Rebel Internet packages and speeds: How good are they?

Openreach uploads get worse as the packages get faster

Rebel 115 gives you a 20Mbps upload speed, equal to 18.3% of its average download. Rebel 550 falls to 75Mbps, or 13.6%, while Rebel 1000 manages 115Mbps against a 944Mbps average download. None is unusually poor for Openreach, but the balance gets steadily worse as you move up the range.

The biggest gap is obviously Rebel 1000. You’re buying close to a gigabit of download speed, yet uploads remain little more than a tenth as fast. It’s plenty for ordinary use, but anyone choosing the fastest package for heavy cloud storage, video work or large file transfers may expect rather more in the other direction.

CityFibre gives Rebel 550 and 1000 perfect symmetry

If CityFibre reaches your address, Rebel 550 gives you 550Mbps in both directions and Rebel 1000 gives you 1,000Mbps each way. That’s exceptional home broadband via an exceptional router, with no separate upload upgrade and no extra charge. Rebel simply puts you on the better version where it’s available.

The catch is availability. Rebel 115 is Openreach-only, while the symmetrical versions of Rebel 550 and Rebel 1000 depend entirely on CityFibre reaching your home. You can’t pay to add faster uploads to an Openreach package, so two people buying the same named package can receive dramatically different upload speeds.

Check the upload figure before you order

Rebel’s Openreach uploads will comfortably handle video calls, gaming, ordinary cloud saves and occasional photo sharing. You’re more likely to notice the limit when uploading video, backing up large folders, streaming live or regularly sending project files, because those jobs depend on the much smaller number.

There’s no separate upload add-on and no option to choose CityFibre where it isn’t available. Check which network Rebel will use at your address and look at the stated upload speed, not just the package name. For most homes it won’t matter. For heavy uploaders, it could completely change which package makes sense.

Sources: Rebel Internet, All compared providers

Rebel has thought about people who send as well as receive

The CityFibre versions of Rebel 550 and Rebel 1000 give you equally fast uploads and downloads. That’s excellent for video production, design work, cloud backups and anyone regularly sending enormous project files. Rebel places eligible homes on CityFibre automatically, so you don’t need to find or pay for a separate upload upgrade.

Openreach uploads are much slower, but still perfectly adequate for calls, shared documents and ordinary office work. Rebel also offers a static IP as a paid extra, which is rare among home broadband providers and useful if you run a server, connect back to your home network or need dependable remote access.

The R1 can put your work computer first

Rebel’s Plume system lets you prioritise a device through the Home app. Put your work laptop first and the router can hold back less urgent activity elsewhere in the house. That’s useful during an important call, remote presentation or large upload, especially when several people are sharing the connection all day.

The R1 is also a very capable Wi-Fi 6 router, but coverage still depends on your home and where you put it. Rebel’s SuperPods can carry the signal into difficult rooms, although every pod costs extra and there’s no measurable room-by-room guarantee. Test the R1 on its own before ordering a stack of them.

No broadband backup is a serious omission

Rebel doesn’t offer broadband backup, either with its packages or as a paid extra. If the fixed connection fails, your R1 Router can’t automatically switch to a mobile network and keep your workday moving. You’ll need to tether to your phone or arrange a separate backup connection yourself.

There’s no dedicated work-from-home mode or premium technical-support package either, although neither matters as much as the missing backup. The router, device priority, static IP and CityFibre uploads make Rebel excellent while everything is working. When the line goes down, however, Rebel has no second act.

Rebel lets you move in both directions

Plenty of providers will happily upgrade you during a contract, because an upgrade means a larger monthly bill. Rebel also lets you downgrade whenever your needs fall. Decided 550Mbps is excessive? You can move down rather than spending the rest of the minimum term paying for speed you no longer want.

That shouldn’t feel revolutionary, but it almost does. Other providers impose charges, start awkward negotiations or simply refuse to let you move down. Rebel states plainly that you can scale back and pay only for the speed you actually need. That’s an exceptionally fair way to treat a fixed-term agreement.

The Customer Portal keeps salespeople out of it

Both upgrades and downgrades are handled through the Customer Portal. Open ‘Manage Broadband’, choose your new speed and make the change in a few clicks. There’s no required phone call, no waiting for an agent and no need to justify why you want to spend less.

That matters because a compulsory conversation can turn a simple change into a retention exercise. Rebel gives you a proper self-service route instead. The provider’s older terms mention emailing the accounts team for a downgrade, but its newer, dedicated instructions clearly place both directions inside the portal.

Changing speed doesn’t restart the contract clock

An ordinary move between Rebel’s Full Fibre speeds doesn’t begin a new minimum term. Your existing contract keeps running, whether you move up or down. That removes the usual catch where a supposedly convenient upgrade quietly ties you in again from the date of the change.

There’s no published downgrade charge either, and Rebel doesn’t keep billing you at the old higher rate. You move onto the price of the package you’ve selected. Combined with Rebel’s choice of one-, 12- and 24-month terms, that makes the service unusually easy to adapt as your circumstances change.

A network change is a different job

The instant online process applies when Rebel is changing the speed on your existing Full Fibre connection. Moving from older Standard Fibre to Full Fibre, installing a new fibre line or switching between Openreach and CityFibre can require physical work, an engineer appointment and time for the new service to be provisioned.

Rebel’s specific upgrade guarantee from older broadband to Full Fibre also starts a new 24-month contract. That’s an important exception, but it doesn’t weaken the ordinary package-changing policy. Changing speed on the connection you already have remains quick, self-service and free from a restarted minimum term.