Comparing home broadband in Portsmouth
Portsmouth residents have access to various fixed-line home broadband services, giving them plenty of choice when it comes to selecting a broadband package. Unbundled ADSL and fibre optic broadband from a variety of providers are on offer at the area’s exchanges.
ADSL is where you want to start if you’re after the cheapest broadband. It uses standard BT phone lines and provides average speeds of 10-11Mb for unlimited broadband, which is sufficient for typical online activities such as streaming video, gaming and of course web browsing and email. All the Portsmouth exchanges are unbundled, which means ISPs are allowed to install their own equipment, but the availability of providers can vary, so when comparing broadband you may find your preferred supplier is not on offer.
For a faster connection - more suited to busy households and power users who’ll be doing lots of downloading and uploading - there’s the option of fibre optic broadband from either Virgin Media or BT.
Virgin fibre (previously cable broadband) has the fastest mass-market service available, currently topping out at a rapid 630Mb. The downside is its availability can be limited, and even if your exchange is set up for Virgin it does not guarantee that the cable lines actually run to your street or home. They are the only provider to supply broadband without a phone line; which can be an option if you are looking for a broadband only offer.
Alternatively, there’s Openreach (BT line) network fibre optic broadband. While not quite as fast, it can still provide speeds up to around 65Mb, and because it uses BT lines the coverage is greater than Virgin Media.
When searching for a broadband package you can use the postcode filter on our tables to narrow down the options by location. This will use data from your closest exchange to list only deals which should be available to your home. You can sort the table by monthly cost, provider, speed or data limit. Additionally using the filters will show specific deals, such as TV bundles, free-setup broadband or fibre internet.
Comparing mobile broadband in Portsmouth
When it comes to mobile broadband Portsmouth is generally well connected. In the central parts of the city, coverage is ample and available on all four network providers — O2, Three, EE, and Vodafone.
3G is strong across the centre of Portsmouth and out into areas such as Gosport, Fareham, Havant and Porchester. However, all the networks report the signal to be weaker to the west of Waterlooville and north of Porchester and Fareham. In these locations, you may find it only works outdoors or drops to 2G.
For faster connectivity, there are 4G and 5G mobile networks in Portsmouth. All network operators provide 4G, while EE is currently the sole provider of 5G.
For the best mobile broadband experience, it’s vital to ensure you have a good signal, so before buying anything be sure to check coverage for yourself. Our guide to mobile broadband coverage has further information, or you can click the network logos below to access the official coverage check tools:
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