UK Broadband Internet Access
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Providers of broadband internet access in the UK

Listings of unlimited, capped and pay as you go broadband ISPs, guides, directories and reviews of providers. Note that ADSL ISPs will generally be companies reselling the BT service, sometimes with enhancements. Also, note that prices fluctuate over time, and this page may not be up to date.

Comparisons

Top ISPs by subscriber numbers: BT Broadband Virgin Media TalkTalk AOL Orange Broadband Pipex

• Thinkbroadband's ISP list can be ordered by cost after one year, including "Best ADSL provider" and feature a user comment board.
• USwitch.com includes a broadband comparison section.
• Moneysupermarket.com/broadband/
• ISP Review features busy message boards, regularly updated news and a list of broadband providers.
• Broadband-help's ISP listing includes user ratings, forum and buyers guide.

Providers

• ADSL from Zen Internet

  Up to 24Mb broadband on selected exchanges with a 5GB transfer limit costs £15.31 monthly with £40 activation.

  Recommended by reviewers (see links at top of page), reliable enough for companies to use and friends who chose have it at home.  Better customer service, but somewhat more expensive than cut-price rivals.

   

• ADSL from BT Total Broadband

  BT's up to 20Mb broadband (Option 1) is £14.49 per month (£7.49 first 3 months with an 18 month contract) with a 10GB transfer limit per month.  Includes a free wireless modem and connection.

  You can add BT Vision, which is a digital TV recorder to record Freeview programs for £14.99 per month (£7.50 for the first 3 months) on a 12 month contract and £15 for the Vision+ box..

   

• Cable modem access from Virgin Media broadband

  10Mb broadband with telephone and cable TV is currently £24.50 per month (£11.99 for the first 2 months). Currently offering free installation.

  One problem with cable is that there is little competition - you can't switch cable providers.  With BT you have a much larger range of switching and pricing options.  To move back to BT you need to switch to ADSL and potentially sign up with BT for 18 months to have a telephone line reinstalled.

  Virgin Media's speed in general is good, mail downloads quickly and file downloads are speedy.  It can be connected to Linux very easily.

  History: NTL merged with Telewest and rebranded as Virgin Media after buying Virgin Mobile.

  Discussions of the service are available on Nthell:world and Cableforum.co.uk.

   

• 24Mb ADSL from TalkTalk

  TalkTalk offer inclusive (free) 24Mb broadband for a total of £18.48 per month (inclusive of line rental), 40GB monthly download cap, wireless router and 18 month contract.

   

• ADSL from Orange Broadband

  Up to 20Mb broadband with a 10GB monthly download cap costs £10 per month with wireless modem on an 18 month contract (a BT phone line is required).  Broadband and line rental is available for £20.

  A £3 per month saving on all products is available to pay monthly Orange mobile customers with a 12-month contact.  See Orange's site for details of mobile phones, or see the mobile phone page for cheap Orange retailers.  History: The Orange ISP was formerly known as Wanadoo and Freeserve.

   

• Inclusive 2Mb ADSL from Sky

  A Sky TV, phone and broadband triple-play package costs from £26.50 per month (currently £60 setup).

  This consists of Sky provide inclusive 2Mb ADSL with their satellite TV, which includes a 2GB monthly download cap and free wireless modem.  TV packages cost from £16.50 per month, with an upfront £15 connection fee (Sky+HD box costs £49 with a £30 connection fee).  You will need a BT phone line or take their phone service (£10 per month).

  8Mb costs an additional £5, and 16Mb an additional £10.  These services are available to up to 70% of the UK population.

   

• ADSL from Plus.net

  Up to 8Mb ADSL access costs from £5.99 per month for a 12 month contract with 10 GB per month usage allowance, free modem and setup.  After 12 months if you are in their low-cost areas you continue to pay £5.99 per month, otherwise you pay £11.99.

   

• BeThere's 24Mb broadband

  BeThere's 24Mb broadband costs £17.50 per month and includes unlimited usage.  Their 8Mb service costs £13.50 per month, and free connection.

   

• ADSL from O2 Broadband

  Offer 8Mb broadband at £12.23 per month (£7.34 to O2 customers, including Pay-as-you go customers) with free connection, modem and filters to customers within their O2 broadband area (where they have enabled local exchanges).

   

• ADSL from AOL UK (now part of Carphone Warehouse)

  Offer 8Mb broadband at £14.99 per month (currently £4.99 per month for 3 months). Connection, modem and filters are currently free.

   

• ADSL from Pipex

  Offer a business 16Mb service with a 25GB cap for £14.50 (ex. VAT) per month.

   

• UK Online (part of Easynet)

  Their 2Mb service costs £14.99 per month if you live in their limited catchment area (free setup).  £49.99 router.

  Their 16Mb broadband using costs £24.99 per month (with limited geographical availability) with a 12 month contract.  Free connection, £49.99 router.  It's available to those living within 2km of an enabled exchange, and with good line quality.

   

• ADSL 4 Less pay as you go and unmetered ADSL prices

  Unlimited 512Kb access costs £14.99 per month with £58.75 connection for a 12 month contract (or a £14.99 migration fee). Offer a modem and microfilters for £42.99 including P&P.

  8Mb pay as you go access costs £11.99 per month if a year's access is bought in advance with a 2Gb download cap (1GB costs £1.75).

   

• Tesco ADSL broadband

  A 512Kb service with a 3GB per month cap costs £13.67.  Their 2Mb service with a 10GB limit costs £19.55 per month.

   

• ADSL from Demon

  Demon Home is £17.61 per month for a 8Mb service with unlimited downloads, free setup and modem.

   

• ADSL from Nildram

  8Mb broadband from £11.50 per month, a 1GB peak hours limit and free setup.

   

• ADSL from Eclipse.net.uk

  A 8Mb service with 3GB download cap is available for £14.95 with free setup and modem.

   

• Business ADSL from Easynet

  from £59 per month excluding VAT

   

• UK satellite providers

  UK satellite providers is still an unstable market. Google has this same list ordered by popularity.

   

• Other broadband listings:

  • Dmoz's list of UK DSL, Cable and Satellite ISPs (the Google versions are DSL, Cable and Satellite and order the sites by popularity).
  • Dmoz's mainly US DSL and Cable ISP listings which cover many smaller providers (the Google versions are DSL and Cable and order the sites by popularity).
  • Whichisp.com features broadband provider listings, as well as unmetered and subscription-free ISPs.
  • Cable-modems.co.uk features information for cable modem users and forums for discussions.
  • Robin Walker's Cable Modem Pages - Troubleshooting tips covering both NTL and Blueyonder services.

   

• Advantages of broadband

  • Faster access
    • Pages download much faster - extra bandwidth and lower latency means web pages arrive noticeably faster.
    • Downloads of Windows updates (as well as Anti-virus and Firewall software) are much faster. 
    • Uploads are much faster if you upload data to web sites.
  • Instant on - no 20 second dial-up time when you first decide to access the internet.
  • Easily shared between multiple computers and consoles using home and wireless networking.  No noticeable slowdown for small numbers of computers.
  • Can be used for internet telephony or VoIP, which could cut the cost of telephone calls.
  • No worries about rogue dialers - connecting via an ADSL modem the computer can't be persuaded by rogue programs to dial up expensive phone numbers (as long as the regular modem is disconnected).
  • Unlimited, fixed cost packages are available - meaning no concerns about leaving the service on all the time.

   

• Disadvantages of broadband 

  • Not available everywhere equally - some users won't be able to access broadband over their telephone line (see satellite access), or won't be able to access the very highest speeds.
  • Usually access is by monthly subscription, so you will still pay for the service even if you aren't using it.
  • Initial cost of hardware and connection can be substantial for some packages.

   

• Speed tests

  Numerous sites offer speed tests to check your download speed, the best include:

  • Speedtest.net
  • Thinkbroadband.com/speedtest.html
  • Broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk
  • Broadbandchoices.co.uk/speed-test.asp

   

• Calculating current internet usage

  Programs such as Netmeter calculate the amount of data transferred across a connection.  If you are considering moving from an uncapped contract (or dial-up) to a capped contract you should calculate how much bandwidth you use (to calculate whether it is worthwhile).

   

• Buying wireless networking hardware and home networking

  Wireless Networking has price comparisons of ADSL modems, routers and wireless networking products, including micro filters, wireless adapters and combination modems and routers.

  See the home networking page for home networking how-tos.

If you can't get, or don't want broadband, why not try unmetered internet access?