Why you shouldn’t spend more than £30 a month on broadband
Broadband connections have become an essential part of everyday life, yet our research shows that millions of customers aren’t satisfied with the value for money of the service they receive.
Despite this, many aren’t taking advantage of the competitive range of affordable deals available. More than a third of customers are out of contract, meaning they're likely to be paying an expensive standard tariff - and watching the amount they pay surge upwards every year.
But our analysis shows that if you're paying more than £30 per month, your connection is probably costing more than it needs to.
Why most people shouldn’t pay more than £30 per month for broadband
Customers on deals using older partial-fibre technology will find that infrastructure upgrades mean they’re now able to upgrade to more reliable full fibre services - and much faster speeds are available for those who need them, too.
Full fibre services are the gold standard and they’re no longer restricted to a minority of consumers - they’re available to three quarters of premises throughout the country. And they’re increasingly affordably priced - research from the telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has found that the promotional prices advertised for the fastest deals have actually decreased in the past year. Meanwhile the amounts sitting customers pay have tended in the opposite direction because most of the major providers put up prices for existing customers every spring.
We analysed full fibre deals currently available on Which? Switch Broadband with an average download speed of at least 70Mbps (the UK average) and found that there are many current widely-available deals being advertised that cost £30 or less per month - even with upfront costs, promotional discounts and future mid-contract increases factored in.
Video: see how you could save on broadband
Top full fibre broadband deals
We’ve pulled out three of the best full fibre deals when you factor in speeds and costs associated, including set-up costs and any planned mid-contract increases. Head to our broadband comparison service to compare all of the broadband deals currently on offer where you live - you can opt to sort the deals by total cost of contract so you will have a full view.
What if I can’t get full fibre?
A quarter of premises (mainly in Great Britain) still don’t have access to full fibre services, but that doesn’t mean they need to pay more than £30 per month for their connections. Our analysis of deals provided using partial fibre services found that it’s also possible to get average speeds around 70Mbps (usually between 61Mbps and 74Mbps) for less than £30 per month.
Three great partial fibre deals
Once again, we chose these deals because they’re affordable options even when you account for upfront costs, any promotional discounts and mid-contract discounts. Our full broadband comparison service will let you compare the total cost of broadband contracts in your area.
Even cheaper deals are available in certain parts of the country
Our analysis focused on services using the Openreach and Virgin Media networks as these are widely available throughout the UK.
However, even cheaper deals will be available those in certain parts of the country - if you live in parts of London or Hull, for example, deals offered by Community Fibre and KCOM are often even more attractively priced than those offered by the major providers.
Because alternative networks are continually rolling out services in different parts of the country, you may be lucky enough to have access to one such as those offered by Hyperoptic or CityFibre (used to provide Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen Internet in certain areas services), or smaller localised providers.
Find out more using our guide to regional broadband providers.
Top alternative network deals
We’ve pulled out three deals from alternative networks, but there are over 100 throughout the UK so it’s worth checking what’s available at your specific address.
It's easy to switch
Switching is one of the best ways to ensure providers work hard for your money, and our research consistently shows it's the best way to save - the average is £105 per year, but even bigger savings are possible if you're with one of the Big Four.
Your new provider will take care of the entire process, and it's easy to get the ball rolling. We've broken down what you need to do into three straightforward steps - use our easy guide on how to switch broadband provider.
News, deals and stuff the manuals don't tell you. Sign up for our Tech newsletter, it's free monthly
