A new Full Fibre network offering speeds of up to 2.5Gbps has gone live in West Mersea. Amphora Connect and Mersea-based Birch Technical Services built an 18km fibre route from Colchester, through Old Heath, Abberton and Peldon, before taking it across The Strood and onto the island.
There’s plainly room for another network. Figures from the Fibredog UK Broadband Explorer show a median download speed of 84.6Mbps in West Mersea during 2026, based on 1,996 qualifying tests. That’s up from 55.3Mbps in 2022, but 37.2% of this year’s tests still came in below 30Mbps.
Broadband evidence overview
Broadband evidence overview
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Source: fibredog.com
Choose a geographical area to populate the broadband overview
Once you have entered a UK postcode, town or city and selected Explore, this part of the tool, the broadband overview, will summarise the measured and reported broadband evidence for that geographical area.
It compares measured download and upload speeds, the real download range, tests below 30Mbps, latency, reported availability, changes over time, the size of the measurement evidence base and the broadband providers observed in the selected area.
For homes, Amphora currently advertises symmetrical packages at 150Mbps for £35, 500Mbps for £40, 1Gbps for £42 and 2.5Gbps for £65 per month. Symmetrical means uploads are as fast as downloads, which is genuinely handy for cloud backups and sending large files. Each package comes with a 24-month initial contract.
What Amphora’s arrival means for West Mersea
The Fibredog UK Broadband Explorer also exposes the gap between availability and the speeds people actually receive. Ofcom data puts gigabit availability in West Mersea at 55.7%, yet only 1.1% of qualifying tests reached gigabit-class speeds. That doesn’t mean everyone else can’t order it; package choice, Wi-Fi and the devices being used all affect the result.
Image Credit: DOWTK
One of West Mersea’s stunning beaches
Nor does a network launch mean every West Mersea address can order today. Amphora asks you to enter your full postcode and select your property. A new fibre cable and small box will normally be installed inside the front wall. Standard installation is free, but only where your property meets the provider’s definition.
Amphora’s residential page promises no mid-contract price rises. Its published terms, however, say charges can be increased, although you can leave without an early termination fee if you reject the change. That’s a contradiction worth checking before you sign. Save a copy of your order summary and the price promise shown when you join.
