Comparing home broadband in Belfast
Good news for Belfast's residents when it comes to home broadband: the area has wide access to everything from basic ADSL to super-fast fibre optic broadband.
All the exchanges have LLU providers for the best value packages from the best UK ISPs such as Sky and TalkTalk. And fibre is enabled for BT lines or the Virgin Media network.
Project Stratum represents a fund of over £150 million put toward upgrading broadband across the country. Belfast was the first place in Northern Ireland to get Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) from Openreach.
But just because a particular unlimited broadband service is available at your nearest exchange it does not guarantee coverage to your home or business.
There are various factors in play such as distance from the exchange and whether fibre optic has been installed in your street. Virgin Media broadband, in particular, is not as widespread and you can run into situations where the neighbours can get it, but you can’t.
The first thing to do when comparing broadband deals is to tap your postcode into our comparison tables, like the one above. This will filter the results to show only deals which should be available to your property. After using the comparison table to find the best value package, click through to the ISP to perform a final check on availability before proceeding.
If you're looking for a specific type of package, such as an internet only deal or broadband with no upfront costs, you can use the filters to the left of the page to view these and other types of offers.
Comparing mobile broadband in Belfast
There’s excellent coverage throughout Belfast on all four mobile network operators.
Three, EE, O2, and Vodafone report good indoor mobile internet in the city itself and often out into surrounding areas such as Newtownabbey, Dundonald, Castlereagh, Andersonstown and Carrickfergus. So if you opt for a 3G package you can be fairly certain of getting connectivity wherever you go.
If you’re interested in 4G for mobile internet you're also spoilt for choice as all the networks offer this super speedy service in and around Belfast. However, it is still not as widespread as the older standards so your device may regularly fall back on 3G, particularly outside central areas. Several networks also now provide very fast 5G mobile networks in and around Belfast, but these currently have even smaller coverage footprints than 4G.
Whichever you decide, be sure to confirm coverage first. Either speak to the network, speak to friends and family and see how their devices perform in your area or click the logos below to access the official coverage check tools:
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Where we get our information
We strive to keep our local broadband information as up to date as possible. This means using trustworthy sources with regular checks. The information on this page comes from the following sources:
- Local exchange information: availability.samknows.com/broadband/exchange_search
- Local broadband speed information: labs.thinkbroadband.com/local
- Mobile broadband coverage (1): nperf.com/en/map/GB
- Mobile broadband coverage (2): checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/mobile-coverage