Did you know broadband and Wi-Fi are not the same thing? 

When your connection’s playing up, it’s easy to curse “the broadband.” But what if we told you that broadband and Wi-Fi are actually two very different things? Like tea and the kettle. Or Netflix and the remote. One needs the other to work — but they’re not interchangeable. 

If you’ve ever said, “The broadband’s down!” while still happily scrolling on 4G, this one’s for you.

First things first: what actually is broadband? 

Broadband is your actual internet connection. The lifeline that brings the internet into your home. Think of it as the invisible motorway of data zipping stuff in and out of your house – web pages, emails, TikTok videos, that episode of Bake Off you accidentally spoiled on Twitter. 

And if you’ve got Full Fibre broadband (like ours), that motorway is lightning-fast, with no copper cables, and no sharing speeds with your neighbours. It’s your own personal fibre line. 

So… what’s Wi-Fi then? 

Wi-Fi is how your devices connect to that broadband wirelessly. It’s the middleman. The butler that takes the internet from your router and serves it up on a silver platter to your phone, laptop, or smart fridge. 

It does this using radio waves, so it has its quirks: 

• It operates on different frequencies (2.4 GHz for long range, 5 GHz for more speed but shorter reach). 

• It can get moody if your walls are thick, your microwave’s on, or you’ve got a pet goldfish. 

• And crucially — it doesn’t create the internet. It just spreads it around the house. 

And because we love a metaphor… here it is: 

Broadband is like water coming into your home.
Wi-Fi is the taps, hoses and sprinklers you use to get it where you want it. 

If the tap’s dribbling, that doesn’t mean the whole water supply’s off. Maybe the pipe’s kinked or someone’s showering upstairs.   

Why does the difference matter? 

Because if something’s not working right, knowing whether it’s your broadband or your Wi-Fi can save you a lot of hassle. 

Wi-Fi feeling slow? 

• Try moving closer to the router. 

• Try turning the router off and on again (classic). 

• Try kicking out a few devices – your teenager’s Xbox might be hogging your bandwidth, or, if you’ve got devices you don’t use regularly, try disconnecting them when you’re not using them.  

Still slow? Then it might be your broadband speed – if you live in a large smart home with lots of people and devices, consider: 

• Upping your package speed  

• Adding a Wi-Fi extender to help extend your coverage 

• Or, if you’ve only currently got part-fibre, upgrade your connection  

Enter: Full Fibre broadband 

This is where we come in. Unlike older part-fibre set-ups that switch back to copper at the last stretch, our Full Fibre is fibre all the way into your home. 

That means: 

• Speeds up to 900Mb 

• No sharing bandwidth with the neighbours 

• Reliable streaming, gaming, video calls and smart-home-y stuff 

• Infrastructure that’s ready for the future 

Broadband = internet. Wi-Fi = how you access it. 

If you’re due an upgrade, make it one that truly delivers. Ready to ditch copper and get connected the proper way? Check your postcode to get started. 

See also…

• Why speed matters when it comes to broadband
• Do you know your full fibre from your fake fibre?