We conducted a survey with over 500 of our readers, and we learned that just 28% of participants have switched broadband provider in the last two years. Lots of people avoid switching providers because they simply don\u2019t think it\u2019s worth the hassle, and accept their buffering wheels and juddering TV shows with a sigh.<\/p>\n
But if there\u2019s any time to be thinking about changing your broadband, it\u2019s right now in these difficult times. With the ongoing challenges of the Covid-19 restrictions, many people have been working remotely, swapping their office for the spare room, and while we\u2019re slowly moving into a \u2018new normal,\u2019 many people will continue to at least partially work from home.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just keeping curious children or pets out of video calls that makes working from home so difficult: it\u2019s the strain the added online use can put on your home Wi-Fi. (And by work, yes, we do include catching up on episodes of Love Island<\/a> while your boss talks you through the quarterly stats.)<\/p>\n With workplaces struggling to figure out the logistics of their employees safely returning to the office, remote working looks like it\u2019s here to stay. So if your broadband isn\u2019t passing muster, it\u2019s best to start looking elsewhere.<\/p>\n But the broadband marketplace is a busy one, with a number of major internet service providers offering an array of different services. The choice is overwhelming, to say the least. Luckily, we\u2019ve put together a list of the best broadband offers right now, followed by a guide to help you pick the right one for you.<\/p>\n Right now, all three of Vodafone\u2019s broadband packages are on sale, but its the standard Superfast 2 package that offers the best monthly savings. Better still, Vodafone is offering a download speed boost, meaning you get a connection speed of 63Mbps for the price of 35Mpbs.<\/p>\n Shop broadband at Vodafone<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Here\u2019s a list of all the major companies that offer broadband in the UK. As you can see, there are lots of companies that offer other services, whether that be phone contracts or TV channels.<\/p>\n According to an Ofcom survey<\/a>, 25% of broadband users in the UK have BT as their provider, making it the most popular ISP buy a long way. The veteran telecoms company offer three separate broadband packages \u2013 they\u2019re not the cheapest out there, but the speed connections are impressive, starting at 33Mbps to 36Mbps.<\/p>\n Virgin Media basks in a solid reputation on the broadband market as an ISP that delivers consistently solid connections for its users. In fact, on its website, the company states its speeds are on average nine times higher than its three competitors. Alongside standalone broadband, Virgin also offers packages with phone line rental and some bundles with TV channels too.<\/p>\n Sky offers three different tiers of broadband service: Essential (11Mbps), Superfast (59Mbps) and Ultrafast (145Mbps) across an 18-month contract. As you would probably expect, you can also pick up various Sky TV channels from a range of bundle packages.<\/p>\n The winner of USwitch\u2019s Most Popular Broadband Provider award in both 2019 and 2020, TalkTalk forged a name for itself by offering some of the most competitive rates on the market. You can pick from four separate connection speeds, as well as a number of packages that include the TalkTalk TV box with channels that include NOW<\/a>.<\/p>\n Plusnet is another ISP that offers some of the most affordable broadband services in the UK. It offers three different tiers of service \u2013 the lowest offers a meagre average connection speed of 10Mbps, but if you do little besides browsing and check your emails, that might be perfect for you.<\/p>\n The broadband division of Shell Energy has enjoyed a boost of late, largely because it just bought out the Post Office\u2019s broadband service, taking all its customers with it. The company seems very eager to draw in new customers, currently offering an Amazon voucher of \u00a325 or \u00a350 with whichever of its three services you pick.<\/p>\n NOW Broadband comes in three different tiers as per the usual \u2013 but interestingly, the company also offers them on a no-contract basis. Instead, you simply proceed on a rolling 30-day basis; better still, there\u2019s no activation fee, just \u00a35 for delivery of the box.<\/p>\n Yep, John Lewis also has this string in their bow. You can pick from three packages \u2013 Unlimited (10Mbps), Fibre (36Mbps) and Fibre Extra (66Mbps), with contracts lasting 12 months. It\u2019s one of the pricier ISPs on the market.<\/p>\n The phone network offers three different connection tiers. We\u2019re not sure how tempting a proposition the 7Mbps Standard package sounds \u2013 but each tier comes with an Apple 4K TV option for EE\u2019s pay-monthly phone customers and a mobile data boost. This, and the 10% discount exclusively offered, makes us think this is a broadband service that\u2019s best for people already with EE.<\/p>\n With minimum average connection speeds of 35Mbps at the more affordable end of the market, Vodafone ostensibly offers good value for money \u2013 but it would be remiss of us not to mention that according to Ofcom, it was the ISP that received the most complaints in 2020. The provider has also recently launched Vodafone Pro<\/a> which promises Wi-Fi in every room from just \u00a335 a month. Pro is designed for busy households using multiple devices at the same time.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve taken a look through all the major UK broadband providers and listed the ISPs with the lowest costs below, along with their most affordable packages and their average connection speeds.<\/p>\n The unit to measure broadband speed is megabits per second (Mbps) \u2013 not megabytes (MB), which are comprised of eight megabits. You\u2019ll see this list for download and upload speeds, which is simply which way the data is flowing, into your device or vice versa. It\u2019s download speeds that are much more important.<\/p>\n Most basic or entry-level broadband packages will get you speeds of 0-12Mbps via an ADSL (non-fibre) connection. This is perfectly fine if you\u2019re in a small household of just one or two people, and your internet needs are limited browsing and streaming a single device at a time.<\/p>\n Mid-range broadband services are generally in the vicinity of 25-50Mbps. This is a wise choice for families and busier households, who will be streaming to different devices at any one time \u2013 if there\u2019s one thing you don\u2019t want during lockdown, it\u2019s arguments over who\u2019s hogging the bandwidth for Netflix<\/a>. It\u2019s probably the wisest choice if you stream 4K content to your television \u2013 for more on this, read our what is a 4K TV<\/a> explainer.<\/p>\n Then you get to the high speeds of around 50-100Mbps. For many users, this kind of connection speed doesn\u2019t really justify the extra cost, though fans of gaming<\/a> will certainly appreciate the lag-free gameplay. Designers, filmmakers and other professionals who do lots of peer-to-peer sharing with exceptional large files might also find a high-tier service is worth the investment.<\/p>\n To find out more, make sure you read our full what broadband speed do I need<\/a> explainer.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a question that can be quickly answered by a couple of minutes on Google. All you\u2019ll need to do is input your postcode on a comparison site or even one of the ISPs themselves, and you can instantly find out whether your area has fibre broadband.<\/p>\n The good news is that fibre broadband has come a long way since fibre cables were first rolled out in 2008. In the years since, they have been laid throughout the overwhelming majority of the UK, offering a faster internet connection than that of standard ADSL lines.<\/p>\n The majority of broadband providers offer either 12-month or 24-month contracts. As mentioned, Ofcom enforced an industry-wide ban on contracts that were any long, stating that it didn\u2019t offer enough fair consumer choice \u2013 the regulator even ended up in a dispute with (the now-defunct) O2 Broadband, who pushed for 3-year contracts.<\/p>\n As a general rule, the shorter the contract the better \u2013 it should definitely be a factor that guides which service you choose. Some ISPs, like NOW Broadband, do offer short-term rolling contracts, which renew themselves on a 30-day basis.<\/p>\n Almost definitely, yes. Providers obviously want to deter you from leaving them, so you\u2019ll likely be met with a hefty cancellation fee (or a similar label like \u2018deactivation\u2019, which amounts to the same thing). It\u2019s why we urge you to see out the remainder of your contract if you can.<\/p>\n However, there are situations in which you won\u2019t have to pay, and that\u2019s if you\u2019re not getting the connection speeds that were originally advertised. In fact, in 2019 Ofcom introduced a code of practice<\/a> around honouring advertised speeds \u2013 it\u2019s isn\u2019t mandatory, but many of the major ISPs we listed above have signed up to it.<\/p>\n There\u2019ll likely be a fair bit of red tape involved, but if it can be established that you haven\u2019t had the level of service you paid for, you should be able to terminate your contract without incurring a fee.<\/p>\n Thinking about upgrading your television? Don\u2019t miss our comprehensive which TV to buy<\/a> guide. Wondering what to watch? Visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Thinking about switching broadband providers? Don\u2019t do a thing before you read this guide, plus the best deals from BT, Sky, Virgin and more. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":2589,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/best-broadband-deals-in-august-2021-and-how-to-compare.jpg",2047,1465,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/best-broadband-deals-in-august-2021-and-how-to-compare-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/best-broadband-deals-in-august-2021-and-how-to-compare-300x215.jpg",300,215,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/best-broadband-deals-in-august-2021-and-how-to-compare-768x550.jpg",768,550,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/best-broadband-deals-in-august-2021-and-how-to-compare-1024x733.jpg",800,573,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/best-broadband-deals-in-august-2021-and-how-to-compare-1536x1099.jpg",1536,1099,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/best-broadband-deals-in-august-2021-and-how-to-compare.jpg",2047,1465,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Thinking about switching broadband providers? Don\u2019t do a thing before you read this guide, plus the best deals from BT, Sky, Virgin and more.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/2588"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Superfast 2<\/a> | \u00a324<\/span> \u00a321.95pm at Vodafone<\/h2>\n
Best broadband deals in August 2021<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
Which broadband provider is best?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\""Which\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/02\/best_Broadband_deals-2-ef043ec.jpg?quality=90&crop=12px%2C87px%2C1863px%2C1241px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Which\\"")
<\/div>\nBT<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Virgin Media<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Sky<\/strong><\/h3>\n
TalkTalk<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Plusnet<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Shell Energy<\/strong><\/h3>\n
NOW Broadband<\/strong><\/h3>\n
John Lewis Broadband<\/strong><\/h3>\n
EE<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Vodafone<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Which broadband providers are the cheapest?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\""Which\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/02\/best_broadband_deals_now_tv-1-63e1a18.jpg?quality=90&crop=5px%2C62px%2C706px%2C470px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Which\\"")
<\/div>\nHow to choose the best broadband deal: tips before buying<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What broadband speed do I need?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Can I get fibre broadband?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What broadband contract length should I go for?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Do I have to pay for cancelling my broadband contract early?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"