Fast broadband comparison

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	Hardware	Monthly price	Contract	Speed Download speeds are supplied to us by the broadband providers, and Ofcom's guidelines state any maximum speed quoted must be available to at least 10% of subscribers. Actual speeds will vary depending on your location, so you should do a postcode check on the broadband provider's website to find out your likely speed	Downloads 'UNLIMITED downloads' means there are no monthly usage caps, service restrictions or additional charges for data use. There may be some form of traffic management policy in place - check the broadband provider's webisite for details	Effective cost The average theoretical monthly cost after adding in the setup cost and then deducting any special offers or discounted months. If the contract length is less than a year we assume you keep the package for a year. For comparison guidance, hope it helps!
Sponsored link	69% approval 281 reviews	Broadband & TV Starter only £20/mth 40 channels plus Sky Go for your laptop 2GB data/mth downloads + inclusive evening/weekend UK calls FREE £25 M&S voucher					Go
1	75% approval 808 reviews	£34.75/mth£29.75 for 3 months	12 months	100Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	£36/mth	Go
	Virgin up to 100Mb Broadband (without a Virgin phone line)	Offer (Ends TODAY): £20 credit on your bill Extras: Free Virgin Media Super Hub (wireless 'N' technology, DOCSIS3, up to 4 wired and 4 wireless connections) Setup fee of £29.95 applies
2	6 monthsHALF PRICE 75% approval 808 reviews	£25.50/mth£12.75 for 6 months	18 months	100Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	£19.03/mth	Go
	Virgin up to 100Mb Broadband + Phone	Offer (Ends TODAY): HALF PRICE for 6 months plus £40 credit on your bill and free installation ONLINE EXCLUSIVE Phone: Unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobiles (+ £13.90/mth line rental) Extras: Free Virgin Media Super Hub (wireless 'N' technology, DOCSIS3, up to 4 wired and 4 wireless connections)
3	6 monthsHALF PRICE 75% approval 808 reviews	£90/mth£45 for 6 months	18 months	100Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	£71.67/mth	Go
	Virgin VIP Collection (up to 100MB Broadband + 205 TV channels + Talk Unlimited)	Offer (Ends TODAY): HALF PRICE for 6 months plus £60 credit on your bill and free installation ONLINE EXCLUSIVE TV: TiVo 500GB box plus 205 TV 205 channels (36 in HD), pause, rewind and record TV, catch-up TV, Sky Anytime (limited on-demand content); + Sky Sports from £14.50/mth Phone: Unlimited anytime calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobiles (+ £13.90/mth line rental) Extras: Free Virgin Media Super Hub (wireless 'N' technology, DOCSIS3, up to 4 wired and 4 wireless connections)
4	69% approval 286 reviews	£26/mth£20 for 3 months	18 months	76Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED	£25/mth	Go
	Unlimited Broadband and Evening/Weekend Calls with BT Infinity broadband	Offer (Ends 05 Jul): £25 Sainsburys voucher Phone: Inclusive evening (7pm - 7am) & weekend UK landline calls including 0870 numbers (+ £14.60/mth line rental, or £10.75/mth if you pay 1 year in advance). No connection fee if you need a new line. Extras: BT Home Hub, advanced security package plus unlimited WiFi
5	69% approval 286 reviews	£30/mth£24 for 3 months	18 months	76Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED	£31.22/mth	Go
	TV Essential + Unlimited Broadband + Evening & Weeknd Calls with BT Infinity broadband:	Offer (Ends 05 Jul): £25 Sainsburys voucher TV: 12 month TV contract.; NEW 500GB Vision+ box, pause/rewind/record live TV, 70 Freeview channels, Catch-up TV (BBC/ITV/C4), BBC iPlayer, pay-per-view on-demand content. + Sky Sports from £12.90/mth Phone: Inclusive evening (7pm - 7am) & weekend UK landline calls including 0870 numbers (+ £14.60/mth line rental, or £10.75/mth if you pay 1 year in advance). No connection fee if you need a new line. Extras: Fibre optic broadband, BT Home Hub, advanced security package plus unlimited WiFi. Setup fee of £40 applies
6	69% approval 286 reviews	£38.50/mth£32.50 for 3 months	18 months	76Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED	£39.72/mth	Go
	TV Unlimited + Unlimited Broadband + Evening & Weekend Calls with BT Infinity broadband:	Offer (Ends 05 Jul): £25 Sainsburys voucher TV: 12 month TV contract. NEW 500GB Vision+ box, pause/rewind/record live TV, unlimited on-demand content, 70 Freeview channels, Catch-up TV (BBC/ITV/C4), BBC iPlayer, ESPN. + Sky Sports from £12.90/mth Phone: Inclusive evening (7pm - 7am) & weekend UK landline calls including 0870 numbers (+ £14.60/mth line rental, or £10.75/mth if you pay 1 year in advance). No connection fee if you need a new line. Extras: Fibre optic broadband, BT Home Hub, advanced security package plus unlimited WiFi. Setup fee of £40 applies
7	75% approval 808 reviews	£27.50/mth£22.50 for 3 months	12 months	60Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	£28.75/mth	Go
	Virgin up to 60MB Broadband (without a Virgin phone line)	Offer (Ends TODAY): £20 credit on your bill Extras: Free Virgin Media Super Hub (wireless 'N' technology, DOCSIS3, up to 4 wired and 4 wireless connections) Setup fee of £29.95 applies
8	75% approval 808 reviews	£18.50/mth£9.25 for 6 months	18 months	60Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	£13.19/mth	Go
	Virgin up to 60Mb Broadband + Phone	Offer (Ends TODAY): HALF PRICE for 6 months plus £40 credit on your bill and free installation ONLINE EXCLUSIVE Phone: Unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobiles (+ £13.90/mth line rental) Extras: Free Virgin Media Super Hub (wireless 'N' technology, DOCSIS3, up to 4 wired and 4 wireless connections)
9	6 monthsHALF PRICE 75% approval 808 reviews	£45/mth£22.50 for 6 months	18 months	60Mbmax speed	UNLIMITED(restrictions apply)	£34.17/mth	Go
	Virgin Premier Collection (up to 60MB Broadband + 175 TV channels + Talk Weekends)	Offer (Ends TODAY): HALF PRICE for 6 months plus £60 credit on your bill and free installation ONLINE EXCLUSIVE TV: TiVo 500GB box plus 175 TV channels (23 in HD), pause, rewind and record TV, catch-up TV, Sky Anytime (limited on-demand content); + Sky Sports from £14.50/mth Phone: Unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobiles (+ £13.90/mth line rental) Extras: Free Virgin Media Super Hub (wireless 'N' technology, DOCSIS3, up to 4 wired and 4 wireless connections)
10	29 reviews	£39.95+ VAT/mth	12 months	39Mbmax speed	100 GBper month	£46.20+ VAT/mth	Go
	Fibre	Extras: Fibre compatible router included - save £45 if you already have one. Unlimited downloads between 11pm and 9am. Setup fee of £75 applies

Buyer's guide: Fast broadband

When it comes to using the internet then most of us want home broadband that allows us to make the most of the amazing array of online content that's available to us, no matter what time of the day or night it is. The great thing about wanting the best available service at cheap prices is that there are now lots of options open to the consumer. This is mainly down to the competition that has sprung up over the last few years.

Now, with a little bit of time spent picking through the various deals and offers, along with reading up on reviews of products and services, it's pretty easy here in the UK to compare home broadband internet packages, then buy a cheap deal that’ll give you the best of what the online world has to offer.

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What are my fast broadband options?

You don't have to look very long or hard through our comparison tables above to see that there are plenty of deals and offers ready for comparison, with prices ranging from the cheapest basic deals right on through to higher priced premium packages. That's the great thing with broadband, because it comes in all shapes and sizes, and you can simply pick the one you want from a whole host of providers, including the likes of Virgin Media, BT, O2, Sky and TalkTalk.

It can be a little bit bewildering, however, if you've never investigated the different internet service provider options that are open to you. You'll also be seeing an awful lot of different terms, effectively referring to the same things, so although you'll come across fastest broadband, fast broadband internet and all manner of other variations on this theme, your basic search needs to be for a high-speed service that is dependable but also provides top value for money.

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Is fast broadband worth it?

Whatever speed you end up getting here in the UK it'll certainly be a marked improvement if you've been subjected to a sluggish dial-up connection, which are steadily falling by the wayside in favour of the fast broadband services that have become available in recent years. If you're looking to get yourself fast broadband for your home then you'll find a stack of decent options, even if it might take a bit of picking through the jargon to make sense of it all.

For example, have you seen words like fast broadband UK fast broadband speed all thrown into a blender of technical jargon on some internet service provider websites? Well, the great thing about Broadband Genie is that we turn all of that technical talk into common sense information that will allow you to make an informed decision about the fast broadband service that you want to sign up for.

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How do I get fast broadband?

Once you've decided to go for fast broadband then you can quickly get started by using the comparison table above to pick through the various deals on offer. At the moment you can basically go down the route of traditional landline based ADSL fast broadband, such as the one supplied by BT. There are, of course, countless other suppliers of fast broadband too but many of these use the BT infrastructure throughout the UK as well, although they may well offer services at a cheaper rate than that of the prices from the telecommunications giant.

Some areas of the UK are also covered by cable, which is a fast broadband option dominated currently by Virgin Media. In fact, when it comes to fast broadband, Virgin Media currently offers the fastest speeds and service available, with both 50Mb and now 100Mb being offered in some areas. Needless to say, you will obviously pay more for these premium services, but if you are a heavyweight internet user who needs fast broadband without any hint of compromise then a package like this may well be ideal for you.

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Getting the speediest fast broadband in the UK

During your search for fest broadband you'll probably find that speed quota is rather impressive, even on the lower priced packages. This is because internet service providers have been working hard to improve their infrastructure over the last few years and as a result, anyone can get a high-quaity high-speed internet connection in many areas throughout the UK.

For quite a while it was a case that speeds supplying 'up to' 8Mb were fairly common, although note the use of 'up to', which ISPs use to explain that while you may get this top-end number, it could be less due to a variety of contributing factors. This can include your proximity to the locoal telephone exchange if you're going down the traditional ADSL landline route. It can also mean that fast broadband can be slowed down by network traffic too, which is the amount of people using the high-speed internet at any one time.

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Is cable fast broadband better?

The advent of fast cable broadband has certainly meant that people are able to receive speedier services than many others that travel via the old copper wire network that makes up the bulk of the original telecoms network throughout the UK. At one time, the only option was to access the broadband network by running it through these old cables, which are obviously much less efficient than the new fibre-optic alternatives that are steadily replacing them.

Although BT and other traditional ADSL internet service providers are working to improve the quality of these networks, it is cable that is still the winner when it comes to the fast broadband first prize. Speeds have slowly risen from 10Mb to 20Mb and now Virgin Media can deliver 50Mb services if you don't mind paying a little bit extra for the privilege. Of course, you may not have a need for something this fast anyway, but it's one of those things that once you've experienced the best fast broadband like this it's rather hard to go back to a traditional internet and email setup.

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Which fast UK broadband to go for?

So we've seen that Virgin Media is currently the fastest broadband option open to you if you need blistering speeds and the great thing about this fibre service is that it doesn't really matter how close you are to the telephone exchange either. Fast broadband services that get piped through the cable network don't really degrade over distance as the cables are much more efficient.

Unfortunately, the slight downside to this is that the Virgin Media cable network does not extend to every part of the country, so the alternative might need to be BT or one of the other more traditional ADSL suppliers, because that network coverage is much more substantial across the whole of the UK. Nevertheless, BT has been working hard to upgrade much of this older network and so in many areas it is now possible to see speeds of around 24Mb, which are up from the old and relatively standard 8Mb and represent a step in the right direction.

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Do I need fast broadband?

As we've said, although fast broadband is very hard to resist once you have tried it out, you may find that it's more speedy than you really need. If you're the sort of person who likes to dip in and out of email, while also doing a little bit of web browsing then the sort of speeds delivered by 50Mb broadband are probably going to be a bit more than what you require.

However, if you're an internet heavyweight who loves to use your online connection in order to download lots of content including movies, music and can also play online games then a fast broadband internet connection will be ideal. The other pluspoint with a lot of the more substantial fast broadband deals is that they also offer a lot more flexibility with the package. For example, they usually allow you to download (and upload) an awful lot more data than on smaller packages with less of an allowance.

So, if you're online all day and want to download lots of movies and other content that uses up a lot of bandwidth then this sort of high-end fast broadband package will prove perfect for the job. If you opt for a fast broadband package at the lower end of the scale then you may well find that you soon outgrow the allowances that come with it. The problem then is that the ISP may well put a cap on your downloading activities because you have overstepped your data allowance.

To be sure you don't fall foul of that, spend a little bit of time working out what sort of usage you expect to get from the fast broadband service that you like the look of, by using the comparison tables above to get an idea of what each one can deliver. You may also be a business customer who needs to get a fast broadband connection for your workplace, so in that respect, search out and compare deals from the likes of BT and Eclipse for competitive packages on that front, before you buy.

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