Broadband suppliers and operators: What’s the difference?

The results from our recent broadband study have shown that, for some people, there’s some confusion around the difference between a broadband operator, and a supplier or provider (ISP). In this blog, we explain all…

What is a broadband operator?

A broadband operator is a company that owns the infrastructure from which the broadband is delivered, such as the cables, the underground ducting (pipes and trenches), and poles. The aim of the operator is to deliver a functioning service to your address.

For example, if you’ve been told there’s a fault with your line, there’s a good chance that the operator will deal with and fix the issue.

The biggest broadband operator in the UK is Openreach. Superfast Essex has contracts with them, as well as the operator Gigaclear, to deliver broadband services to addresses in Essex. There are an increasing number of smaller operators which you may not have heard of that are targeting towns and cities in Essex too.

We’ve put together a full list of operators who we’re aware of working in Essex on our website: www.superfastessex.org/commercial-operators/.

What is a broadband supplier, or an internet service provider?

A supplier or internet service provider (ISP) is a company from which you buy your broadband service from. They will give you your broadband hub, decide what speeds your address will have access to, and decide what they charge you for your broadband service. Suppliers will have agreements with operators to use or rent their infrastructure, so they can deliver your broadband service.

If there’s an issue with your Wi-Fi hub, for example, you’d go to your supplier to get the issue sorted.

The biggest ISP in the UK is BT, which uses Openreach infrastructure to deliver its services. However, there are many other ISPs which also use Openreach’s infrastructure. A full list of FTTP suppliers is available on the Openreach website: https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband/fttp-providers.

Similar to Openreach, there are many suppliers that you can order a broadband service from on the Gigaclear network. Take a look at Gigaclear’s partners here: https://www.gigaclear.com/our-partners.

Operators vs Providers: What to Remember...

• An operator is in charge of the broadband infrastructure (think poles and cables).
  • Openreach is the largest operator in the UK.
• A provider is in charge of giving you the actual broadband service (think Wi-Fi hub, speeds).
  • BT is the largest supplier in the UK.