Brsk broadband review: High speed, low cost, if you can get it

Dan Howdle | April 19th, 2024

An addition to the increasing number of alternative broadband networks, brsk (all lower case) is a unique altnet that, like many others in other locations, offers Full Fibre packages to homes and businesses in parts of Leeds/Bradford, Blackburn, Manchester, and Birmingham. But what does brsk offer that makes it stand out? And more to the point: Is it any good? Let's find out.

Key features

Here’s a quick look at what you can expect to find in a brsk broadband deal:

Our review of brsk broadband

What brsk offers is pleasantly surprising right across the board. There's fast broadband of course – up to 900Mbps on the top package. But then there's the pricing, which is so competitive one wonders how brsk turns a profit. For example, right now brsk is offering its top package, BetterNet1000 (900Mbps) for just £32 per month, provided you sign up to a 24-month contract. Things do get a lot more expensive if you opt for the one-month contract version of any of its three packages, but that option's nice to see. As a point of comparison, BT's 900Mbps package is at the time of writing £59.99 per month and with a £31.99 set-up fee. Brsk's package is around half the cost.

Speeds are symmetrical as standard – no extra fee for that – which means your upload and download speeds will be identical. And brsk promised no mid-contract price rises, which on a two year deal is also very impressive. Customers are bursting with praise for the customer service team, and the installation process, which is very well communicated along each step. While the router, the Icotera i4850 is a powerhouse that's only really bettered by adding on i3550 mesh devices for whole home wifi should you need them.

Availability

Brsk broadband is available to properties in parts of Leeds, Bradford, Blackburn, Manchester and Birmingham. If you don't live in one of those locations, you can't get it, plain and simple.

Brsk really knows what it's doing in terms of keeping those interested in its service abreast of where it is with its rollout. Often when we do a deep dive on an altnet, we find ourselves frustrated by how opaque it is in terms of where exactly it's available. Not so with brsk, which has a marvellous interactive map. You can also use our postcode checker:

Check availability

Broadband speeds

Brsk keeps things nice and simple with just three speed tiers, all of which are Full Fibre. They are:

BetterNet100: An aggressively priced bottom tier Full Fibre package which, being Full Fibre still weighs in at a stonking 100Mbps. Bear in mind this is already 50% faster than the fastest 'superfast fibre' deals you'll see in places where Full Fibre isn't available, and is plenty fast enough for everything from gaming to streaming 4K movies and TV. Even busy households will rarely hit limits.

BetterNet500: 500Mbps is very fast, and the logical next step for any household the feels its downloads are taking too long of they just find things grinding to a halt a little around busy evening times when everyone is online.

BetterNet1000: Perhaps the only thing we found that we didn't like about brsk was the use of '1000' in this package name. The package is 900Mbps and sure, other providers do this, but brsk you are clearly better than that. Anyway, 900Mbps is what you'll get, and that's right at the top end of what you can typically put through to a single device. Want super-quick game downloads? This will do it. But any more speed than this will be left on the table due to various bottlenecks in consoles, LAN ports and online stores.

Not sure which package to pick? Our guide to deciding what broadband speed you need has all the answers.

Upload speeds

All of brsk's packages offer symmetrical speeds – that is, your upload speed is going to be exactly the same as your download speeds.

Typically, that's not the case, with most providers offering upload speeds within around 10-30% of their download speeds. This is because a typical home internet connection tends to pull a lot of information into the home, while sending out very little. Of course, some people use upload as much as download, but that's rare, and will tend to require a specific type of job such as videographer or draughts-person, where uploading large files and documents is the norm.

Package bolt-ons

Another aspect of the brsk offering we like is the flexibility it offers. You can start with a low-priced, fast broadband package, and depending on what you need, build it up from there. Here's a rundown of the bits and bobs you can easily bolt onto your package:

BetterPhone Home phone from £3 per month

Brsk will supply you with a dongle you ca plug into your router, and you can plug your existing phone straight into that. It's a digital (VoIP) line, but you will be able to keep your old phone number, no problem.

BetterWifi whole home coverage – £8 per month

If you've got a large house, or one with particularly thick walls, you may neet a little extra oomph to ensure a stable wifi signal everywhere. For just that purpose, you can add 'BetterWifi', which will add additional mini routers to extend your wifi signal.

BetterIP static IP address – £5 per month

There are a few situations where you may need a static as opposed to dynamic IP address – you will know if you do, so there's no sense in us explaining all the situations you may or may not need it. If you do need it, you can bolt it on for £5 per month.

BetterTV from £10 per month

This is really unusual for an altnet, but brsk offers TV packages through its partner NetGem. The NetGem platform is used by quite a few providers who don't really want to blow their entire bankroll developing their own set-top box and software offering. As a platform it offers access to all the Freeview channels as well as premium channels at the cost of their individual subscriptions. You can also bundle BetterTV with your broadband package when you take it out to save more money.

Routers and installation

One potential pain point with brsk is the lack of Wi-Fi 6. It seems like a missed opportunity to only offer a router tha has Wi-Fi 5. We could have marked it down half a star for this, but ultimately most households have a number of devices in their household that are Wi-Fi 6 compatible ranging from few to none. But it's probably worth noting that if you want to get a lot of speed out of brsk's router, you'd best attach to it via a LAN cable.

The brsk Wi-Fi 6 Hub is actually an Icotera i4850 . Here is a quick overview:

Brsk Wi-Fi 5 Hub (Icotera i4850) specs:

• Best-in-class WiFi 5 solution
• Award-winning industrial design
• Low power consumption
• Extensive IPv6 support
• Customised firmware
• Built-in Smart Home platform

Installation

Provided brsk is available at your address, installation is easy-peasy. When you sign up you'll be informed of a schedule for the work that needs doing to bring a line into your property.Bear in mind that the time this takes may vary from case to case depending on how busy they are to a small extent, but more importantly depending on how easy or difficult it is to reach your property with a fibre cable.

On installation day, a brsk technician will install a fibre cable from the closest telephone pole, or underground chamber on the outside of your property, into your home.

Customer service

Broadband providers with less than 1.5% market share aren't included in Ofcom's annual customer service reporting. However, you can see how it's doing on Trustpilot.

Brsk really shines in this department, with its customers singing its praises and earning a stupendous 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot. Customers praised the installation process, communication, customer service agents and the reliability of the service. Brsk has also won a host of awards in 2023, including Best Customer Experience, Full Fibre ISP Of The Year, and Best Infrastructure.

Our verdict: Outstanding

There are some minor gripes. The '1000' naming convention on a 900Mbps service never sits well with us, and it's surprising to find that brsk does not offer a Wi-Fi 6 router at this time. That aside though, it's all upside, from the price of entry, the range of bolt-ons that add incredible flexibility, the no price hike promise, the TV options, and of course reputedly some of the best customer service in the country.

There's a heck of a lot to like here, and our only real complaint is we can't get it!

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