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Should I use Gigaclear?

Ultrafast Rural Broadband - gigaclear.com

Depends. Worth it only if Gigaclear is the only full-fibre option at your rural address — speeds are strong and entry pricing starts at £19/mo. Skip it if Openreach FTTP or another altnet covers you: Ofcom fined it £122,500 over 999-call failures and its lenders have taken control.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 40+ public sources; many review snippets were truncated, so quotes are partial.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useNo usable evidence found
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

£19/mo + £30 setup

Explorer 300

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo

Best for

  • Rural UK homes with no other full fibre
  • Homes wanting gigabit-capable FTTP speeds
  • Rural small businesses (farm parks, food producers)

Not for

  • Urban or suburban homes served by Openreach FTTP
  • Anyone needing price stability — 104% hike proposed
  • Users relying on digital home phone and 999 reliability
  • Buyers wary of a lender-controlled, loss-making ISP

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Large price hikes reported: customers cite a proposed 104% increase

high

£122,500 Ofcom fine for 999-call and caller-location failures — risky for home-phone users

medium

Lenders took control after recapitalisation; long-term service continuity less certain

medium

Pressure-sold contracts reported; check exit terms before switching mid-contract

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Full fibre to rural premises other ISPs don't reach
  • Entry plans from £19/mo
  • 5/5 star Trustpilot listing
  • DDoS protection included via Corero
  • Positive Feefo reviews ('really pleased')

Cons

  • Ofcom fined Gigaclear £122,500 over 999-call failures
  • Lenders took control after restructuring; investors lost £100m
  • Proposed 104% price increase reported by customers
  • Pressure-selling complaint involving an elderly customer
  • Installation and connection quality complaints on Reddit

Sources & method

Analyzed 10/03/2026 - 12 sources - Minor 2016 website breach (spam only); Corero DDoS protection; no recent breaches found.

review x5security x2news x5
  • 2016 website security breach, Minor breach used to send spam; cleared up, per ISP Review.
  • Ofcom fine over 999-call failures, £122,500 fine for failing to provide accurate caller location data for emergency calls.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 2/5

    Rating

  • £19/mo + £30 setup

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 2/5. £19/mo intro deals, but 104% hike proposed
  • Ease of use. No usable evidence found
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Full-fibre FTTP, Smart WiFi, home phone, business plans
  • Support quality: 2/5. 999-failure fine, installation and pressure-selling complaints
  • Security posture: 3/5. Minor 2016 spam breach; Corero DDoS protection now
  • 5/5 Trustpilot rating per Trustpilot listing snippets
  • £19/mo Starting price Explorer 300 plan, plus £30 setup
  • $352M Total funding plus £1.5B debt facility (2023)
  • £122,500 Ofcom fine 999-call and caller-location failures (2025)

Pricing

Explorer 300

£19/mo + £30 setup

  • 300Mbps full fibre
  • £30 one-off setup fee

Security

Minor 2016 website breach (spam only); Corero DDoS protection; no recent breaches found.

  • 2016 website security breachMinor breach used to send spam; cleared up, per ISP Review.⁸
  • Ofcom fine over 999-call failures£122,500 fine for failing to provide accurate caller location data for emergency calls.³

What users say

Reviews are polarised: many praise the rural full-fibre speeds, while others report installation problems, price hikes, and leaving the provider.

“I have been really pleas”
Feefo review
“I've just left Gigaclear”
Facebook group (We Love Potton)
“My elderly dad was pressure-sold new broadband whilst still in contract for existing supplier”
MoneySavingExpert forum

Companies that use it

  • Cotswold Farm Park
  • TasteConnection
Full analysis

Based on 40+ public sources; many review snippets were truncated, so quotes are partial.

Rural full fibre, 5-star Trustpilot, £19/mo deals — but a £122.5k Ofcom fine, price hikes, and lender control.

Methodology

Based on 40+ public sources; many review snippets were truncated, so quotes are partial.

Sources

  1. Gigaclear Trustpilot reviewsuk.trustpilot.com
    review
  2. Gigaclear Feefo reviewsfeefo.com
    review
  3. Broadband provider fined over 999 calls fault (BBC)bbc.com
    news
  4. Ofcom fines Gigaclear £122,500ofcom.org.uk
    news
  5. Taxpayers lose £100m on Gigaclear investment (Telegraph)telegraph.co.uk
    news
  6. Gigaclear set to buy more time from lenders (Octus)octus.com
    news
  7. Gigaclear Explorer 300 pricing (Instagram)instagram.com
    news
  8. Gigaclear 2016 web security breach (ISPreview)ispreview.co.uk
    security
  9. Gigaclear selects Corero for DDoS protectionsourcesecurity.com
    security
  10. Gigaclear deals from £19/mo (BroadbandPicker)broadbandpicker.co.uk
    review
  11. Pressure-selling complaint (MoneySavingExpert)forums.moneysavingexpert.com
    review
  12. Proposed 104% price increase (Facebook)facebook.com
    review

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