How much does an ultrafast service cost?

Are you paying over the top for broadband?

Superfast Essex team member Josh Mews shares his broadband journey…

Fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) and similar gigabit-capable services can offer much greater speeds and reliability than a copper-based fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) connection – but the cost of upgrading may not be as much of a shock as you’d think.

After doing some research, I was staggered to find that the average broadband bill in the UK was over £30 a month! Although I pay slightly more than this for my broadband service, I receive very fast speeds (150 Megabits per second (Mbps)). However, the most common FTTC products, which are available in most locations in the county, offer speeds up to 80Mbps.

How to get a better broadband deal

To give you an idea on prices and speeds, here’s a little insight into my recent broadband history…

I was paying £25.99 a month for a service giving me 6 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds. When I took out the contract with my internet service provider (ISP), superfast broadband wasn’t available, which left me with an all copper, ADSL service. As I’d just moved into a new build, I wasn’t really surprised that a faster service hadn’t yet been implemented. We often find that new builds don't have access to superfast broadband services!

Fast forward two years and my broadband contract had come to an end. After having a look, I saw that speeds of up to 150 Mbps were now available at my address! However, my first thought was, ‘how much more will this cost me?’. I had a scout around on the comparison sites and found that I could now get 150 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload speeds for £32 a month, with the first three months free!

Other tips when looking for a new broadband deal

The only thing I didn’t realise is that I could have upgraded my speeds during my contract – most ISPs are more than happy to do this!

As broadband has become much more of an essential commodity, speeds offered and the associated costs have become much more affordable for most households. ISPs have also become a lot more competitive.

It’s worth keeping an eye on when your broadband contract ends too – there’s a very good chance you’ll get a better contract if you change your ISP. Unfortunately, loyalty to your service provider is not quite what it used to be!

If possible, look to sort your broadband contract around holidays, such as Black Friday! You’ll always find the best deals from ISPs around these dates.

Changing operators is not as difficult as it used to be! Similar to changing phone contracts, broadband contracts have similar rules in place to make it easier for consumers. For example, if you’re changing ISPs on the Openreach line, this should all be done automatically on your chosen date!

But, be aware of hidden charges when looking to change your broadband contract. If you’re still in contract, depending on who your ISP is, there may be early exit fees.

How much does a good broadband deal cost?

Obviously, prices for broadband services will depend on which operators you can purchase a broadband service from, and then which ISP you decide on from that operator.

For example, between operators (as of 14/06/21):

And then between ISPs from the same operator (as of 14/06/21):

Key points to take home:

• Find out when your current contract ends.
  • If there’s a long time left, see if there’s an early exit fee.
• Check if you can upgrade your contract to a better service with your current provider!
  • If not, check if other providers can offer you a better service.
• Don’t be afraid to change providers – it’s simpler than it used to be!
• Every ISP will offer something different, whether it be speeds, packages or bonuses, so make sure you take a look at all the offers out there!