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 Sky Orange Broadband O2

• 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 20Mb broadband on selected exchanges with a 10GB 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 £14.50 per month (£7.50 first 3 months with an 18 month contract) with a 10GB transfer limit per month.  Includes a free wireless modem and connection.

  Up to 40Mb broadband is available for £20 per month with a 40GB limit (£50 activation).

  You can add BT Vision, which is a digital TV recorder to record Freeview programs for £18 per month including broadband on a 12 month contract and £60 for the Vision+ box and £30 activation.

   

• Cable modem access from Virgin Media broadband

  10Mb broadband with telephone is currently £26.49 per month (£19.74 for the first 6 months) on an 18 month contract. Installation is £40.

  Up to 50Mb broadband costs £37.99 per month.

  A problem with cable is that there isn't any competition - you can't switch cable providers.  With BT you have other companies offering broadband at other prices.  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.

   

• 20Mb ADSL from TalkTalk

  TalkTalk offer inclusive (free) 20Mb broadband for a total of £19.79 per month (inclusive of line rental) for the first 12 months, wireless router and 12 month contract.  Connection is free

   

• ADSL from Orange Broadband

  Up to 20Mb broadband with a 10GB monthly download cap costs £15 per month (£10 for Orange mobile customers) with wireless modem on an 18 month contract (a BT phone line is required).  Broadband and line rental is available for £24.

  See the Orange Broadband site for details of mobile phones, or see the mobile phone page for cheap Orange retailers.  The Orange ISP was formerly known as Wanadoo and Freeserve.

   

• 20Mb ADSL from Sky

  A triple-play package of Sky+ TV, phone and broadband costs from £32.25 per month.  There is a £30 setup fee.

  This consists of 20Mb ADSL with their satellite TV, which includes a 2GB monthly download cap and free wireless modem.  TV packages cost from £20 per month and their phone service costs £12.25 per month.

   

• ADSL from Plusnet

  Up to 20Mb ADSL access costs from £6.49 per month for a 12 month contract with 10 GB per month usage allowance and free wireless router.  Setup costs £25 (free if you take their £11.99 telephone line rental).  After 12 months if you are in their low-cost areas you continue to pay £6.49 per month, otherwise you pay either £10.79 and £12.99 depending on where you live.

   

• ADSL from O2 Broadband

  Offer 20Mb broadband at £13.50 per month (£8.50 to O2 customers, including Pay-as-you go customers) with a 20GB per month usage allowance, £25.53 connection, modem and filters to customers within their O2 broadband area (where they have enabled local exchanges).

  With telephone line rental 20MB broadband costs £20 per month (£16 to O2 customers, including Pay-as-you go customers).

   

• BeThere's 24Mb broadband

  BeThere's up to 12Mb broadband costs £18.26 per month and includes unlimited usage.  Their 8Mb service costs £14.08 per month, and free connection.

   

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

  Offers 24Mb broadband and line rental at £22.19 per month (currently free for the first month) with a 10GB per month allowance.  Connection, modem and filters are currently free.

   

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

  Unlimited 8Mb access costs £19.99 per month with £45 connection for a 12 month contract (or a £13 migration fee). 

   

• Tesco ADSL broadband

  A 20Mb service with a 3GB per month cap costs £19.40 including telephone line rental.

   

• ADSL from Demon

  Demon Home is £15.60 per month for a 20Mb service with a 24 month contract, free setup and modem.

   

• ADSL from Eclipse.net.uk

  A 20Mb service with 2GB download cap is available for £12.50 with £32.97 setup.

   

• UK satellite providers

  UK satellite providers is 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?