Compare and check broadband availability in the UK. Depending on which area you live in will determine which
broadband providers are available. Use our postcode or phone number checker to find out which
broadband providers are available in your area. Our aim is to provide you with a simple comparison of these providers so you can choose which broadband package is right for you.
Broadband Explained
Only a decade ago most people were sitting at home with their dial up modems chugging away watching web pages load painfully slowly, unable to use the phone whilst they were doing so. Thankfully this scene is now a thing of the past and nearly everyone in the UK is able to sign up for a
super-fast broadband service that will allow you to surf the web and download at fast speeds whilst still having access to your phone.
There are so many great things about broadband internet that it's hard to list them all in one go, but there are a few key features that should really get you excited, and a few things to look out for that should help you decide which
broadband Internet Service Provider (ISP) is right for you.
Broadband Speeds
The first thing to realise it that broadband connections will vary in speed depending on a few key points. The first is the type of broadband you go for. If you want to keep your existing
BT landline and receive your phone and internet down the same wire then you're looking for an average maximum download speed of around
8Mbps, though there are services that offer 16Mbps or even 24Mbps over a BT copper land line.
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However, your speed is largely dictated by the area in which you live and the distance of your home from your local telephone exchange. The strength of a broadband signal diminishes if a line is long, so the further away from your local exchange you are the slower your actual broadband speed will be.
However, if you opt for a
fibre-optic cable broadband connection you should expect a much faster speed of between 24Mbps and 50Mbps, and because fibre optic technology doesn't allow for diminished signal over a long distance, you should more than likely get the top speed advertised by the ISP. However,
fibre optic internet is only available in limited mainly urban areas, so you may not have it as an option.
Broadband Technology
Most ISPs now offer a
free wireless router when you sign up with them for a fixed term of 12 months or more. This will allow you to broadcast your broadband connection around your home and connect to it
wirelessly using any wireless enabled laptop or PC, which gives you great freedom of movement.
You can of course connect your computers using a wired network cable too, so every taste and situation is catered for. It's not just PCs that can benefit from a broadband connection, as the current generation of games consoles are all ready to use your broadband to play with people from all over the world, and two of the three manufacturers have installed built in wireless capabilities to their consoles.
Restrictions on Usage
There are a couple of things that you should check on before you commit to a broadband package from a particular ISP, and the most important is the amount of usage you are allowed from your broadband connection each month. The
ISP will either give a limit expressed in Gigabytes which if you exceed your connection speed will usually be artificially limited until the end of the month, or alternatively will offer an 'unlimited' service.
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This is usually dependent on your adherence to a fair use policy, which will require that you don't use your broadband connection for heavy downloading or streaming during the evenings which are considered to be peak periods.
