Community Fibre Launches £10 Broadband for Households on Benefits

London broadband provider CommunityFibre, busy building a 3Gbps full-fibre network across the capital, has launched a new offer for households on benefits.

For £10 per month, eligible Londoners can receive a symmetrical 10Mbps broadband connection through CommunityFibre, half the price of the ISP’s usual entry-level 50Mbps connection.

The contract will run for 12 months, at which time households can renew it for the same cost, upgrade to a faster speed or cancel the service entirely.

CommunityFibre says it hopes the offer will help London residents impacted by the pandemic recover from the financial downturn and access new job or training opportunities.

Households qualify for the offer if they receive Housing Benefit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) through Universal Credit or Personal Independence Payments through Care Leavers support.

To apply, you’re urged to contact the ISP directly, on 0808 196 6206 or covidhelp@communityfibre.co.uk. You will be asked to submit evidence that you receive the relevant benefits.

But CommunityFibre’s new offer has one catch: you can only sign up until the end of July 2021. This means the deal isn’t quite a social tariff like those run by BT, Virgin Media and Hyperoptic, but rather a time-limited discount.

Graeme Oxby, CEO of Community Fibre, said: “Our mission is to bring better internet to all Londoners and we always look for opportunities to give back to the communities we serve. We recognise that many have lost their job because of the COVID-19 pandemic and may not be able to afford a good internet connection to secure their next job opportunity.

“In the past year, we have all learned how critical it is to have access to a quality, reliable broadband in order to work, find a job, acquire new skills and more. Unlike other packages available on the market, our COVID-19 recovery package capitalises on the advantage of the 100% full fibre network to deliver a full 10Mbps broadband service as promised at an affordable price to support the community.”

CommunityFibre currently brings 3Gbp-capable full fibre to 200,000 premises across the capital, across parts of Barnet, Brent, Camden, City of London, Croydon, Ealing, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth and Westminster. It aims to reach one million premises in London by the end of 2023. Use CommunityFibre’s postcode checker to see if your home is already connected or register interest in the ISP coming to your neighbourhood.

Standard customers can access CommunityFibre’s full-fibre plans from £20 per month for the first 24-months (50Mbps downstream and upstream). 300Mbps costs £25/month, while 800Mbps costs £35/month, and 1Gbps costs £49/month. The top speed of 3Mbps, one of the fastest widely available broadband packages on the market, costs £99 per month.

Several ISPs have launched or upgraded their offer to low-income households recently. Virgin Media's Essential Broadband plan, launched in November, offers speeds of 15Mbps for £15 per month to recipients of Universal Credit in the half of UK residents connected to Virgin's cable network. 

Hyperoptic's Fair Fibre Plan, on offer since March, offers full-fibre plans with speeds of 50Mbps for £15 per month to households on certain benefits. BT recently upgraded its social tariff to fibre, offering download speeds of 36Mbps for £15 per month.