Gigaclear Review (2026)

Gigaclear is a rural full fibre provider offering FTTP broadband in areas across England where Openreach coverage is limited. Plans start from around £25/month for 150 Mbps and reach £55/month for 900 Mbps on 18-month contracts. Gigaclear now covers over 350,000 premises in counties including Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire.

Gigaclear Plans and Pricing

Gigaclear offers four residential broadband tiers, all delivered over its own FTTP network. Superfast 150 (150 Mbps) starts at around £25/month, Ultrafast 300 costs roughly £32/month, Ultrafast 700 is about £42/month and Hyperfast 900 comes in at approximately £55/month. All plans are 18-month contracts with a one-off activation fee of £50. Upload speeds are generous: 50 Mbps on the entry tier rising to 133 Mbps on the 900 Mbps plan. Gigaclear does apply mid-contract price rises, typically in line with CPI inflation. However, its base prices are competitive for rural FTTP where the only alternative is often a slow ADSL line from BT at 10–11 Mbps. Unlike Wessex Internet and Voneus, Gigaclear focuses exclusively on full fibre rather than fixed wireless, ensuring more consistent speeds. The activation fee can be waived during promotional periods.

Gigaclear Rural Coverage and Availability

Gigaclear builds and operates its own fibre network specifically targeting communities underserved by Openreach. As of March 2026, the provider covers over 350,000 rural premises across more than 20 English counties, including Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Wiltshire, Cambridgeshire and Devon. Gigaclear has received significant public subsidy through the Building Digital UK (BDUK) programme and local authority contracts. Some rollouts have faced delays — the company received criticism in 2023–2024 for missed build deadlines in several counties. However, build pace has improved since new ownership took over. Unlike BT, which prioritises commercial (urban) areas for FTTP, Gigaclear focuses exclusively on rural communities where the USO 10 Mbps minimum is often the only alternative. Coverage is not postcode-selectable from a single national checker; you need to enter your address on Gigaclear's own website to confirm availability.

Gigaclear Speeds and Reliability

Being a pure FTTP provider, Gigaclear delivers speeds unaffected by distance from a cabinet — unlike FTTC services from BT, Sky and Vodafone where speeds degrade with copper line length. Independent monitoring from ISPreview and Thinkbroadband shows Gigaclear achieving 90–95% of advertised download speeds for most connected premises. Latency averages 10–16 ms, slightly higher than Openreach FTTP due to different backhaul routing, but still excellent for gaming and video conferencing. Reliability has been a mixed story: early customers on the network reported periodic outages during the build-out phase, though stability has improved significantly since 2024. Gigaclear is signed up to the Automatic Compensation scheme, paying £6.10/day for delayed repairs and £30 for missed engineer appointments. Upload performance is a strength — the 50 Mbps upload on the entry tier is considerably better than FTTC's 19 Mbps cap.

Is Gigaclear Worth It?

For rural households stuck on ADSL or slow FTTC, Gigaclear is transformative — jumping from 10 Mbps to 150+ Mbps changes what you can do online. The pricing is fair given the infrastructure investment required to reach remote premises, and the upload speeds are genuinely useful for home workers and farmers using cloud-based management systems. The main downside is patchy customer service. Ofcom data places Gigaclear's complaint rate above the industry average, and some customers report long wait times for fault resolution. If Wessex Internet or Voneus cover your area, they are worth comparing — both are rural FTTP alternatives with growing footprints. Where Gigaclear is the only fibre option, it is almost always worth taking. The upgrade from ADSL to full fibre justifies the price, and BT's Commercial FTTP rollout may take years to reach the same postcodes.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Gigaclear available?

Gigaclear covers over 350,000 rural premises across more than 20 English counties including Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Wiltshire and Devon. You need to check your postcode on Gigaclear's website as it is not listed on Openreach or national comparison tools.

How fast is Gigaclear?

Gigaclear offers FTTP speeds from 150 Mbps up to 900 Mbps. As a full fibre provider, speeds are not affected by distance from a cabinet. Upload speeds range from 50 Mbps to 133 Mbps depending on the plan chosen.

Is Gigaclear reliable?

Gigaclear reliability has improved since 2024 after early build-out issues. Independent data shows 90–95% of advertised speeds are delivered. The provider is signed up to Automatic Compensation for delayed repairs. Customer service ratings remain below the industry average.

How much does Gigaclear cost?

Gigaclear plans start from around £25/month for 150 Mbps and go up to about £55/month for 900 Mbps. All plans are 18-month contracts with a £50 activation fee that is sometimes waived during promotions.

Related Guides

Broadband for Rural Areas · Wessex Internet Review · Best Broadband Deals · Broadband Universal Service Obligation

Methodology & Sources

Information in this guide is sourced from Ofcom market reports, Openreach coverage data, ISPreview.co.uk, provider websites and independent broadband research from Point Topic and Thinkbroadband. Prices and availability are checked monthly. Speed data reflects advertised average speeds from provider Key Facts documents.