Frequently Asked Questions
We are a brand-new, community minded Full Fibre network based in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
We are dedicated to bringing you hyperfast and hyper reliable 100% full fibre broadband, replacing the slower copper used by other providers.
We are laying a new, full fibre broadband network in the ground - we’re not changing or using the existing openreach cable network. We are an independent company, based in Eastbourne. We are not reselling the Openreach Network, unlike the major ISPs. We are building and operating a completely new 100% full fibre network (FTTP). You, the customer, deal with us all the way through – Lightning Fibre controls the network and the quality of your experience from your modem all the way to London and across the World Wide Web. As this is a totally new full fibre network, our network build requires construction work to be carried out by us or our contractors along your street.
For more information see About Us
The main type of broadband connection most network providers use to link the local telephone exchange to your house is ‘FTTC’ (fibre to the cabinet). This uses a fibre optic cable to the cabinet, but then copper cable from there to your house. This means that there is a fast connection to the cabinet, but their networks then rely on a comparatively limited and slower copper connection from the cabinet to your home. And the further your house is from the cabinet, as well as the age of your copper cable, the slower the connection.
Instead, Lightning Fibre uses next generation Full Fibre broadband or ‘FTTP’ (fibre to the premises) - a fibre optic cable connected directly from our own ‘exchange’, to your home without using any copper cable. It’s the thickness of a single strand of hair, can go miles and is delivered by light not electric current. Meaning no drop in speed or service and with Full-fibre connections capable of download and upload speeds up to 10 Gbps. It’s the latest, fastest and most reliable broadband technology which only the fortunate few can get.
Download speed is the rate at which you can receive data from a source, on the Internet to your modem and computer or other devices in your home or work. Similarly, the upload speed is the rate that data is sent from your computer or other devices to a destination, on the Internet.
Speeds are measured in Megabits per second (Mbps) and in the case of our top packages, Gigabits per second (Gbps). 1,000 Mbps = 1 Gbps. To add some context, East Sussex has an average download speed of 30Mbps*
We’re not only bringing you our 150Mbps - 10Gbps Full Fibre experience as standard, we’re also delivering it at an incredible price. We beat the mainstream provider’s ‘Superfast’ and ‘Ultrafast’ packages which give you slower speeds – especially when it comes to uploads.
- We’re a local employer - based in Eastbourne, East Sussex and provide all our customer support locally – no call centres abroad or faraway.
- Whether you're homeworkers, online gamers or a connected family – connected to the cloud, downloading the latest game or families streaming their favourite shows, you’ll now enjoy faster speeds and increased reliability, the like of which hasn’t been seen in Eastbourne, East Sussex and beyond before!
- Our full fibre optic network creates 88% less greenhouse gas emissions per 1Gbps when compared to other access technologies. Helping to protect and improve the environment.
Our 150Mbps - 10Gbps service is delivered as standard, and at a price that beats the mainstream providers' ‘Superfast’ and ‘Ultrafast’ packages which give you slower speeds – especially when it comes to uploads.
Our prices start from £24 per month incl VAT for symmetric residential broadband, and from £35 + VAT per month for symmetric Business Broadband. Our packages and prices are listed on our website under the Broadband menu option. Our Social Tariff is just £15 per month.
Lightning Fibre owns and maintains its own network, most broadband providers utilise the Openreach network.
Most broadband providers when they talk about a ‘fibre service’ they mean ‘FTTC’ (fibre to the cabinet). This uses a fibre optic cable to the nearest telephone cabinet, but then copper cable from there to your house. Meaning their networks rely on a comparatively limited and slower copper connection from the cabinet to your home. And the further your house from the cabinet and the older your cable is, the slower the connection.
Lightning Fibre uses next generation full fibre broadband or ‘FTTP’ (fibre to the premises) - a fibre optic cable connects directly from our own ‘exchange’, to your home without any copper cable. Meaning no drop in speed or service. Full Fibre is the most reliable, fastest and future proofed broadband technology available.
Plus, we not only bring you our 150Mbps - 10Gbps service as standard, we also deliver it at an incredible price. We beat the mainstream providers' ‘Superfast’ and ‘Ultrafast’ packages which give you slower speeds – especially when it comes to uploads.
Yes! Lightning Fibre doesn’t just offer home broadband. We can also take care of your business needs for today and tomorrow, whether that’s with your current IT support partner, one of our local IT partners or simply the connection direct, we’re flexible and here to make it easy.
We understand that nearly all businesses operate online in some form and rely on that connection to keep the business operating and ultimately generating revenue. From simply maintaining the payment system to utilising the cloud, to securely store data and increase team collaboration, or connecting to the office remotely.
Fast, reliable broadband with our full fibre network not only increases your options and capabilities, it’ll likely save your business from downtime and loss of revenue, which can be experienced via on a lesser FTTC copper connection.
To find out more about our business broadband service and packages see Business Broadband and contact us directly.
With Lightning Fibre broadband no landline is required to connect your home or office to our service. Plus, because our Full Fibre service is so fast and reliable you can use your mobile phone over our network like a home phone (with your providers call over WiFi app) – there is no additional or hidden line rental or call costs for this.
If you still want to use your landline, no problem we have a high-quality solution for that too! Please see our VOIP page – you’ll also be able to transfer your existing number over too. Alternatively, you can carry on with your current telephone provider if you wish.
With Lightning Fibre broadband, you have access to all the internet, cloud and online services you currently use. There’s no change – other than a much faster broadband service!
That means any email addresses and services you currently use won’t change.
We work as quickly and quietly as possible. Our street works may include the digging of narrow trenches, installation of street cabinets and, where possible, use of existing infrastructure space such as underground ducts and utility poles. Typically, we’ll only be working directly outside your property for a few days. We will ensure you have access to your property throughout.
Site compounds are necessary during construction for storage purposes and site welfare (including temporary serviced toilets) and will be removed as soon as possible. This is standard industry practice and based on regulatory requirements. Access rights are unaffected.
We only carry out work when we have a valid permit in place to do so. Once a permit is issued, we will send you a ‘Street Works’ letter and our Community Engagement Team may also knock on your door for a chat. We will endeavour to give you a week or two’s notice before we start digging. Please keep an eye out for our hand delivered street works letter (see photo). We also use lamppost signage to inform you of upcoming street works where possible.
Standard Permit Conditions allow Statutory Undertakers to work between 08:00 and 18:00 Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday between 09:00 to 13:00. Generally, however, Lightning Fibre crews tend not to work on Sundays. Depending on the street, ESCC Highways may stipulate limited work periods due to material conditions, for example potentially no carriage way crossing undertaken during rush hour on a main road.
Our Community Engagement Team work Monday to Friday 09:00 to 18:00, this includes door to door interactions. We occasionally work on Saturday. We will not knock on your door on Sunday. If you would like to remove a specific address from door canvassing, please notify our customer services team on 01323 380260.
Our office is open Monday to Sunday 08:00 to 20:00 including most public and bank holidays. This includes sales, tech support and customer service teams, including any complaint handling. Customers can raise support tickets 24/7 using the dedicated customer portal.
Lightning Fibre’s designs won’t require us to build on your land. Where a private road exists, the Community Engagement Team will liaise with the relevant parties in advance to obtain permission to build.
We will install a small access chamber outside your home or business.
Once you sign up to Lightning Fibre you agree that we can install on your property. On the day of install, our team will walk and talk and plan the route with you before they start any work.
Yes, we may ask you to move your vehicle to give us access, but we will keep this to a minimum. We’ll leave a note on your windscreen or knock on your door if we need to ask you to move your car.
Some of the paving slabs we have to lift are very old and brittle, many are broken in several places before we arrive. It’s impossible to avoid some breakages. We take care to ensure that our work does not create trip hazards. The county council is responsible for maintaining and upkeeping the roads and pavements. Lightning Fibre, our contractors and East Sussex County Council (ESCC) Highways Inspectors undertake a walk through prior to works starting to identify and agree which slabs will be replaced and which will not be replaced. On occasion, we are permitted to relay broken slabs by exemption.
We take photographic evidence before and after construction to ensure that we leave an area in the same or better condition than we found it.
We do have 6 months after construction is finished to carry out remedial action, so just because our team has left your area does not mean we won’t be back to fix things. However, if you feel there are trip hazards, please do notify us immediately by email or phone as we will rectify this straight away.
The locations of our street cabinets are pre-agreed with ESCC Highways and we’re unable to reposition them once installed.
We colour match the tarmac where possible and adhere to conservation area rules.
Block pave footways will be reinstated to as close to original condition as possible, blocks will be sanded with dry kiln sand and vibrated into place, post lay. If rain is expected or indeed occurs shortly after reinstatement, the area will be sanded at a later date. Occasionally an area of block paving may be suitable for tarmac reinstatement, this is agreed in advance with ESCC Highways.
All sites to be cleaned after completion with jet washing if necessary. In certain instances, jet washing cannot be undertaken due to liability issues for both our contractors and LF i.e. damage to 3rd party assets (cars that won’t move etc).
If you have any issues with our construction work, require access or have a complaint, the most effective thing to do is speak to a member of the construction team on site at the time. If there is no one to speak with or you prefer to call or email, you are very welcome to do so and we will endeavour to respond to all enquiries as soon as possible.
We are a local network builder, operator and ISP and local goodwill is very important to us. We are a responsible local business and we take all feedback very seriously; we try to do the right thing, but when we do get things wrong we will do our best to put things right as quickly as possible.
Yes. The Lightning Fibre Social Tariff gives access to our amazing, symmetric Full Fibre broadband network for a reduced rate, and is available for customers who receive means-tested benefits including Universal Credit and Job Seekers’ allowance. This broadband is delivered in exactly the same way as our standard packages, just at a lower price. You’ll receive the same amazing customer service, the same reliable Full Fibre connectivity, a free modem and router, and symmetric speeds (upload and download) of 50Mbps guaranteed at the modem.
Yes. We treat all our customers fairly and with respect. We pledge to listen to, help, advise and support our vulnerable customers as best we can. You can notify us of circumstances that make you temporarily or permanently ‘vulnerable’ so that we can offer you the appropriate extra help or support or meet any specific accessibility or customer service needs. Things that might mean you require extra support may include:
Your age;
A physical disability;
A learning disability;
A physical illness;
A mental illness;
Literacy or Communication challenges;
A change in circumstances, including bereavement or job loss;
Financial difficulties.
We guarantee your package speeds ‘at the modem’ (ie. hard wired). WiFi speeds vary based on a range of factors and will vary based on the age and capacity of device you are using. So, whilst we cannot guarantee WiFi speeds, you should enjoy decent connectivity around your property. However, if you have some areas where your signal is weak, we can provide an Extender to boost the signal. Each Extender is £4 per month incl VAT. Please note, each extender requires a power source.
‘Lightning Fibre’ is the trading name of LF Holdco 2 Ltd. Questions should be emailed to ask@lightningfibre.co.uk or please call 01323 380260.
On 19th February 2024, the business and assets of Lightning Fibre Limited were transferred to LF Holdco 2 Ltd. The Lightning Fibre business continues to trade as normal.