Spitfire alternative: a solid network, compared honestly.
Spitfire Network Services has run its own network since 1988 and publishes its prices, which already puts it ahead of most of the market. If you are comparing Spitfire with an alternative, the differences are in the contract length, the rented handsets, the support hours and who turns up on site.
Providers are compared on what each publishes: list prices and the conditions attached to them, minimum terms and mid-contract rises, what the price includes (calls, set-up, porting, support hours), UK-based support, and whether failover is offered. Telexico’s own entries are our list prices. Where a provider has changed its terms since the date shown, the published source wins; tell us and we will correct it.
Compiled and reviewed by Mickey Mall, Director, Telexico Communications Ltd, Wolverhampton. Updated October 2026.
Spitfire Network Services in 2026.
Spitfire was founded in London in 1988 by Justin Orde, is still privately owned, employs around 100 people and reports turnover of more than £22m. It operates its own core network and sells FireSwitch hosted PBX, 3CX Cloud, SIP trunks and Teams Direct Routing, FTTP and SoGEA broadband, fibre Ethernet from 100Mb to 10Gb, 4G backup, mobile and IoT SIMs, with a second office in Birmingham’s Colmore Building.
Prices are on the site: FTTP 80/20 at £37, 330/50 at £52.30 and 1000/115 at £58.80 a month; hosted PBX from £9 per extension; Ethernet 100Mb at £139 and 1Gb at £203 a month; 4G backup from £10. Its Trustpilot profile stood at 4.2 from 130 reviews on 14 October 2026. There is no AI call transcription in the range.
What to check in a Spitfire contract.
Taken from Spitfire’s own published terms and prices on the dates shown. Clauses change; read the version attached to your order.
24 months for the free connection
FTTP and SoGEA broadband are 24-month terms to qualify for free connection, router and static IP; a SoGEA transfer is 12 months; Ethernet is 12 or 36 months. The FireSwitch page references a minimum term without stating its length.
Tariff changes on four weeks’ notice
No CPI, RPI or fixed uplift is published; the telephony terms allow Spitfire to alter the tariff on at least four weeks’ written notice, and quotes are subject to the current price list.
Rented handsets go back
Handset rental starts from under £1.30 a month; the equipment remains Spitfire’s property and must be returned within 14 days of cease or is charged at retail value.
Support hours and channels
A UK-based support and account-management team on 020 7501 3030, contact-page hours 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 24/7 support claimed on connectivity pages, published fault targets of 40, 20 or 7 hours by care level with service credits. No live chat and no WhatsApp.
Who installs
Spitfire sells to businesses nationally from London and Birmingham; on-site installation of phones and WiFi is not part of the published proposition in the way it is for a local managed provider.
Spitfire and Telexico, on the points that decide it.
Telexico is a competitor, so judge this table on the facts in it: the Spitfire column is from its published documents, the Telexico column from how we actually contract.
| What matters | Spitfire | Telexico |
|---|---|---|
| Contract term and notice | 24 months on FTTP and SoGEA (12 on a SoGEA transfer); Ethernet 12 or 36 months; telephony runs until one month’s notice | Rolling 30-day terms available, or 12 months where handsets are included; the term and notice period written on the first page of the proposal |
| Price rises | Not indexed; tariff may change on four weeks’ written notice | No mid-contract price rises |
| Leaving early | Not published in the summary terms; see the agreement | Discussed openly before you sign; we plan switches around existing end dates |
| Handsets and equipment | Rented, remain Spitfire’s property, returned within 14 days of cease | Standard SIP handsets you are not locked to; on 12-month terms they are included and become yours |
| Who supports you | UK-based support and account management; 8am–8pm Mon–Fri on the contact page; 24/7 on connectivity | A named UK engineer; the person who set you up answers |
| Installation | London and Birmingham; national delivery | On-site from Wolverhampton across the Midlands; UK partner engineers elsewhere |
| What sits on one bill | Voice, broadband, Ethernet, 4G backup, mobile, IoT, firewall-as-a-service | Phones, full fibre or leased line, WiFi, 4G/5G failover, CCTV and AI on one bill |
| Published price | Published on the site | One per-user price per month quoted in writing before you sign, UK calls included; set-up and number porting free |
Swipe the table sideways on a phone.
Who Spitfire suits, and when to stay.
Who Spitfire genuinely suits
Spitfire suits a London or Birmingham office that wants a carrier-grade connection with published SLAs and service credits, is comfortable configuring a hosted PBX with remote support, and does not need WiFi, CCTV or AI call intelligence from the same supplier.
Why people look elsewhere
People look for a Spitfire alternative when they want one supplier to design and install the whole stack on site, when they want AI transcription and keyword alerts built into the phone system, when the eight-to-eight support window does not fit a business that trades evenings and weekends, or when they would rather own standard handsets than rent them.
When to stay put
If your Ethernet circuit is mid-term and performing, keep it: a leased line from a network owner with service credits is worth having. Diarise the term end, and compare the phone system separately; the two do not have to move together.
The main alternatives to Spitfire in 2026.
Each suits a different kind of business. Ours is first; we have said plainly who the others are for.
Telexico: managed and local
A fully managed hosted phone system with the Telexico Mobile App, Web UC and standard desk phones, one per-user price quoted in writing, rolling 30-day terms available, no mid-contract price rises, your numbers ported, and a named UK engineer. Add full fibre or a leased line, WiFi, 4G/5G failover, CCTV and AI call answering on the same bill.
Gamma Horizon through a good partner
A solid hosted platform if you find a responsive reseller; many of the suppliers on this page sell it. You are still dealing through a partner, so judge the partner, not the platform.
RingCentral or 8x8
Enterprise cloud platforms with deep contact-centre tooling. Best for larger or international operations; more than most UK SMEs need.
Microsoft Teams Phone
Sensible if your business already lives in Microsoft 365. Telexico can supply Teams calling too, so this is not an either/or.
Self-service VoIP (bOnline, Yay.com)
Cheap and quick for a micro business happy to set everything up itself, with no on-site install or local support.
3CX, self-hosted or managed
A software PBX that is inexpensive at scale if you have IT to run it, or a partner such as Telexico to manage it for you.
How the switch from Spitfire works.
1. Review
Send your Spitfire bill and the terms or renewal you have been offered. We list your numbers, users and end dates, and tell you what we would change, what it costs and whether staying is the better move.
2. Build alongside
We configure the new system, ship desk phones and set up the Telexico Mobile App while Spitfire keeps running. Nothing is switched off early.
3. Port and cut over
Your numbers port on an agreed date, usually one to three weeks from authorisation, with both systems tested side by side. Your named engineer stays with you afterwards.
The services behind the comparison.
Business phone systems
Hosted cloud calling with the Telexico Mobile App, Web UC and desk phones.
AI call intelligence
Every call transcribed, summarised and flagged for complaints and opportunities.
Business broadband and full fibre
The connection the phones depend on, with 4G/5G failover built in.
Every comparison in one place
Other suppliers compared the same way.
The PSTN switch-off
What the end of analogue and ISDN lines means for your set-up.
Free infrastructure review
Send a bill; get an honest comparison within two business hours.
What Spitfire’s published terms say.
Quoted or closely paraphrased from Spitfire’s own terms, prices and published pages on the dates shown, with a link under each point. Clauses change: read the version attached to your own order before relying on anything here.
Who they are
Spitfire Network Services, founded in 1988, London-based with a Birmingham office, around 100 staff and its own core network; FireSwitch hosted PBX, SIP, Teams Direct Routing, FTTP and SoGEA broadband, fibre Ethernet to 10Gb, 4G backup.
SourceMinimum term
Broadband: 24 months for free connection, router and static IP on FTTP and SoGEA (12 months on a SoGEA transfer); Ethernet 12 or 36 months. The FireSwitch page references a minimum term without stating its length.
SourcePrice changes
No CPI, RPI or fixed uplift is published; the telephony terms allow the tariff to be altered on at least four weeks’ written notice.
SourcePublished prices
FTTP 80/20 £37, 330/50 £52.30 and 1000/115 £58.80 a month; hosted PBX from £9 per extension; Ethernet 100Mb £139 and 1Gb £203 a month; 4G backup from £10. Handset rental from under £1.30 a month, equipment remaining Spitfire’s property.
SourceSupport
“UK based Support and Account Management Team”, published fault-fix targets by care level with service credits, 24/7 support on connectivity; no chat or WhatsApp.
SourceReviews
Trustpilot “Spitfire”: 4.2 out of 5 from 130 reviews; ISO 9001 and Cyber Essentials; 37 years trading.
SourceThe notice window is the whole game.
Telephony runs until one month’s written notice after the minimum term; broadband and Ethernet terms are on the order (12, 24 or 36 months). Check for rented handsets, which must go back within 14 days of cease or are charged at retail value. Tell us the dates and we port on them.
Tell us your end date →Months away? The date goes into the director’s diary and we come back before the window closes, with a written quote to compare against the renewal.
Four things that are the same on every Telexico agreement.
Rolling 30-day terms, or 12 months where handsets are included; the term and the notice period are written on the first page of the proposal. There is no automatic renewal clause: when a term ends you stay on 30-day rolling, nothing re-ties you for another year.
The per-user price you sign is the price for the term. There is no April uplift clause in a Telexico agreement.
Numbers port across on an agreed date, the new system runs alongside the old one until it is tested, and nothing is switched off early.
A named engineer and account manager from Wolverhampton, a WhatsApp group for your team, and a UK phone line answered by people who know your sites.
Trustpilot score shown for Spitfire: 4.2 out of 5 from 130 reviews on 14 October 2026 (Trustpilot). Telexico is a competitor; judge the points above on the documents linked, not on us.
Spitfire alternatives: your questions.
Is Spitfire cheaper than Telexico?
On a like-for-like Ethernet circuit, often comparable; Spitfire publishes £139 for 100Mb and £203 for 1Gb a month. Telexico quotes the circuit, the phone system, WiFi and failover as one written price with set-up and porting included, so compare the whole set-up, not one line.
How long is a Spitfire contract?
Broadband is 24 months to qualify for free connection and router (12 months on a SoGEA transfer); Ethernet is 12 or 36 months; telephony continues until one month’s written notice after any minimum term. The FireSwitch minimum term is not stated on the page, so check your order.
Can Telexico take over a Spitfire phone system?
Yes. Numbers port on an agreed date, the new system runs alongside until tested, and rented Spitfire handsets go back within their 14-day window; Telexico supplies standard SIP phones you are not locked to.
Does Spitfire offer AI call transcription?
Not in the published range on 14 October 2026. Telexico AI transcription, summaries and keyword alerts are built into the Telexico cloud phone system.
Compared the same way: dated terms, published prices, who each one suits.
Where the Spitfire facts come from.
Checked on 14 October 2026. Telexico is a competitor of Spitfire; the figures are from the documents below and may have changed since. Verify the current versions before relying on them.