BT Total Broadband is our top pick for its fast, reliable service and great technical support.
If you want your Phone & Internet to just work then BT is your best bet.
BT have been feeling the pressure from the competition and have responded with a range of interesting and highly competitive packages. Their BT Home Hub package (free with option 2+3) is a unique and very cool looking product, which includes wireless Internet networking and a cordless phone for free UK calls. All packages include 250 WiFi Internet minutes from any BT OpenZone hotspot in the UK.
*Limited Time Special Offer £20, £10 or £5 off your first bill only if you order online.
If you sign up for SKY TV then SKY Broadband is free or heavily discounted depending on which broadband package you choose. This is broadband for the coach potato!
A smaller provider with competitive pricing and a reputation for looking after it customers. Nine out of ten of their customers say they’re ‘satisfied’ or ‘extremely satisfied’ with the Eclipse helpdesk.
AOL is the family ISP. The extra content include online concerts, chat and communities, but since the Internet is full of free content they should be chosen for their helpful and friendly support.
Recently launched their broadband service greatly undercutting every other provider. The cheapest on the market and so popular you may have to wait to get connected!
Guide 2 Buy Broadband Comparison Table
* Guide2Buy Brodband Comparison Table
Easy comparison of broadband services from UK Internet service providers.
There is an overwhelming choice of broadband packages and broadband providers out there and finding out about each one could take hours – but not when you are with Guide2Buy.co.uk. Instead of visiting dozens of individual broadband provider websites, Guide2Buy.co.uk allows you to list and compare all available providers in one page.
>> To see the broadband comparison table please click here.
Need to know about selected brands
We think: designed to be used by families, not the cheapest but has lots of extra content and good support
AOL is the family ISP. The extra content include online concerts, chat and communities, but since the Internet is full of free content they should be chosen for their helpful and friendly support.
We think: great pricing, especially if you want cable television as well
Currently merging with NTL & Virgin to form the main UK cable provider. Your best bet if you already have or want cable. With options for fast Internet connections (up to 10Mb) and packages bundling phone and TV Telewest is worth a look.
We think: good old BT, not the cheapest but reliable and with reasonably good support
BT are now feeling the pressure from the competition and have responded with some interesting and competitive products. Their latest product the BT Home Hub (free with option 2+3) is very a cool looking package, which includes wireless Internet networking and a cordless phone for free UK calls. All packages include 250 WiFi Internet minutes from any BT OpenZone hotspot in the UK.
We think: If you have been waiting for an excuse to get SKY TV then now you have one
If you already have or want SKY TV then SKY Broadband is free or heavily discounted depending on which broadband package you choose. \With the fastest broadband (up to 16Mb where available) and SKY's excellent customer service.
We think: great pricing and perfect if you like the service a smaller company provides
A small provider with competitive pricing and a reputation for looking after it customers. Nine out of ten of their customers say they’re ‘satisfied’ or ‘extremely satisfied’ with their helpdesk's. Sometimes small is better!
We think: great pricing, especially if you like to talk but maybe too popular at the moment
Recently launched their broadband service greatly undercutting every other provider. Reports of growing pains due to the huge uptake of new customers they are receiving with long wait times to be connected. However they are addressing these issues and if your not in a rush to get broadband they are about the cheapest on the market, especially if you use the phone a lot. They are also the only provider to offer very international call (only to selected countries).
We think: great pricing and perfect if you like the service a smaller company provides
A provider that has been around for a while with a good reputation for technical support and broadband performance. Currently priced very competitively, especially if you take a package with phone calling included.
We think: One of the first providers and still going strong but the not matching its competitors pricing
Demon where one of the first providers in the UK and was formed by a group of people who wanted to connect to the Internet before there where any providers in the UK. They all agreed to put in some money and start an Internet Service Provider and now 14 years later Demon are one of the largest providers in the UK. Considered to offer reasonable quality Internet access but aimed more at the technical proficient computer user.
We think: A solid choice, especially if you want unlimited downloads
Has just finished re-branding Wanado under the Orange brands and promises to be one of more interesting providers over the coming year or as they say the future is bright, the future is orange.
Technical Dictionary - What is worth knowing about broadband
Broadband is used as a general term to describe fast Internet access. Some of the more common consumer technologies used to provide broadband are ADSL, 3G, WiMax, Cable and WiFi. Now in the UK nearly everyone should be able to get broadband in some form or manner
ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) is currently the most common way for a UK household to receive broadband. It shares the phone line but allows phone calls to made at the same time. It is available in a range of speeds which again all depend on the distance of the house from the telephone exchange. The further away the lower the maximum possible speed becomes.
In the UK cable is supplied by NTL (which has merged with Telewest) and is available as an option if you already subscribe to cable TV. Cable is potentially quicker than ADSL, especially upload speeds but it will vary depending on how many cable Internet users their are in your neighbourhood as you share the same connection. In the UK NTL offers download speeds of 1Mbps, 4Mbps and 10Mbps connection speeds with upload speeds of 384Kbps
In the UK ADSL is now available in a range of speeds including 512Kb all the way up to 16Mb. You will see providers show the speed available as the "maximum" speed and this will change dramatically depending on how far your house is from the telephone exchange (remote areas tend to be much further away than in cities and therefore will be slower). It is also not an accurate measure of how fast your "Internet" connection is as that depends on lots of other factors including how fast the web site is etc.
Most come with a DVD+RW/+R with CD-RW which means it can read and write CDs and DVD's. The speed is what makes them different. Speed range start from 6x. A DVD burning facility is now standard on most PCs, but remember to check it if you buy a basic system.
To stop customers downloading large files all the time some providers impose a monthly usage limit which when reached either stops you downloading or you have to pay more. If you are planning on downloading lots of music and films be sure to select a contract with a large limit (40GB / month or more ) or no monthly download limit. If your not then 2GB / month for most light users should be fine.
Contention is how many other users share your Internet connection. Consumer ADSL is usually contended at 50-1 ratios. What this means is that in a worst case scenario you will be sharing your Internet connection with 50 other people and therefore your 10Mb line is really only 0.2MB. However don't worry as not everyone uses the Internet 100% of the time at 100% so generally while you will find it slower at peak times (6pm-midnight) it should be fine. Lower contention speeds are available but cost a lot more and are generally used only by businesses
The bandwidths of consumer broadband internet services are often rated in Mbit/s. A megabit per second (Mbit/s or Mbps) is a unit of data transfer rate equal to 1,000,000 bits per second or 1,000 kilobits per second. The simple way to understand the quantity is that at 1Mbps it will take roughly 700 seconds or 12 minutes to download a complete CD. Most providers short hand this to Mb.
There are one thousand Kbps in a Mbps. Most providers short hand this to Kb
Bandwidth Monitoring Software Download
Download this program to measure your bandwidth usage to enable you to stay within your monthly agreed limited.
Alos offers lots of other features and tools. [Magitime from Magistone system www.magistonesystems.com]
Broadband Migration
How do I migrate to a new broadband provider?
Broadband migration is the process, which allows you to change your broadband provider without losing access to your broadband connection for more than a few hours / a day. It works by having both your current and new provider work together. The alternative is to cancel your current broadband contract and then sign with your new provider. This will usually cost you more money (setup fee) as well as meaning you will not have broadband for days / weeks. Please note this is only applies to ADSL and not cable.
What is a MAC numbers?
You need a Migration Access Code (MAC) code which you get by calling your existing provider and asking for it. All UK providers are required by the governmental body OFCOM to supply you with one. When you sign up with your new provider online there should be box where you enter your MAC address enabling your new provider to handle the migration for you.
Can I save money migrating to a new provider?
More than likely as the UK broadband market is getting more and more competitive everyday.
How to select the products & services
We regularly scan the websites of the main brands to benchmark their products to make sure that we always feature the best deal per category. In case you have a strong brand preference, we also feature the best per category of a single brand. Enjoy and please let us know if you have some ideas for improving our website!
