A-Z of ISPs on BroadbandDeals

British Telecom is the largest of the Big Four broadband providers and one of the best-known companies in the UK. Offering a full range of speeds as well as BT TV & broadband bundles countrywide.

Recent reviews:

• Admin side of switching was straight forward but poor communication between BT and Openreach led to an installation delay of over a month. An engineer visited on ‘switch day’ and it took longer than he expected to install the FTTP which the engineer put down to the Openreach initial survey not being fully completed. Speeds were super fast after installation but then turned out to be a little erratic over the next 2/3 weeks. Once everything had settled I’m very happy with my upload and download speeds. FTTP isn’t the cheapest option but the speeds are great. BT encourage customers to use the BT app for account management but I do feel that their app could be better. For example the order tracking facility was very hit and miss with order sometimes failing to show. Overall I’m very satisfied with my new broadband.

  Overall Satisfaction: 9/10

• Got a good deal plus a voucher, communications were good & engineer was on time and got everything set up quickly. Speed is ok and consistent considering distance from the main road. Have lost connection a few times due to work on lines and presumed faults but only a few days. Overall happy with the switch and service provided.

  Overall Satisfaction: 9/10

DirectSave are an independent broadband and phone supplier for both home and business.

Recent reviews:

• Switch was easy. The speed is good, though the wifi is quite unreliable. Overall it's fine.

  Overall Satisfaction: 6/10

• I started with standard broadband. Alas, it was too slow for my needs. So, I upgraded to fibre, and so far, I've had no issues. I will be looking for a cheaper price though, when my contract expires.

  Overall Satisfaction: 8/10

EE is best known as one of the Big Four mobile networks in the UK. Provides traditional home broadband as well the fastest and best-rated 4G mobile broadband.

Recent reviews:

• I had initially tried to get FTTP from Vodafone, but they were completely incompetent at fulfilling the order. After declining Vodafone's request to give them a 3rd chance, I chose EE and they were great from start to finish. The router provided is very under powered, would recommend swapping it out for a decent router.

  Overall Satisfaction: 9/10

• They are good on price and was very easy to get set up. Everyone was very helpful on the phone.

  Overall Satisfaction: 9/10

Hyperoptic offer high-speed Fibre-to-Premises broadband to a limited number of UK households.

Recent reviews:

• Took much longer for installation than expected, including a cancelled appointment. The fitters were lovely and cleaned up after themselves, and were very apologetic that they couldn't get me up and running because of a fault in the the original fitting of the fibre optic so a further engineer was needed to correct the fault. There was then confusion over the telephone connection and an increased charge. Not the best experience but everything is now working with no further problems.

  Overall Satisfaction: 6/10

• Install was only to the nearest plug socket near the front door. Wireless signal cuts out intermittently. Ended up buying a cable to stop problem.

  Overall Satisfaction: 8/10

Recent reviews:

• I switched to italk for a cheaper deal and more reliability. They seem to be a decent firm. Easy to contact and they help you when needed.

  Overall Satisfaction: 8/10

• At the start there were problems - the live date was supposed to be on the Wednesday but ended up being on Saturday. Sometimes slips out of signal. We have dealt with some nice customer service people, but the package we got to start with had to be down graded as the speed was not good enough. However, overall I am happy.

  Overall Satisfaction: 6/10

John Lewis has closed its broadband service as of autumn 2022.

Recent reviews:

• Switchover was straightforward and went through without any hitches. So far I've kept the speed that was promised and haven't noticed any drop in performance even when having several windows open. Not only is the monthly cost lower than my previous supplier but I also got two vouchers for changing provider which makes it even greater value.

  Overall Satisfaction: 8/10

• Annoyingly the switch was delayed because they asked if I wanted to keep my number for a second time, when I'd already said the week before I didn't. As a result I ended up with extra charges from my old provider as I didn't leave in time.

  Overall Satisfaction: 8/10

NOW Broadband offers members affordable internet and TV-on-Demand bundled together in one handy package. Popular offers include streaming and on-demand TV passes for premium entertainment, sports, Sky and kids TV channels.

Recent reviews:

• Better speed than previous supplier. Is a bit cheaper than previous supplier. Would still like to have regularly the top max speed! yes

  Overall Satisfaction: 7/10

• NOW Broadband was much cheaper than previous supplier was quoting to renew and only had a 12 month contract, lower than most other suppliers. Broadband speed is the same as with previous supplier. I have occasional drop outs in connection but no major problems. It was a hassle free switch.

  Overall Satisfaction: 10/10

The Yorkshire-branded broadband, phone, TV and mobile provider, owned by BT but run as a separate company. Also provides John Lewis Broadband.

Recent reviews:

• My old provider messed me about when I Moved home. After weeks, I went to Plusnet and they set me up quickly without hassle. Very pleased with their service.

  Overall Satisfaction: 10/10

• It's great value for money. The installation was quick and really easy. Speeds are consistently good.

  Overall Satisfaction: 9/10

Notice: at the company’s request, Post Office broadband deals no longer appear on price comparison websites.

Recent reviews:

• I'm happy I switched as I'm saving money every month. The speed isn't great but works. Good value for money and everything switched quick and easy.

  Overall Satisfaction: 7/10

• The switch went well even with having to get a new line installed. The speed isn't that good for the money and reliability wasn't good at first but has improved. Overall quite satisfied.

  Overall Satisfaction: 8/10

Shell supplies broadband deals to users around the UK. They’re more than just energy and fuel!

Recent reviews:

• Decent speed, reliable uptime, but issues with transferring due to line installation taking longer than estimated. Otherwise all good.

  Overall Satisfaction: 8/10

• I’m happy. It's so much quicker and cheaper. Sometimes losing speed, but i'm very happy.

  Overall Satisfaction: 8/10

Sky Broadband is the second biggest fixed broadband provider in the UK with over 6 million customers. Originally best known for its satellite TV service, Sky became a major internet service provider in 2006 – with TV & broadband bundles widely available.

Recent reviews:

• I really appreciated how fast and easy set up was. The speed is great and effecient. I'm glad we switched to sky - great value for money. Customer service has been very helpful from switch over and any ongoing issues. They have helped greatly. Our speed and connection dips sometimes during the day but I haven't been able to pinpoint a common time.

  Overall Satisfaction: 8/10

• New deal was good when shopping around but advertising cheaper now. Engineer didn’t come on first booking but we got money back. The broadband is fast and reliable and still think it’s good value.

  Overall Satisfaction: 8/10

Notice: at the company’s request, SSE broadband deals no longer appear on price comparison websites.

Recent reviews:

• SSE are are ok. The signal seems good now, but in the past there has been cut offs in the wifi.

  Overall Satisfaction: 6/10

• Everything went well. Speeds are decent. Low monthly price.

  Overall Satisfaction: 10/10

A large telecoms group selling at the budget end of the market and providing broadband, calls, TV and mobiles.

Recent reviews:

• The switching progress was simple. I'm happy I switched. The speed is good.

  Overall Satisfaction: 9/10

• The transfer process was great and initially everything worked fine. After a few days I started getting problems. All the lights on the router were green, but connectivity was poor on my iPad and iPhone and my laptop reported DNS problems. After much frustration, research and swapping routers, I am now using my old router and I have installed 1.1.1.1 apps on all my computers. I now get reliable internet access. TalkTalk’s help systems were no help. Thankfully, I am a reasonably experienced computer user and I was able to obtain other help online and I was lucky in finding 1.1.1.1. Now that I have got my TalkTalk connection running, it seems to be performing fine, but it is not quite so good at busy times over the weekend.

  Overall Satisfaction: 6/10

Virgin Media is one of the country’s biggest ISPs with speeds of up to 516Mbps available through its own cable broadband network. Known for excellent Virgin TV & broadband bundles, they are now available to over 60% of UK households.

Recent reviews:

• Unfortunately with a lack of communication between ourselves and the provider, we switched to another brand within a few weeks. A new line needed installed which caused problems and the installer kept arriving unannounced and unplanned when we were at work. We had to use our own personal hot spots on our phone for over a month whilst we tried to get WiFi sorted and it cost us a fortune.

  Overall Satisfaction: 3/10

• I was with Sky. Only Virgin media could give me cable downloads of 150 mb and above. I took there cable at a speed of 340 mb. I get some times 400 mb. I have no problems with it. This is cheaper than Sky.

  Overall Satisfaction: 10/10