Full Fibre broadband in York city centre: why copper broadband still runs the show, and how fastr is changing it

York is historic. Its broadband doesn’t need to be.

Homes and businesses in York city centre have relied on copper broadband for years. Full fibre broadband simply wasn’t there. Now, that’s changing.

Broadband in York city centre today

Most broadband in York city centre still runs on copper phone lines. These lines carried phone calls long before the internet existed.

Even “fibre broadband” from the big providers usually only reaches the street cabinet. From there, copper carries the signal the rest of the way to your door.

That copper stretch is the bottleneck. Speeds slow at peak times. Video calls drop. Streaming buffers just when things get good. In short, copper can’t handle modern data demands.

Why York city centre hasn’t been upgraded

Upgrading broadband infrastructure in a historic city centre is hard. It’s expensive, too.

York’s streets sit above centuries of history, so engineers must work carefully around listed buildings. Conservation rules add extra planning time. Tourist season limits when work can happen, and on top of that, archaeological finds can delay a project altogether.

Because of this complexity, a simple job on a modern housing estate becomes a major undertaking in York. National infrastructure providers have therefore upgraded easier, cheaper areas first, leaving York city centre waiting.

The result: slow downloads, dropped meetings, and broadband that can’t keep up with modern life and business.

Fastr has brought Full Fibre broadband to York city centre

Fastr Broadband exists to solve exactly this problem. We’re York’s own independent full fibre provider, and we’ve done what the bigger networks hadn’t: brought genuine full fibre broadband right into the heart of the city.

Full fibre means no copper bottleneck. Our fibre optic cable runs directly into homes and businesses, not just to the street cabinet. As a result, our network supports speeds up to 10Gbps, ready for however people use the internet today, and in the years ahead.

We also build considerately. Our local engineers know York’s streets and its listed buildings well, so they plan every installation to keep disruption to a minimum.

So far, we’ve connected around 8,000 homes and businesses across York city centre. Customers include Days Café on Petergate and Parliament St, Spencer Elliott Property Lawyers, The Braithwaite Gallery and Mr Chippy. All of them now run on full fibre instead of copper. See who else we’ve connected.

The benefits of Full Fibre broadband

Full fibre broadband brings clear, practical benefits:

• Faster speeds that don’t slow down when everyone’s online at once
• Reliable video calls that don’t freeze or drop out
• Card payments and cloud systems that sync instantly
• Streaming and downloads that just work, every time
• A future-proof connection, ready ahead of the national copper switch-off in 2027

For example, once you’re on full fibre, you won’t need to worry about slow speeds during peak evening hours, or lots of people being online at the same time. That’s something copper broadband simply can’t promise.

When is the copper switch-off?

Openreach plans to retire the UK’s copper phone network by 2027. After that date, broadband and phone services will run entirely over fibre. That’s why switching to full fibre now means you’re ready early, with no last-minute scramble.

York’s history isn’t going anywhere. Its broadband doesn’t need to lag behind, too.

Check if Full Fibre broadband is available at your address

Fastr’s full fibre network is live across much of York city centre. 

Check your postcode at fastrbroadband.co.uk to see if your home or business can connect today.