Cost of broadband
For most of us, broadband is a necessity but finding the right deal can sometimes be tricky. To help you work out what you need, we take a look at what your options are and how to pick the best package for your home.
What are the different types of broadband?
Broadband isn’t all the same and there are actually several different types, including:
ADSL broadband
The ADSL stands for asymmetric digital subscriber line, and it uses your property’s copper telephone wires to bring broadband into your home. ADSL is known as standard broadband and delivers speeds of around 10Mbps (megabits per second).
Most homes in the UK have access to ADSL broadband but because the system is old, it’s prone to problems and can also be temperamental in bad weather. Not only that, the further away you are from the telephone exchange, the slower the speed.
Fibre broadband
Fibre tends to be the broadband of choice for most homes as it’s more stable than ADSL and capable of much faster speeds. But just to make it a little less straightforward, there are actually two types of fibre broadband:
- FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) – the cabinet in question is the green box you often see on street corners. Fibreoptic cables deliver broadband to the cabinet and continues to your home using your existing copper telephone wires. Most homes with fibre broadband have FTTC.
- FTTP (fibre to the premises) – broadband is delivered directly into your home using fibreoptic cables rather than switching to copper. As you’d expect, FTTP is considerably faster than FTTC.
Cable broadband
Cable broadband uses something called a coaxial cable to deliver broadband into your home instead of fibre or copper wires. Virgin Media is the largest provider of cable broadband, offering speeds much faster than fibre but the downside is that it’s only available to around half the country.
Installing cable broadband also takes slightly more effort than FTTC broadband. This is mainly because an engineer will need to feed the cables into your home.
Mobile broadband
Mobile broadband uses the 3G, 4G or 5G phone network to bring broadband into your home. This usually works with a portable router and a SIM card which links up with the mobile signal to your home and then distributes this to your devices. As it relies on the mobile network, you’ll need a fairly decent and consistent signal which might not always be available if demand is high.
Is broadband available everywhere?
Most homes in the UK have access to broadband. In fact, industry regulator Ofcom estimates that just 0.3% of households can’t get even the most basic ADSL broadband.
That said, not all broadband deals are available in all areas of the UK. For instance, FTTP or cable broadband might not be available in some rural areas. The good news is that you can check what you can get at Ofcom’s broadband checker tool.
What is the difference between superfast and ultrafast broadband?
Superfast broadband is anything from 30Mbps up to around 300Mbps. Ultrafast broadband is anything higher than 300Mbps but less than 1000Mbps or 1Gbps (gigabit per second).
What broadband speed do I need?
Ofcom suggests that a decent broadband connection should provide you with at least 10Mbps. However, as a general rule, larger households will need faster speeds.
To give you an idea of what you might need, a household of four should think about getting broadband speeds of between 30Mbps and 60Mbps. If you’re house sharing or your family spends a lot of time online, it’s a good idea to go faster and look at deals offering at least 60Mbps. This would let you all do different things online at the same time without the frustration of buffering.
If you’ve got dedicated gamers in your family, then you should consider even higher speeds. This will reduce latency (the time it takes for signals to go back and forth) which ultimately leads to faster response times and a better gaming experience.
Do I need a phone line to get broadband?
Most fibre packages will need you to have a phone line (remember, fibre broadband typically uses the copper cables into your home). Because of this, you’ll need to pay a line rental charge but this cost is often part and parcel of your broadband package.
The only way to avoid needing a phone line is to choose cable broadband, FTTP or mobile broadband.
What cheap broadband deals are there?
You can buy broadband on its own or bundled together with other services, so it all depends on what you want:
- Broadband only – if you only want broadband, you can buy it as a standalone service. The type of broadband you can get (ADSL, fibre, cable) will depend on where you live so you’ll usually be asked for your postcode before you can see what’s available. Remember that you’ll still need a landline unless you opt for FTTP, cable or mobile broadband (which may not be available where you live).
- Broadband and phone – bundling your phone service with broadband can work out cheaper than buying them separately. Some providers will also offer discounts or include free calls at weekends or even to mobiles.
- Broadband, phone and TV – providers will offer incentives to encourage you to buy all three, for example by including premium Sky channels such as Sky Cinema and Sky Sports. Some bundled packages also include streaming services like Netflix.
More often than not, bundled packages work out slightly cheaper compared to buying services separately, it’s also a lot more convenient as you only have one provider.
How to choose the right broadband deal
When it comes to getting good value for money, it’s worth thinking about what you actually need, which can help you avoid paying over the odds. Here’s what to consider:
- Availability – not all deals are available throughout the UK so check what you can get first with a broadband finder.
- Speed – you’ll need to focus on deals offering higher speeds if lots of people in your household need to get online all at the same time.
- Added services – if you’ve got (and use) your landline and would like the added benefit of TV services, a bundled package could represent better value for money compared to buying services individually.
- Contract length – most deals will tie you into a contract, particularly if you want a bundled package. Contracts vary between 12 and 24 months but you can expect to find better value the longer you commit.
- Set-up costs – some packages come with set up costs, but these will be clearly shown when you compare deals.
When you’re ready to compare deals, head on over to Utility Warehouse to see what’s available where you live.