ISPs are nowadays obliged to advertise average download speeds for their internet packages. These give you a good idea of which packages are faster than others but it doesn't tell you much about how consistent or reliable the service is. To get a clearer view, we combine the results of our reader-voted Best Broadband Awards survey with Ofcom's annual broadband customer-satisfaction report , which brings together customer surveys and user-recorded data such as average download and upload speeds and connection reliability.
This allows us to see how the different providers stack up across the board. Just remember that the speed data from the Ofcom survey refers to the connection speed between the ISP and your router — if your laptop or smartphone is connected over Wi-Fi, that could slow things down.
One bit of good news is that monthly data caps and traffic shaping are now more or less extinct, so you don't have to worry about burning through a monthly usage allowance or having your connection slowed down at peak times. Some providers also offer special deals on mobile data, which is worth bearing in mind if you're also in the market for a new mobile phone contract.
A final point of differentiation between ISPs is the quality of the router that's provided with your service. Some, such as BT and TalkTalk, offer good-quality, high-speed hardware.
Others are more basic: they'll do the job, but you can expect better Wi-Fi speeds and more features if you use your own third-party router instead.
Read our best wireless routers roundup to learn more. To help bring a bit of transparency and clarity to the performance of the best broadband providers, Ofcom recently joined forces with regulators from the water, energy and banking sectors as part of the UK Regulators Network UKRN to release performance scorecards for their respective industries.
You can see how the broadband providers below scored here and we've included the latest scorecard information below each entry in this list. There are other providers who deliver excellent broadband for a little less, but Zen leaves most of its rivals in the dust. Read our Zen Internet review. Get Zen Internet now. Read our Plusnet review. When comparing internet providers, most customers will want to go with the best company around.
Some of the most important factors to consider when deciding which the best internet provider is for your home include:. The table below shows some of the cheapest deals currently available:.
At the moment, around 1 in 4 homes are on the network. The Government has said that it hopes to complete the rollout of full fibre by the end of The table below shows some of the fastest broadband deals available across the UK:. For many people, customer service is a very important factor when choosing a broadband provider. Zen Internet comes a close second with an overall score of 4. Most UK internet providers offer standard contracts of 12 months. Occasionally, 9-month and rolling one-month deals are available, though these are likely to be a lot more expensive than longer contracts.
In general, month contracts offer the best value for money. These are available from most internet providers in the UK. If you want a shorter contract and more flexibility, opt for one of the deals the table below:. These days, most internet providers offer customers a reliable service. If you want to have more or less guaranteed download speeds, opt for full fibre broadband.
With this type of broadband, fibre optic cables are laid from your home all the way to the data source. This makes for superfast internet that can be relied on. A number of well known internet providers get fairly poor online reviews from their customer base. For example, Vodafone UK gets a Trustpilot score of just 1.
BT does little better with a score of 1. EE scrapes in just above BT with a rating of 2 out of 5, while TalkTalk does a little better with an average score of 2. We compare the market to find you the best broadband deal. Free service - Available Monday to Friday from 8. The supplier provides broadband speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second in some parts of the country and is already trialling internet capable of delivering an incredible 8 gigabits per second.
To find out which provider offers the fastest internet near you, call Broadband Plans on Our expert advisors will talk you through the quickest options available. BT Broadband. On top of this, it can also connect up to 50 wireless devices at any one time, while it also has four Gigabit Ethernet ports.
What is unique to the TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub though, is its Beamforming technology, which automatically adjusts the level of signal that is put out to devices which demand a higher signal, making it more efficient. TalkTalk Broadband. In fact, being Made by the Chinese tech company Huawei, it also has four Mb Ethernet ports. It supports the It also has four Mb Ethernet ports to connect to wired devices such as desktops.
EE Broadband. When you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Michael is a dedicated author helping usave to write guides, blogs and news for the last four years.
When not writing articles, you can usually find him at wine tasting events or having a political debate on the night tube. Back to Broadband Providers Which broadband provider has the best wireless router?
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