speed, coverage and reliability rated by our readers

BT’s package lineup is uninspiring. Fibre 1 and 2 packages are aimed at homes not yet upgraded to full fibre, where fast fibre-optic cables run directly to the house. The only reason to take Fibre 1 is if your line can’t support Fibre 2, as both cost £28.99 per month.

The full fibre packages offer a reasonable spread of speeds, but don’t go beyond 900Mbits/sec. EE has connections that are almost twice as fast and supplies Wi-Fi 7 routers. BT still provides dated Wi-Fi 5 equipment.

Prices are higher than Plusnet on a like-for-like basis. This helps explain why BT customers are unhappy with value for money. In our 2025 Telegraph reader survey, only 39 per cent said they were satisfied, the lowest score of any provider.

Coverage

Score: 8/10

All of the BT Group providers — BT Broadband, EE and Plusnet — use the Openreach network. This has near nationwide coverage, with just over half of connected households able to access full fibre speeds.

Openreach continues to expand, and by the end of the decade nine out of ten homes should have full fibre. Rivals such as Vodafone, Sky and TalkTalk also work with CityFibre, which gives them wider coverage than BT.

Speed

Score: 5/10

BT Broadband continues to lag on speed. In our survey, BT ranked bottom of the seven providers for speed. Two-thirds of customers said they were satisfied, while 11 per cent expressed dissatisfaction.

Given that BT Broadband is relying on ageing Wi-Fi equipment and considering it can’t match the top speeds of other providers, that’s hardly surprising. It is not keeping pace with the rest of the industry.

Reliability

Score: 8/10

Reliability is BT Broadband’s one bright spot. Of BT Broadband customers, 78 per cent said they were happy with the reliability of their service, with 40 per cent describing it as “very good”. Only EE scored higher.

One Telegraph reader wrote: “Has only gone down once since I joined it and was rapidly fixed. Slow speeds due to being copper cable, but adequate for my needs.”

Another said: “We’re paying for consistent quality provision.”

Customer service

Score: 4/10

Customer service is another weak point. Only six out of 10 customers are satisfied with the quality of support, with Virgin Media and TalkTalk the only providers scoring worse.

Getting though is difficult. Only 58 per cent said they were happy with the ease of reaching support, and 11 per cent were dissatisfied with how hard it is to get through. Virgin Media was the only provider to do worse.

“Communication has become more difficult over the years, as it has become harder to get past the useless chatbots and chat with or speak to a human,” reports one Telegraph reader.