Fibre is a faster form of broadband which uses special plastic or glass cables to transmit traffic more quickly than traditional copper cables.
Fibre in its current form can offer speeds of up to 1 Gbps directly to households.
There are different types of fibre connectivity, however. There is fibre to the cabinet, which means that the connectivity running to the local telephone exchange is fibre while it is copper between the exchange and the customer’s house.
Fibre to the premises means that the entire connection is fibre, right to the customer’s house. It is this technology that can offer speeds of 1 Gbps.
In its most recent Digital Communications Review, Ofcom emphasised the importance of fibre to the UK’s broadband future.