TalkTalk broadband review
TalkTalk can save you money with cheap fibre optic broadband deals, including rapid full fibre broadband using FTTP (fibre to the premises). It can also deliver a low-cost triple-play bundle that combines TV, broadband, and phone. However, customer service needs improvement.
We like
- Cheap fibre broadband deals.
- Good value triple-play bundles.
- Totally unlimited.
- FTTP broadband is available.
- Frequent reward deals.
- Free Amazon Eero routers with FTTP packages.
We don’t like
- Poor customer service reputation.
- Upload speeds aren’t great on the fastest packages.
- ADSL package is expensive.
- The TV box doesn't record.
TalkTalk broadband: in summary
- Download speeds (average): 11Mb / 38Mb / 67Mb / 77Mb / 152Mb / 525Mb / 944Mb
- Upload speeds (average): 1Mb / 9.5Mb / 19Mb / 20Mb / 30Mb / 72Mb / 110Mb
- Data usage limit: Truly unlimited
- Type of broadband: ADSL & fibre optic (FTTC & FTTP)
- Home phone line: Yes (required for ADSL & FTTC)
- Inclusive phone calls: Optional extra
- Router: Wi-Fi Hub Black, Amazon Eero 6, or Amazon Eero Pro 6
TalkTalk broadband speeds
TalkTalk offers a wide choice of broadband speeds, though availability varies depending on your location; use our postcode checker to find out what speed is available at your home.
TalkTalk Fast Broadband
- Download speed: 11Mb
- Upload speed: 1Mb
A basic broadband service with average download speeds of just 11Mb. This is pretty slow by today’s standards, so we don’t recommend it for most homes. It might be suitable for individuals where the broadband is only used occasionally, but it’ll struggle if the connection is shared.
This package isn’t the best value for money. It’s often more expensive than the much quicker TalkTalk Fibre 35, and there are cheaper equivalents from other providers.
TalkTalk Fibre 35
- Download speed: 38Mb
- Upload speed: 9Mb
This is the entry-level TalkTalk fibre service and is usually the cheapest TalkTalk package in general.
This is our recommended minimum for most households, it’s fast enough for an individual or small shared home. But it may struggle if you’ve got a busier home where everyone is trying to do video streaming or downloading at the same time.
TalkTalk Fibre 65
- Download speed: 67Mb
- Upload speed: 19.5Mb
Fibre 65 is the fastest TalkTalk service available to most homes. It’s also a great option for bigger families who may find the Fibre 35 package too restrictive. On top of that, it only costs a couple of quid more.
TalkTalk Full Fibre 65
- Download speed: 77Mb
- Upload speed: 20Mb
The cheapest full fibre deal from TalkTalk offers a very respectable 77Mb average download speed. If you can get full fibre, this is a great value deal.
TalkTalk Full Fibre 150
- Download speed: 152Mb
- Upload speed: 30Mb
If Fibre 65 isn’t enough, you can step up to an average download speed of 152Mb with this service. This kind of speed can cope with multiple high-definition video streams and allows you to download large files very quickly.
TalkTalk Full Fibre 500
- Download speed: 525Mb
- Upload speed: 72Mb
TalkTalk Fibre 900
- Download speed: 925Mb
- Upload speed: 110Mb
Ultrafast broadband is for the busiest homes with the most demanding requirements. Fibre 900 is currently the quickest TalkTalk package available, although few homes will take full advantage of it. Fibre 500 will be more than enough for the vast majority.
TalkTalk speed summary
TalkTalk user Speed Satisfaction score: 3.57 / 5
The speed satisfaction score is taken from the feedback of TalkTalk customers, who are asked to rate the performance of their TalkTalk broadband service on a scale of one (very dissatisfied) to five (very satisfied). The score is an average of all results.
TalkTalk customers seem slightly underwhelmed by the performance of their home broadband service, according to the results of our home broadband survey. Respondents rated it an average of 3.57 out of 5, compared to an overall average of 3.77.
However, the Ofcom home broadband performance stats suggest that things are a little better than our survey results indicate.
Ofcom average speed data: TalkTalk 38Mb vs BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky, and TalkTalk
Average broadband download speed recorded by Ofcom during a 24-hour period.
- TalkTalk 38Mb average speed: 32.9Mb (87% of advertised rate)
- BT 36Mb average speed: 28.5Mb (79% of advertised rate)
- EE 36Mb average speed: 32.2Mb (89% of advertised rate)
- Plusnet 36Mb average speed: 31.3Mb (87% of advertised rate)
- Sky 59Mb average speed: 52.6Mb (89% of advertised rate)
- Virgin Media 108Mb average speed: 106.8Mb (99% of advertised rate)
TalkTalk has one of the best average speed scores for this speed tier, delivering a respectable 87% of its advertised rate. It also had a fairly strong 88% for the 67Mb service.
Most TalkTalk broadband packages are using the BT Openreach network. The Openreach network is the network of copper cables that travel the country that the majority of broadband providers use. That means advertised speeds are broadly in line with most other providers.
It also offers much faster speeds using FTTP or Fibre To The Premises technology. However, the coverage of these services is far more limited. But if it's available, you can get download speeds averaging 944Mb.
Unfortunately, while these FTTP deals offer excellent download performance, the upload rates are kind of underwhelming. You’ll see the same thing with high-speed broadband from other providers, too, including BT, Sky, and Virgin Media. But there are some FTTP providers which offer much better upload rates.
TalkTalk broadband value for money
TalkTalk value for money user score: 3.65 / 5
Our TalkTalk user value for money score is the average rating from TalkTalk customers, who are asked to rank their provider for value on a scale of one (very poor value) to five (very good value).
TalkTalk offers low-cost broadband services, and our survey shows that customers seem fairly satisfied with what they're getting for their money. Its value score of 3.65 is higher than the average of 3.47.
The best value package is usually Fibre 65, which is often available for just a couple of quid more than Fibre 35.
Less attractive is the TalkTalk Fast Broadband ADSL package. It costs about the same, or sometimes even a little more than the much quicker Fibre 65.
Unless there's an especially good special offer, Fast Broadband is one to avoid. If you can’t get fibre, then there are cheaper ADSL deals with other providers. And if fibre is available, then any of the TalkTalk fibre deals offer a lot more for your money.
TalkTalk rewards
Although it’s a budget provider, TalkTalk doesn’t usually have the cheapest broadband deals you’ll find listed on Broadband Genie. But the deals often include rewards that add significant value.
Usually, a TalkTalk reward deal will include an Amazon voucher worth around £50-£70. When comparing deals, don’t forget the offer details section. You can check the effective monthly cost for a price breakdown, including any one-off fees and rewards.
You can compare the latest TalkTalk offers on our TalkTalk rewards page. For general help with rewards, visit our guide to claiming free gifts and vouchers.
TalkTalk customer service
TalkTalk customer service user score: 3.45 / 5
TalkTalk users were asked to rate their provider for customer service on a scale of one (terrible) to five (excellent). The user score is the overall average for each provider.
Unfortunately, TalkTalk has a reputation for not having the best customer service. Despite improvements in this area over the past few years, support continues to be a problem.
The TalkTalk user score of 3.45 falls below the average of 3.69, and the picture doesn’t improve when we look at the more detailed Ofcom customer service report.
The Ofcom study compares major providers on key customer service metrics. TalkTalk received the following scores in the most recent publication (18th May 2022):
- Overall satisfaction: 78% (average: 83%)
- Customers with a reason to complain: 21% (average: 20%)
- Overall complaint handling satisfaction: 43% (average: 50%)
- Complaints per 100,000 subscribers: 75 (average 49)
- Call waiting time: 1:02 (average 2:16)
The number of complaints and the complaint handling satisfaction figures are concerning. The satisfaction score in particular is flagged by Ofcom for being “statistically significantly worse than the sector average at the 95% confidence level”.
It’s not all bad, though. Only a few more customers than average have a reason to complain, and its call waiting time is well below the average.
While TalkTalk does not offer a 24/7 customer support line, its telephone call centres are open daily between 8am and 10pm, so you can get help at peak times. If you need help outside of that, it does offer some online resources, including a forum.
For more information and other contact methods, visit our guide to TalkTalk customer service.
TalkTalk Wi-Fi router
TalkTalk offers a few different Wi-Fi routers: the TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub Black, Amazon Eero 6, or Amazon Eero Pro 6.
TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub Black specifications
- Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11b/g/n & 802.11ax)
- Dual-band Wi-Fi: Yes
- Tri-band Wi-Fi: No
- Ethernet: 4x Gigabit ethernet
Amazon Eero 6
- Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11b/g/n, 802.11ac, & 802.11ax)
- Dual-band Wi-Fi: Yes
- Tri-band Wi-Fi: No
- Ethernet: 2x Gigabit ethernet
- Extras: WPA3 security, mesh Wi-Fi support, Amazon Alexa integration, Zigbee smart home hub
Amazon Eero Pro 6
- Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11b/g/n, 802.11ac, & 802.11ax)
- Dual-band Wi-Fi: Yes
- Tri-band Wi-Fi: Yes
- Ethernet: 2x Gigabit ethernet
- Extras: WPA3 security, mesh Wi-Fi support, Amazon Alexa integration, Zigbee smart home hub
The Wi-Fi Hub Black is supplied with TalkTalk Fast Broadband, TalkTalk Fibre 35 and TalkTalk Fibre 65. Anyone signing up for TalkTalk FTTP will receive the Amazon Eero 6 or Eero Pro 6.
The Wi-Fi Hub Black offers the newer (though not latest) Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac Wi-Fi in addition to the older 802.11b/g/n standard. This means you’ll be able to get faster Wi-Fi speeds with any device that supports 802.11ac and still use older hardware, too. These routers are dual-band, so will host two different Wi-Fi signals concurrently. And in addition to wireless broadband, there are four gigabit network ports on the back for fast wired connectivity.
The Amazon Eero 6 is included if you get TalkTalk Fibre 150. It supports Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), so you can get rapid Wi-Fi performance on supported devices. And it's a mesh router, which means you can fix signal dead zones with additional Eero 6 nodes. There's also a swathe of extra features, including Amazon Alexa support and an integrated Zigbee smart home hub.
The Eero Pro 6 is bundled with Fibre 500 and 900. It offers all the same features as the non-pro Eero, with the addition of greater Wi-Fi coverage and support for tri-band Wi-Fi. If you opt for TalkTalk Fibre 900, you'll get an extra Eero Pro 6 router to take advantage of its mesh networking for no additional cost.
In most regards, the Eero routers are a big step up from the Wi-Fi Hub Black. However, it's worth noting that each Eero only has two network ports, which could be restrictive if you've got lots of wired networking devices.
TalkTalk broadband extras
TalkTalk TV
TalkTalk TV is available as a TV and broadband bundle with any TalkTalk broadband package.
It includes a YouView box that supports Freeview broadcasts and streaming TV. Many streaming apps are available in the electronic program guide (EPG), so you can switch to them like any other live channel.
Unlike most other TV services, the TalkTalk TV box doesn't include a hard drive for recording. However, it does offer up to 30 minutes of live pausing and rewinding.
The basic package doesn’t include additional channels, but you can add a variety of sports, entertainment, movie, and kids TV channels using NOW TV passes.
TalkTalk TV is a flexible alternative to the premium Sky TV and Virgin Media TV. While there are fewer channels overall, you have the freedom to choose from a variety of the most popular ones.
That said, if you plan on signing up for more than a single NOW TV pass at once, it would be worthwhile spending some time comparing TV and broadband deals. You might find the competition can deliver the same content for less.
TalkTalk: our verdict
Broadband Genie rating: 4 / 5
Broadband bargain hunters are going to be pleased with TalkTalk’s low prices. Its triple-play TV, broadband, and phone deals are especially alluring.
Plus, the free routers are decent, and its broadband services are totally unlimited. There’s the option of full fibre broadband, too. Though it's a shame that the FTTP upload speeds lag far behind the download rates.
However, TalkTalk does suffer from a poor reputation when it comes to customer service.
TalkTalk has made changes, including the closure of a controversial Indian call centre, new online repair tools, and the ability to send messages through the MyTalkTalk app. But this remains an area of concern, and it continues to be rated poorly in the Ofcom customer satisfaction report and our own broadband survey.
For the latest deals and more general information about TalkTalk, check out our TalkTalk hub.
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