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Broadband in the UK

The UK broadband network is mainly managed by Openreach, which installs and maintains the connections that providers like Sky use to deliver broadband to customers.​​

In recent years, many new broadband companies have entered the UK market, building their own fibre networks to expand coverage. One of these providers is City Fibre, our new partner, and you’ll learn more about this later in the session.​​

Virgin Media is the UK’s largest cable broadband provider. They use their own underground coaxial cable network to deliver high-speed broadband, but unlike Openreach, they don’t share their network with other providers.

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Openreach and us

Currently, all Sky Broadband products are provided over the Openreach network. Which means:

  • When you place a broadband order for a customer, it’s sent to Openreach for processing

  • If a customer has an issue, we need to determine whether the issue is inside or outside their home

Why is this important?

  • We look after the equipment inside the home (like routers and internal wiring)

  • Openreach is responsible for the equipment which is mainly outside the home (like street cabinets and network connections)

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Things you need to know

Understanding how broadband works can help you explain it more clearly to customers. In this section, we'll breakdown some key broadband terms and technology — covering everything from telephone exchanges to fibre optic cables.

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What’s the difference between copper and fibre optic cables?

Copper and fibre optic cables are the two main types of broadband connections:

  • Copper cables (used in ADSL and FTTC) transmit data using electrical signals. They are reliable but can slow down over longer distances

  • Fibre optic cables (used in FTTP) send data as light signals, allowing for much faster speeds, greater reliability, and less interference

These cables travel from the telephone exchange to homes via telephone poles or underground ducts, often passing through a green street cabinet for connections and routing.

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What is a telephone exchange?

A telephone exchange is a central hub that connects phone lines and broadband services within a specific area. It acts as the main distribution point, linking homes and businesses to the wider telecommunications network.

Traditional exchanges use copper cables to transmit voice and data, while modern fibre exchanges use high-speed fibre optic connections.

As fibre networks are more efficient, require less equipment, and can serve more customers from fewer exchanges, many telephone exchanges will be phased out in the coming years as the UK transitions to Full Fibre

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What are telephone poles?

Telephone poles are tall wooden or metal structures that support overhead cables for telephone and broadband services. They carry copper or fibre optic cables from the local telephone exchange or street cabinet to homes and businesses.

While many broadband connections now use underground cables, telephone poles remain a key part of the UK's network, especially in rural areas where digging underground cabling isn’t practical. Using poles is also a more cost-effective solution since it avoids costly and disruptive digging while allowing  fibre networks to be expanded quickly. Both Openreach and CityFibre use a mix of underground ducts and overhead poles to deliver broadband across the UK.

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What is a street cabinet?

A PCP (Primary Connection Point) is a green street cabinet — a roadside metal box that houses essential broadband and telephone network equipment. It acts as a connection point between the local telephone exchange and homes or businesses.

For FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) broadband, fibre optic cables run from the exchange to the cabinet, where the connection then switches to copper cables for the final stretch to the home. ​​

These cabinets help manage and distribute broadband connections in an area, but as the UK moves towards Full Fibre (FTTP), they’ll become less essential since fibre optic cables will go directly from the exchange to the home, bypassing the cabinet entirely.

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What are junction boxes?

A junction box is a small external box installed by an engineer on the outside of a customer’s home. It connects the fibre optic cable from the street to the internal wiring of the property. From there, the cable runs inside the home and connects to an Optical Network Terminal (ONT), which is the next step in the broadband installation process.

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What is an ONT?

An Optical Network Terminal (ONT) is a small device installed inside a customer's home that connects the fibre optic cable from the junction box outside. It converts the fibre signal into a format that the broadband router can use, enabling Full Fibre (FTTP) broadband. The ONT is essential for providing fast, stable, and reliable internet connections, supporting multiple devices and high-bandwidth activities like streaming and gaming.