone, Zen, etc.). Both offer “Full Fibre.” Is there a difference?
Speed Profiles
Openreach: Their standard FTTP product is asymmetrical. A 900Mbps plan usually comes with 115Mbps upload.
CityFibre: Most ISPs on CityFibre offer symmetrical 900Mbps/900Mbps.
Winner: CityFibre (for upload speed).
The Build Tech
CityFibre is building a dedicated point-to-point duct network in many places. Openreach often strings fibre along existing telephone poles (“overhead delivery”). Overhead fibre is faster to build but more susceptible to storm damage (falling trees). CityFibre’s underground network is arguably more robust in the long term (though they use poles too in some areas).
Price
CityFibre is the challenger. They price their wholesale product aggressively to steal customers from Openreach. You will consistently find that a 900Mbps deal on CityFibre is £10-£15 cheaper per month than a 900Mbps deal on Openreach.
Service Level
Because CityFibre is newer, their network is less congested. They are using modern XGS-PON tech from the start. Openreach has a mix of older GPON and newer tech. Both are excellent, but CityFibre is the “premium” technical choice for enthusiasts right now.