The pros and cons of different internet connections

In recent years, there has been steady progress towards the widespread adoption of full fibre broadband across the UK.

We reported recently that Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) connections now outnumber the slower Fibre to the Cabinet ones for the first time.

Full fibre is faster, futureproof and surprisingly affordable. You might therefore conclude it’s the only internet connection worth considering.

Yet personal circumstances are often overlooked when evaluating different internet connections, not least overall cost at a time of unprecedented financial hardship.

While a family of four in a city suburb might naturally pivot to a FTTP contract, different internet connections have their own advantages – and drawbacks.

Below, we consider the main pros and cons of different internet connections, to determine which might be your best option.

ADSL

Asymmetric digital subscriber lines were a hugely popular upgrade on dial-up connections, but they are outmoded by modern standards. Consequently, few companies still offer them.

As their name suggests, these are not symmetrical connections, instead prioritising download speeds over uploads.

This is fine for households whose internet activities rarely stretch beyond email or light web browsing, with the added benefit of being highly affordable and available in non-cabled areas.

However, because upload speeds rarely exceed 1Mbps, they’re impractical for home workers, content creators, serious gamers or families where several people are online at once.

Fibre to the Cabinet

Until last year, FTTC was the most widely available option across all the different internet connections offered throughout the UK.

Today, BroadbandDeals offers fewer FTTC packages than FTTP ones, though an extensive array of ISPs remain active in this market including Virgin Media, NOW, Sky and Plusnet.

FTTC tends to be cheaper than full fibre, and as mentioned above, it’s more widely available since copper phone lines complete the connection rather than pre-installed fibre optic cabling.

They share ADSL’s asymmetric structure, and although download speeds are three to six times faster, this still won’t suit households with teenage children or serial uploaders.

Full fibre

The UK’s most popular internet connection is also its fastest, with some broadband services reaching the dizzying – and currently unnecessary – speeds of 2Gbps.

These future-proof connections are capable of simultaneously handling intensive gaming and 4K streaming feeds, shrugging off tech-laden smart home requirements.

Full fibre tends to be at the expensive end of the market, though, and most households would be better off subscribing to a slower connection to save money on their monthly bills.

Contract lengths are inexorably creeping up, which means FTTP contracts aren’t advisable for tenants, students, gig workers or anyone with fluctuating levels of disposable income.

Mobile broadband

As well as offering mobile phone connectivity, companies like Vodafone and EE also market mobile broadband services.

These can take two forms – a wireless MiFi dongle or a plug-in USB device. The former creates a miniature wireless network, while the latter hardwires connectivity into a single device.

Mobile broadband is fully portable (ideal when moving house) and endlessly flexible, with a variety of pay-monthly contracts typically requiring no fixed term or early termination charges.

On the downside, it’s more expensive per gigabyte of data than hardwired connections, and it relies on consumers living in an area where their chosen network offers strong indoor 4G/5G coverage.

Satellite broadband

Finally, we come to a niche option which may be worth considering if you live in a rural region and have permission to mount a dish on your house, or in your grounds.

Satellite broadband is ideal in remote properties which are otherwise off-grid, lacking an Openreach connection or outside the range of high-speed mobile networks.

Universal coverage comes at a price. Satellite broadband is proportionally expensive and often data-capped (between 10 and 100GB per month) in a way hardwired connections aren’t.

There are also issues around response times, since satellite data transfers incur significant latency, and ambient weather conditions may affect connectivity or transfer speeds as well.