How to choose the best broadband provider

Broadband is now regarded as one of life’s essentials and, just like energy, is an open market with a range of firms competing for your custom. But how do you choose between them? How can you get the best broadband provider?

Each provider will have strengths and weaknesses. If you research the broadband market, you’ll quickly find some providers have lightning speeds but offer poor customer service. Others offer lots of extra features but cost more or may not be available in every location. 

Selecting the best broadband provider

Selecting the best broadband provider is a combination of knowing what you need and what’s available.

We suggest figuring out what you need first as this will influence everything that comes after.

If you’re a heavy internet user, online gamer, have a large family or work from home, faster broadband is a must.

If you’re an occasional or light user,  you could go for slower broadband and save some money. If your online time is mainly restricted to low-impact activities like web browsing, you don’t need ultrafast broadband. Email, social media, online shopping, and banking do not require very fast speeds.

In general, a speed of around 30Mbps is a reasonable minimum for most households. That will often be sufficient for frequent surfing, streaming Netflix or Disney+, and other general use. There are also plenty of cheap deals available. 

But that is only a starting point, and if you have a large household or require more speed for specific activities you’ll need something quicker.

In addition to speed, think about what else you want from the broadband provider. Are you only interested in getting home internet service, or would you like to get a deal that includes other features, such as TV or free phone calls? Some providers also include extras such as free public Wi-Fi, while others offer enhanced levels of technical support.

Once you’ve got an idea of what you need and want from a broadband deal, use an online postcode checker to see what’s available in your area. 

Using a comparison website will give you an idea of who provides services and the kinds of speeds you can expect.

You can compare speeds, contract length, features and the different packages offered by various providers.

Is there a fastest broadband provider?

If speed is your priority, who is the fastest broadband provider?

The answer depends on where you live. You should get an idea of what’s available in your area from the postcode checker.

The vast majority of homes in the UK can get between 35Mbps and 67Mbps using a BT phone line or a reseller that uses the BT network (for example, TalkTalk, Plusnet, Sky, and many others).

That will be fast enough for many people, and cheap deals are easy to find. However, there are a growing number of options for anyone that needs something quicker. 

If you live in a cabled area, Virgin Media offers speeds up to 1Gbps (more than 14x as fast as the best speeds available to many in a BT network area). But not everyone will have access to this network, and Virgin does tend to be more expensive.

The very fastest broadband you can get right now is delivered by full-fibre networks, where fibre optic wires run all the way into your home. This type of broadband is offered by major brands such as BT, TalkTalk, Sky, and EE, as well as smaller specialist providers like Hyperoptic, Gigaclear, and Community Fibre.

Many of these also offer up to 1Gbps like Virgin Media, though there are some which can go faster, up to 10Gbps in a few places!

Unfortunately, availability for this is quite limited. At present, just over 30% of homes can get full-fibre broadband. But the networks are expanding and many more of us will be able to get these services in the near future. 

Is there a cheapest broadband provider?

Finding the cheapest broadband provider is a case of performing your research and using that postcode checker to compare deals.

The broadband market is so competitive that providers change their offers all the time. They work incredibly hard to be cheaper than the competition, which is good news for us. 

As prices change constantly, it’s impossible for us to list the cheapest providers.

We can suggest checking DST, NOW, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Shell Broadband though, as these companies seem to fight harder to attract new customers with lower prices.

The comparison website should be able to provide the latest deals so you can quickly see which is the cheapest for your needs.

Some providers will offer gift cards, cashback, TVs, and other gifts to attract new customers. These can be great value, assuming the gift is useful to you. But always compare the cost of a deal over the contract term, and make a note of the contract end date so you can switch or renegotiate to keep costs low for the next 12, 18, or 24 months.

Which provider has the best customer service?

Customer service is a key measure of the quality of a provider. They could offer the fastest, cheapest broadband, but if they aren’t there when you need them, they aren’t worth the money.

Ofcom tracks complaints for some providers and it makes for interesting reading.

• EE, Sky and BT have the fewest complaints.
• TalkTalk and Shell have the most complaints.

It’s important to note that Ofcom doesn’t track all providers, so this is just a partial picture. 

We recommend checking review websites to get a more complete idea of how a particular provider performs in terms of reliability and customer service.

While most internet providers in the UK offer a reliable service, it’s only when things go wrong that you’ll know whether you made the right choice or not.

Choosing the best broadband provider

As you can see, selecting the best broadband provider is exactly the same as selecting any other service provider. The only difference is that you might need to tackle some unfamiliar technical terms. 

Check your requirements to make sure you get the right speed for your needs. Then compare the market to see what’s available. 

Compare like for like as much as possible, taking into account contract length, customer service opening hours, any ‘free’ gifts and features included with the contract.

Shortlist a couple of providers and check that Ofcom resource and your favourite review websites to make sure you’re going to be with a provider that is going to look after your interests.

It may take a little time, but you’re going to be with the provider for between 18 to 24 months, so it’s time well spent!

*This is a collaborative post.