The internet's a focal point for music, TV and even dating, so it's great home broadband is now available for about the cost of a fast food meal.
This is a full guide to the cheapest providers, allowing you to slash costs and save £100s.
How broadband works
Where it's available, broadband has now all but replaced dial-up web access. To get it, most people use an upgraded home telephone line called ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line).
As well as being many, many times faster than dial-up, broadband offers a couple of other key benefits. It's always connected, so you needn't wait to get online each time, and it allows you to make and receive phone calls on the same line while it's being used.
New to broadband?
If you're new to broadband, your provider will need to set-up your phone line before you can get online. This usually takes a week, and shouldn't affect calls.
You'll get a broadband modem, which allows your computer to use the signal, and a couple of "microfilters" which help your modem get a cleaner signal through the line. These make quite a difference (you may even get no access without them), so it's important to use them wherever possible.
Of course, all this equipment costs the service provider money, so most will lock you into a minimum 12-month contract to recoup costs.
Switching broadband provider
Switching broadband provider is, in essence, quite simple. Yet until recently it was made much more difficult by uncooperative companies. Thankfully this is gradually changing as the regulator, Ofcom, is coming down hard on them.
If you are switching provider there are a couple of checks to make:
- Are you locked in?
Check you're actually allowed to switch from your current provider. Many broadband providers' contracts last a year or 18 months; try to leave before that time and you may be charged a penalty.
And even if they don't penalise, you'll almost certainly have to pay for any equipment they gave you - as this is essentially "rented" from your provider. - Is there a migration fee?
Most providers nowadays will transfer you to their service for free, since they want your business. But a dwindling number still charge migration fees for switching you over - especially if you're with an LLU provider, such as TalkTalk.
It's also important to note that for technical reasons the new company usually only allows you to switch to its service at the same speed as your current provider's speed, but after that you should be able to upgrade. - Ensure you know your MAC code.
Call up your existing broadband provider and ask it for your MAC (Migration Authorisation Code). Don't worry, this is a standard process and you should get it without any hassle.
It does however give providers an opportunity to persuade you to stay by offering a much more competitive deal than you currently have. Don't dismiss this; they may even offer you a better deal than the one you're switching to.
Once you have your MAC code, give it to your new provider. There should be much less downtime when you transfer, possibly even just a few hours. Without it the transfer across can take weeks, so make sure you have yours handy.
If you don't want to switch, try haggling with your existing provider. It's possible it'll up your speeds or drop the package price if you ask nicely. Go armed with details of the current best buys for new customers as a benchmark price. For more details read the How To Haggle Successfully article.
Choosing a broadband package
There are a range of variables to take into account when choosing a broadband package:
Can you get it free?
Get free wireless broadband. If you've got a laptop which allows you to use wireless internet (all those made in the last few years will do, and even some new phones), it's worth noting that along the high street free wireless access is becoming the norm.
The widespread pub chains Wetherspoons and Walkabout now offer all customers unlimited
wi-fi access, as do McDonald's restaurants nationwide. Coffee shop chain Coffee Republic also offers wireless to customers in some stores, but it's limited to 10 minutes - so you'll need to pay after this.
For full details, and more ways to get free access, read the Free Wireless Internet access article.
How much will you use it?
Providers usually set their charges based on the volume of data used. This is measured in Megabytes (MB) or Gigabytes
(GB
- equivalent to 1,024
MB) and has nothing to do with the time spent online. Leaving the internet connected doesn't cost anything, it's only "doing things" that uses up the bytes.
Viewing 25 web pages takes roughly 1MB, so a low 1GB
monthly limit means roughly 25,000 pages. Thus, for those doing just a little web-surfing and downloading emails, the limits are irrelevant. Yet downloading music, software or videos eats up the data much faster, as does watching content from one of the growing number of web TV services.
To keep on top of your data use, download a free bandwidth monitor. As well as letting you know exactly how much of your quota you have left each month, they'll warn you when you're nearing the limit.
Think Broadband's tbbMeter promises to track usage on multiple machines in the near future, while Rokario and Netmeter only work per PC, so if you've more than one computer connected to the net you'll have to tot up the totals.
Do you watch web TV?
If you've embraced the idea of watching TV shows on your computer, it's important to be aware of the costs. Streaming video (when the shows are piped directly to your screen), while better than downloading, can still eat up data very quickly.
For example, watch an hour-long show in high quality on popular web service BBC iPlayer , and you could plough through 600MB of data. If you've an unlimited download package this won't be an issue, but those with low monthly data allowances should think twice before viewing. A 2GB allowance equates to less than 3.5 hours viewing at reasonable quality.
How fast is it?
Internet speed is measured in Mb (Megabits per second), the amount of information transferred per second.
Just because a package says "up to" 24Mb don't assume that's what you'll get. Many factors affect speed: proximity to the phone exchange, the number of people competing for bandwidth, and traffic shaping (where providers slow speeds during busy hours). You can test your current broadband speed with your provider*.
Technical phone support costs
If you don't know your modem from your mobile, you may find yourself on the phone to technical support a lot while setting up your broadband. As this can cost up to 50p/min, a few 20 minute calls could easily eat away any saving from getting a cheaper package.
Of course, you could also ask for help from fellow MoneySavers on the Technical Board (if you've already managed to get online).
Provider feedback
Since you'll likely be signing a 12-month (or longer) contract, it's crucial to check feedback before diving in. Sites like thinkbroadband.com and ispreview.co.uk, as well as our broadband forum, have a wealth of customer feedback. Make sure you read a whole range though, as no matter how good overall, every provider has its share of disappointed customers.
Likewise, add your own feedback once your broadband's been up and running a while, to help improve accuracy.
Traffic shaping
During peak times, or when there's heavy traffic, most providers will cut the speed of your connection. They do this by giving different types of traffic different levels of priority.
So the brunt of the speed cuts will hit those downloading via peer-to-peer, file sharing services such as BitTorrents, as these are easy for the providers to spot, and they're considered low priority traffic.
Do you want it bundled with your phone line?
Some of the very cheapest broadband packages come as part of an overall phone/broadband package. If you're looking to get an all-in-one package, please read the Cheapest Home Phones article and look at the bundled best buys.
It's worth noting that if you're switching from cable broadband to a company that requires a BT line, and you don't already have one, this can be pricey. See Cheapest Home Phones for line installation deals too.
Are you on the move?
If you're on the move with your laptop or don't want to have a BT landline, it's possible to connect to the web via mobile broadband from as little as £7/month. Instead of connecting through a landline, 3G web access makes use of mobile phone networks to send data, meaning you can connect wherever there's a mobile signal.
Yet you don't need a mobile phone to do it; these packages come supplied with a little modem that takes its place. For full options read the Cheapest 3G Web Access article.
Below are our top picks after comparing 50+ broadband products. It's purely price focused, as broadband customer service tends to have a huge "luck of the draw" element, with every provider having its disgusted of Dorset and delighted of Devon.
Some providers quote prices without VAT; here we always include it. Also it's important to note, once you've chosen your top provider, you may be able to considerably reduce the effective price by getting extra cashback on these deals.
BEST BUYS: Cheap Broadband
Here are the cheapest standalone broadband packages for people that live in "local loop unbundled" or LLU areas (about 70% of the population). If your local exchange isn't unbundled you'll pay more. If you want to know exactly what providers and potential speeds your local exchange can handle, use SamKnows' Exchange mapping tool.
Warning! Even if you're mid-contract, providers can change the prices below at any time. Read the latest MSE broadband news for details on all the price hikes.
External Daily Updated Comparison Services
This article is updated monthly, however you may want to check the daily updated best buy tables from a couple of external sources as listed below.
WARNING! Always check the providers listed in this article first, as the
comparison links below don't cover anywhere near as many products; yet
they are updated daily so occasionally may provide better buys if
they're brand new.
Broadbandchoices*, Homephonechoices*, SimplifyDigital*, uSwitch*, Moneysupermarket*
Can you grab cashback on top?
It's often possible to grab extra cashback on top when you sign up for a broadband package. Yet it isn't done direct.
To get it you need to sign up via specialist cashback websites. These use affiliate links to generate revenue, and if they get paid when you sign up, they'll give some or all of it to you.
Always check first that it's an identical product, clear any cookies if you've already clicked through, and remember as the cashback isn't coming from the product provider, it's never 100% guaranteed.
Sometimes special promotions and cashback can't be combined. You're playing the system to an extent, and there can be problems.
Therefore it's generally best to pick the right product first and view the cashback as an added extra. For more information, pros and cons, and to find which cashback providers pay most for any product, see the Top Cashback Sites guide.
Plus sometimes there are special higher rates negotiated for the short term. These tend to have a higher payout reliability; when they happen we'll list them below and include info in the weekly email.
Current cashback deals.
- Up to £121.20 cashback with O2 broadband
It's possible to earn up to £121.20 on O2 broadband via Topcashback*, or up to £120 cashback via Quidco*, depending on which package you go for.
- Up to £41.20 cashback with Orange
You can get £41.20 cashback when signing up to an Orange broadband package via Topcashback*, or £40 cashback with Orange broadband via Quidco*. - Up to £62.36 cashback with Virgin Media
You can get £62.36 cashback on cable packages via Topcashback* or £61.75 cashback with Quidco*. - Up to £20.60 cashback with BT
You can get £20.60 cashback on BT broadband through Topcashback* or £20 cashback via Quidco*. - £28.24 cashback with Plusnet
Go via Topcashback* and get £28.84 cashback, or via Quidco* and get £28 cashback, when signing up to Plusnet broadband.