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3. Broadband Second Home

Whether you have a holiday home in the UK, or a second property that you visit regularly for work reasons, it is not unreasonable to expect to have a decent broadband connection when you get there.

Depending on how long you stay there, how frequently you visit, how much you want to spend and what you want to use your internet connection for, there are various options open to you. From cheap 18-month contracts to 4G home broadband, this guide looks at the choices you have for getting broadband in your second home.

Choosing broadband for a second home

If you have a second home that you like to visit a few times a year, perhaps in the school holidays, but is empty the rest of the time, then you have three options: one-month broadband that you can cancel without penalty, a long 18-month contract that means you don’t have to rearrange a service every time you visit (and may well work out cheaper), or 4G home broadband that removes the need for cabling and can easily be cancelled.

You will need to have a phone line

Unless you decide to get 4G home broadband, it is likely that you will need to have an active phone line installed and pay line rental – whether you are there or not. However, the rollout of full fibre broadband across the country means that it is now possible to get a broadband connection without a phone line in some areas.

If your second home is not yet covered by full fibre, you may be able to get a broadband-only service from Virgin Media, although you will have to pay a premium to do so since Virgin’s broadband-only packages are more expensive than their comparable broadband and phone deals.

Monthly rolling-contract broadband

On the face of it, this would seem like the ideal solution if you only want to be paying for broadband while you are staying in your second home. In reality, it depends on how frequently you are there, because no-contract broadband works out more expensive on a monthly basis than an 18-month contract broadband.

If you only visit your home twice a year or enjoy an extended stay there a few months each year, then 30-day broadband is probably a good idea. If you visit several times a year, consider signing up for an 18-month contract.

Four providers offer one-month broadband contracts – NOW Broadband, Direct Line, Cuckoo broadband and Virgin Media.

No-contract NOW Broadband

NOW offers both rolling one-month contracts and 12-month contracts. The monthly price is the same but there is a £60 upfront cost if you want to have the option to cancel at any time. You can choose from standard or fibre broadband packages. If you want to keep stopping and starting your service however, this may not be a good bet financially.

Virgin Media one-month broadband

Virgin offers a one-month rolling broadband contract, with a choice of speeds from 50Mbps to 350Mbps and you have to give 30 days’ notice if you want to cancel, which, if you visit several times a year, could become a hassle.

A one-month contract with Virgin works out very expensive. Not only is the monthly price approximately double that of the comparable 18-month contract, but there is also an £80 upfront fee. If you only visit once or twice a year, a one-month broadband deal with Virgin Media is going to work out a rather expensive way of getting online. However, if you want or need Virgin’s high speeds, the option is there.

One-month broadband with Direct Line

Direct Line offers both standard and fibre broadband packages up to 63Mbps on a rolling monthly contract with an upfront cost of around £25. The monthly price is greater than that of an 18-month contract, but not prohibitively so. Plus, Direct Line carries its broadband services via the Openreach network so there is a good chance that it will be available wherever your second home is located.

One-month broadband with Cuckoo broadband

A relative newcomer to the market, Cuckoo offers three speeds over the Openreach network: 63Mps, 100Mbps or 900Mbps, all available on a rolling monthly contract with an upfront cost of £60 or on a rolling 12-month contract.

Cheap 18-month broadband contracts

In most cases, a long-term broadband contract may well work out better both financially and practically for your second home. It gives you peace of mind knowing that your broadband service will be ready as soon as you arrive and removes the need to remember to arrange it before every visit – and cancel it after.

It’s well worth shopping around to see what the best broadband deals are currently available. If you have fibre or even full fibre at home, then you may well expect the same speeds when you are away. However, you may not be able to get an ultrafast service at your second home if it is somewhere rural, and plumping for a slower service will keep your costs down if you have decided to sign up for a 12 or 18-month contract.

Decide if you need a calls package or not

The vast majority of broadband deals come with a pay-as-you-go calls package with line rental, so at least you won’t be paying for inclusive calls when you aren’t there. If you have a patchy mobile signal at your second home however, you may decide it’s worth buying a broadband and calls bundle. You can see all the latest broadband deals on our broadband comparison page.

4G or 5G mobile home broadband

Some properties might be better off with a mobile broadband connection, depending on the location and the quality of the signal. Very remote properties can suffer with slow broadband and 4G broadband could offer you a better speed than a cabled connection. You can get a 4G or 5G router, a Mifi unit or just use your phone to get online. EE, Three and Vodafone all offer 4G and 5G (where available) home broadband, with 5G broadband offering speeds easily comparable to those of a cabled connection..

Broadband and TV bundles for your second home

Although you can of course sign up for a big broadband and TV package with the likes of Virgin Media, BT or Sky, if you have a Smart TV or a streaming stick such as Chromecast or Roku, your best bet is to sign up for Netflix and any other streaming services you want (if you don’t already have them at home).

You can sign up for a month and then cancel when you like. Unless you want to watch live TV, using streaming services removes the need to pay for a second TV licence, although if you want to watch BBC iPlayer you will still need a licence.

Watching Netflix in your second home

There is no minimum term contract with Netflix, so you can sign up and cancel when you want. If you already have Netflix at home, you can simply log in and watch it on another device wherever you want – there is no need to take out a second subscription.

Netflix offers three subscription levels. The entry level allows for watching on one device, the standard level permits two devices and includes HD, and the premium level allows for four devices and throws in access to Ultra HD. If you are likely to be leaving someone in your main property who will be watching Netflix while you are away, or if you have a large second home where you are likely to be having people watching different things on Netflix at different times, you will need a subscription level that permits more than one device.

Watching NOW TV in your second home

NOW TV offers the perfect solution to short-term televisual entertainment with its TV Memberships. Choose from Entertainment, Cinema, Sport and Hayu, all available in one-month Memberships. If there is a big match on while you are away, you also have the option to sign up for NOW TV Sports for just one day. The NOW TV Boost offers TV in full HD and allows you to stream on three devices rather than the standard two.

Watching Amazon Prime in your second home

If you don’t already pay for Amazon Prime at home, you can sign up for a month and then cancel. Amazon allows you to watch on up to three different devices at once as standard.

Watching Disney Plus in your second home

If you are taking the kids with you, Disney Plus may be a necessity, especially for rainy day entertainment when a trip to the beach isn’t an option. If you already have it at home, then you can simply log in while you are away. If not, you can just sign up for one month. Disney Plus allows subscribers to watch on up to four devices at once and download movies or TV shows on up to ten devices.

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