The latest data has been totted up by internet performance analytics firm OpenSignal, who has ranked the UK’s major fixed broadband providers on consistency, download speeds, upload speeds, video performance and reliability - and one firm came top in every single category.Virgin Media has been crowned the winner of all five categories, beating its rivals BT, EE, Sky, TalkTalk, Three and Vodafone, the other contenders.In its latest Fixed Broadband Experience report (which you can read here), OpenSignal collated data from July 3 to September 29 2025 to give a picture of three months of fixed broadband usage across the country.Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Read more: BT and Virgin Media rival offers broadband for free, check your postcode now Read more: Vodafone gives broadband customers a surprise free Wi-Fi upgrade “Amid the UK’s ongoing transition to full-fibre networks, Virgin Media has the strongest overall broadband experience across all measures that we track,” said Andrey Popov, Principal Analyst at OpenSignal.“This reflects the capabilities of Virgin’s upgraded cable-to-fibre network and sets it apart from providers operating primarily over the Openreach wholesale platform.
Virgin leads by a wide margin in both Download Speed (187.8Mbps) and Reliability Experience (747 points).” Tech news, reviews and latest gadgets plus selected offers and competitions Subscribe Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you.This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding.You can unsubscribe at any time.
Read our Privacy PolicyGet More of Our News on GoogleSet Daily Express as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value.As alluded to, Virgin Media operates its own fixed broadband network.BT owns and runs the Openreach network in the UK, which it leases out for other providers to run services on, including Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone, as well as other popular internet firms not in the Opensignal report such as Plusnet.
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT“Vodafone benefits from a dual-network strategy uncommon among broadband providers, as it operates across both the Openreach and CityFibre networks,” Popov.The results show this approach is paying off”.Article continues below ADVERTISEMENTWhen it comes to consistent quality, Virgin Media beat Vodafone into second place, followed by BT in third, TalkTalk in fourth, Sky in fifth and Three down in sixth.
Unlike the five other providers, Three’s broadband offering uses 4G and 5G fixed wireless access technology (FWA) as opposed to fixed line fibre cable broadband.Opensignal has determined this negatively affects Three’s consistent quality of service.“FWA remains a niche part of the UK market as Ofcom has previously indicated there are only around 400,000 active connections, or roughly 1 percent of broadband lines,” Popov said.Martin Lewis explains money saving broadband tip Virgin Media also won handsomely when it comes to download speeds, its typical everyday speed for customers at 187.8Mbps far ahead of second place Vodafone’s 105Mbps.TalkTalk was the slowest at 55.1Mbps.Things were much closer, with Virgin Media’s 76.9 point out of 100 measurement for video experience narrowly pushing Sky’s 75.8 into second.Delving into regional snapshots of broadband performance there were notable wins in London for Community Fibre.The London-only broadband provider was crowned the winner in every category but one when only the capital’s connections were taken into account.
The independent provider, which runs its own fibre network, shared a joint win in the video experience category with Virgin Media and Hyperoptic.“For decades, most households were served through BT Group’s Openreach network,” Popov said.“Alongside Openreach sits Virgin Media O2, whose extensive cable footprint has traditionally provided the only large-scale alternative infrastructure.Over the past decade, however, the landscape has been transformed by a wave of regional and city-focused alternative fibre providers (altnets), each varying in scale but collectively accelerating the UK’s shift toward full-fibre connectivity.”
