Why do housebuilders do deals with full fibre ISPs?
Most new homes now have broadband connections pre-installed by full fibre ISPs, but why has this become the case?
Fans of traditional homes and pre-war architecture may disagree, but there are many advantages to buying a new house or flat.
As well as getting to add your own stamp to an immaculate blank canvas, new homes tend to be energy efficient, incorporating the latest sanitaryware, appliances and cabinetry.
They are also almost certain to have full fibre broadband pre-installed, ready to be activated on the day you collect the keys from the on-site sales office.
That’s because full fibre ISPs often sign service agreements with housebuilders, offering competition to the fibre optic cables former BT offshoot Openreach will also typically install.
But why are new homes so well provisioned? What do the builders get out of this, and are these full fibre connections of genuine value to homebuyers?
Mud, sweat and tears
As any ISP (or Openreach) engineer will tell you, retrofitting broadband cables into an existing street is a time-consuming and costly process involving roadworks and disruption.
It can also be difficult to physically drag cables along underground pipes, with engineers sometimes reduced to tying a rope around a fibre broadband sheath below a manhole cover.
By contrast, installing broadband cables into the mudbath of an embryonic residential development is simplicity itself.
Indeed, as internet access is increasingly seen as a fourth domestic utility (alongside gas, electricity and water/sewerage supplies), pre-cabling represents an eminently sensible step.
By installing broadband networks alongside water pipes and gas mains, it’s possible to embed cables exactly where they need to be, without any overground infrastructure to get in the way.
Little wonder, then, that over 99 per cent of homes built in the UK each year have full fibre (or equivalent) broadband connectivity pre-installed.
The remainder tend to be self-builds, or tiny developments of two or three homes in remote communities where the cost of installing full fibre could potentially be prohibitive.
What are the benefits of pre-cabling a brand-new development?
There are advantages for developers, ISPs and consumers alike.
Firstly, there are significant cost savings achieved by installing cables at the foundation stage of construction, when the ground has been dug up but nothing has been built on it.
Housebuilders get to list high-speed broadband as a selling feature at a time when most UK households are heavily reliant on internet connectivity.
The promise of gigabit fibre will seem particularly enticing to potential buyers whose existing homes are limited to sluggish ADSL connections.
As a consumer, minimising any need for engineer visits also simplifies the process of moving into a new home, at a time when numerous essential tasks are all competing for attention.
Chosen ISPs get to hardwire their routers and cables directly onto entire streets of future homes, effectively shutting out non-Openreach competitors and encouraging new residents to sign up.
Some housebuilders will include ISP flyers in their sales literature, or slip introductory full fibre deals into their ‘welcome to your new home’ paperwork bundles.
This is a type of free marketing any company would welcome.
Which full fibre ISPs lead the way?
There is fierce competition among ISPs to enter into partnerships with housebuilders, ensuring the exclusive installation of routers and cabling across new-build estates.
Inevitably, Openreach dominates this market, having completed almost 90,000 new-build installations across the 2024/25 period.
Hyperoptic was a distant second, cabling just under 25,000 new properties, while Virgin Media finished in a surprisingly low fifth place after 1,500 domestic installs – well below its historic levels.
Taking fourth place from Virgin was FibreNest – Persimmon Homes’ in-house fibre broadband provider, and a rare example of a housebuilder operating its own broadband service.
A more common approach sees a regional builder teaming up with a local full fibre ISP. Story Homes and Grain Connect are both based in Carlisle, and have a long-standing partnership.
Meanwhile, Openreach customers are able to sign up to most of the full fibre ISPs listed on our website, from brands like Vodafone, Plusnet, NOW Broadband and – inevitably – BT.
