BeFibre broadband review: Is it any good?

Dan Howdle | October 18th, 2023

Beyond national favourites such as Sky, Virgin Media, BT and TalkTalk, there are numerous smaller providers, offering their own discreet network to a far smaller number of houses. Hyperoptic is arguably the most well-known of these, but there are many others such as Fibrus, Gigaclear and BeFibre, which we're looking at today.

Key features

Here’s a quick look at what you can expect to find in a BeFibre Broadband deal:

Our review of Be Fibre broadband

BeFibre is a relative newcomer to the UK broadband market, offers ultrafast, pure fibre connections with, get this, symmetrical speeds, meaning your upload speed is going to be the same as your download speed – great for gamers or anyone who does a lot of stuff in the cloud. And, unlike many so-called 'altnets' (small providers with their own networks), BeFibre is very competitive price-wise – comparable to the big providers.

So what's the catch? Well, it's a pretty big one. It's only available to about 270,000 UK properties dotted about England. And while 270,000 is a pretty big number in a lot of different contexts, in broadband availability it's quite a small footprint. Your chances of being able to get BeFibre where you live are about 100 to one.

That being said, we will be taking a look at BeFibre from the point of view of someone who can get the service and judge the provider on that basis.

Broadband speeds

BeFibre keeps things nice and simple when it comes to the speeds it offers. Since it's a pure fibre network, all speeds are well in excess of the typical speeds you'll see advertised as 'superfast fibre broadband' from other providers. Here's what's on offer:

Be150: 150Mbps unlimited symmetrical full fibre broadband. This speed is suitable for any household that just streams and browses the internet. It's plenty for watching in 4K on multiple TVs.

Be500: 500Mbps unlimited symmetrical full fibre broadband. If you want something a little faster it's probable because you download or upload large files. This is typical behaviour for gamers or some types of job where you operate with large files in the cloud.

Be900: 900Mbps unlimited symmetrical full fibre broadband. Extremely fast broadband best suited to a house full of gamers who regularly download new games an updates and have minimal patience!

Not sure which package to pick? Our guide to deciding what broadband speed you need has all the answers.

Upload speeds

Normally, we'd dedicate a section to the upload speeds on offer, but all of BeFibre's connections are symmetrical, meaning your upload speeds will be the same as your download speeds.

Typically, that's not the case, with most providers offering upload speeds within around 10-30% of their download speeds. This is because a typical home internet connection tends to pull a lot of information into the home, while sending out very little. Of course, some people use upload as much as download, but that's rare, and will tend to require a specific type of job such as videographer or draughts-person, where uploading large files and documents is the norm.

Availability

For the purposes of our review, BeFibre was kind enough to provide us with a complete list of locations it currently operates in. Here is that list, along with the number of homes currently reached in each location:

If you're not in one of these locations, you're not going to be able to get BeFibre, plain and simple. But, chances are you're here reading this because you got a leaflet in the door or saw an ad, in which case the chances you can get BeFibre rise immeasurably.

Check availability

Landline calling packages

Landlines are on their way out. Large providers such as Virgin Media, BT and Sky still grudgingly offer them, but even these major providers are making it harder to get one – for example, by not throwing a landline in as standard and instead asking customers to add one in the sign-up process if they really, really have to.

Indeed, Plusnet now offers broadband connections with no actual capability to add a landline – a so-called 'SoGEA' connection. It should come as little surprise then that newer altnets like BeFibre aren't the least bit interested in offering a landline, and doesn't even offer a digital line (a phone number that works via VoIP) as some providers still do.

If you need a landline, you're out of luck with BeFibre. However, the provider is making noises about providing digital lines to their customers in the future, should they want them.

Routers and installation

With only three packages (we like this – a simple, limited choice of packages is always a good thing), it should come as no surprise that BeFibre provides a single router across all three packages. And it's a good one too.

The LinkSys Atlus 6 is a mesh wifi router that's capable of the latest, and fastest, Wi-Fi 6 connections. As a mesh router, you can also add additional Atlus 6's if your wifi isn't quite reaching every corner of your household.

Here are the specs for BeFibre's LinkSys Atlus 6 router:

• WiFi Bands: Simultaneous Dual-Band WiFi
• WiFi Speed: AX,
• WiFi Technology: WiFi 6 (802.11ax), WiFi 5 (802.11ac)
• Number of Ports: 4+
• Coverage: Up to 8,100 sq. ft.
• Connected Devices: 90+
• Best For: Online Gaming, 4K/8K Streaming, Working from Home, Smart Homes, AR/VR Gaming, Video Conferencing, Online Learning
• Number of Ethernet Ports: x1 Gigabit WAN, x3 Gigabit LAN
• Wi-Fi Range: Up to 8100 sq. ft.

Installation

If you're somewhere you can get it, BeFibre's installation process isn't much different to that of any typical broadband provider. Choose a package and a technician will come to your home within a couple of weeks to install the line in your home.

Because BeFibre operates on its own network, many will worry about potentially having to have their road dug up to reach their home, but this is not the case. beFibre will use existing poles and ducts to extend their line to you. So, while there may be additional work required to get a line to you, the only part you will need to know about will be the day they bring the line into your home and get you up and running. Functionally, not much different from the norm.

Customer service

As a relatively new provider with a small customer footprint, BeFibre is not currently included in Ofcom's annual customer service reports. However, it does have a busy Trustpilot page with a 4.3 out of 5.0 customer rating – 73% of BeFibre customers giving the provider five stars out of five. That's very good, even in the world of altnets, who tend to get less flack than the larger providers.

Our verdict: Outstanding

We can't really hold BeFibre's lack of national availability against it. You're only going to experience BeFibre if you can get it, after all. Rather, we will say that with its symmetrical speeds, amazing router, cheap, cheap prices (for what you get), no-price-hike promise, and excellent customer service reputation, it's hard to find fault.

Some might be annoyed they can't get a landline from BeFibre, but ultimately BeFibre won't stop you from having one – you'll just need to get one from BT instead. And really, though we completely respect the fact there are still many groups of people who still need or want a landline in 2023, they are increasingly a smaller and smaller minority, and landline usage figures reflect that.

We like the cut of BeFibre's jib to such an extent that we're sad we can't get it ourselves. If you can, lucky you!

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