Our overall rating: 9 out of 10
Over 100 smaller full-fibre providers have popped up in the last few years offering ultrafast broadband connections via their own network, normally for much lower prices than the big brands.
These alternative networks, or altnets, are often great options. It can be daunting to switch to a lesser known name, but those who don’t let that bother them are reaping the rewards. 4th Utility is no exception. It goes out of its way to gain trust with superfast deals from just £15 and flexible monthly rolling contracts.
4th Utility used to just be available to postcodes in Manchester, but it has expanded across much of the UK now thanks to using the CityFibre network too, to deliver its broadband.
The positives
The negatives
In our full review we take a look at the pros and cons of each area in more detail: speed, full fibre review, cost, setup and customer service.
As 4th Utility like to put it, they are ‘blazing fast’. In fact, it’s 44 x faster than standard broadband. As a full fibre service on its own network, 4th Utility uses its own modern fibre optic cabling to deliver lightning-fast speeds directly to your home.
But remember, where you live will also play a big factor. We’ll list everything below, but you’ll also need to check your postcode to see what is currently available.
Find out what Wi-Fi is available with our postcode checker.
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Speed is often the biggest consideration when choosing a broadband package. If you have multiple people using the internet at one time, then a higher speed and bandwidth will be essential. Equally, if it’s a small household using the internet for everyday usage, paying for business-grade bandwidth will probably end up being a waste.
You should decide what speed is right for you, based on your broadband habits at home. Here’s a handy guide to help show what bandwidth usage your different applications need.
There are five full-fibre options. All are very fast. And all are symmetrical. This means that they give the same upload and download speeds. Upload speeds are normally considerably lower, which makes this a great choice if you need a connection that can deal with very large file uploads, video meetings and gaming.
4th Utility’s entry-level deal gives a download and upload speed of 50Mbps. Perfect for light internet users as it will easily cope with all browsing, email and shopping tasks.
This full fibre package has an upload and download speed of 100Mbps. It’s well equipped to handle large content uploads, streaming and online gaming.
A great plan that powers a download speed and upload speed of 250Mbps. This choice can manage the demands of the heaviest data users.
This powerful plan offers users typical download and upload rates of 500Mbps. An incredibly fast connection, that is great for large households, multiple devices and downloading and streaming movies and videogames in UHD (ultra high definition).
Will you ever really need 900Mbps and the power to be connected to 120 digital devices at the same time? Maybe not, but if you want to future-proof your home and have peace of mind that you will always have the fastest, most stable internet available, then this is the one for you.
What exactly is full fibre?
It’s the fastest available internet in the UK. Around 80% of homes can now access this ultrafast broadband via new fibre-optic technology.
Full fibre is the next generation of broadband. It removes the need to rely on copper phone lines and instead connects fibre cables straight to your home. Which is why it is also known as Fibre To The Premises (FTTP). This means there’s no slowdown on the data between the street cabinet and your property and the speed and strength are much more powerful as a result. Common internet issues like buffering and outages become almost non existent.
This technology will future-proof homes and businesses across the UK because, once it’s installed, properties won’t need to install new cables for their broadband for decades.
4th Utility runs on its own full fibre network to deliver its internet services. This is different to the many other suppliers that rely on Openreach’s copper network for their connections (BT, Sky, NOW, Plusnet and Vodafone).
Having its own network means they don’t depend on another company to fix any faults or dictate rollout locations. 4th Utility has shown to have a very stable network and when there are problems they are quickly dealt with using an in-house team of engineers.
4th Utility isn’t currently signed up to Ofcom’s voluntary code practice on better broadband speeds. Customers scores are mixed, but mainly above average, on its Trustpilot score for connectivity.
Starting from one of the cheapest prices around of just £15 a month (at the time of writing in March 2025) for full fibre speeds, 4th Utility offers much faster packages for less money. It’s great value and there are no upfront set-up costs or fees. Currently its fastest 900Mbps plan is on offer for just £20 (on a 2-year contract which increases to £30 after the first year)
It does however put its prices up mid-contract. Every March your monthly price will rise by £3, so factor this in on any budgeting.
Average price guide
Choose from a flexible 30 days leave-any-time option, 12 months or 24 months. The shorter the contract the more you’ll pay.
4th Utility doesn’t have TV or mobile packages you can bundle with its broadband, it just focuses on full fibre broadband.
There’s currently no rewards on offer, but there is a refer a neighbour scheme. Introduce someone to 4th Utility and you’ll enjoy a £25 Amazon voucher and they will benefit from one month’s free broadband.
Yes, it does. Like many other providers, 4th Utility puts up its prices every March. So, even if you are mid contract, expect another £3 onto your monthly costs in spring. This should be explained and made completely transparent to you when signing up.
Once you have signed up, the average switchover time to 4th Utility is about ten days. You’ll keep your existing broadband until then and you should only be without internet for about 30 minutes on the actual day of your switch.
Because it uses its own infrastructure rather than your existing landline, you’ll need an engineer visitor to install its cable network.
Your home’s internet connection will be connected externally to the network in two ways. Either overhead from a telephone pole or underground to the nearest 4th Utility connection point. The process shouldn’t take longer than two hours.
The engineering process is free of charge, unless you are opting for a monthly rolling contract and it will be £19.99.
All customers signing up will get the Icotera i4850-25 router with their broadband. It's a reliable bit of kit with decent coverage, but it is only Wi-Fi 5 (rather than Wi-Fi 6), meaning it doesn't offer the fastest performance available.
Trustpilot gives 4th Utility a very respectable 4.3 for its customer support score with an impressive 79% scoring the provider with 5-stars. There’s plenty of positive feedback that points towards prompt, polite and friendly service. Have a look at the latest 4th Utility reviews here.
By phone: 0800 066 2833
Monday to Sunday, 8am-8pm
By Live chat (there’s a WhatsApp pop up at the bottom of the website)
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