Broadband and ADSL Information

Broadband Internet Provider Information

Getting the Best Cheap Broadband ISP

For most people trying to choose between the various Broadband ISPs in the UK market is very difficult.  The 'Big Names' such as BT Internet, Sky Broadband, Orange Broadband and Virgin Media spend literally millions of pounds on high-profile marketing campaigns to try to get us to think of them when considering who to sign up with, often throwing in promises of features and services that are either common to any reputable ISP - or not even working yet.

The multitude of offers, package deals and introductory discounts can easily hide the fact that when you discuss finding a Broadband ISP - what most people know about is the problems they have seen and experienced themselves.

Whoever you are considering looking at, do remember that the broadband market is an extremely competitive business with very tight operating margins and consequently low profit margins, so any multi-million pound advertising campaign is certainly not increasing that providers investment in providing a better level of service or support.

For a long time, the smaller ISPs have been recognised in the industry as providing much better service and support, as well as better quality products.  On this site, you may notice some links to our preferred ISP, PlusNet who have quietly become one of the largest ISPs in the UK by giving a great level of service and support, while passing on lower prices to new and existing customers alike.

We firmly believe in sourcing broadband as a separate service from our TV, Mobile or other special offer bundle deal - Why? - Note only because the bundle deals are invariably inferior products - and the 'tie-in' effect of having Telephone, Broadband, Mobile and TV from the same company makes changing any of the services very difficult - and any practical product comparison is near impossible due to the difficulty of comparing like-with-like.

Here is our comparison table of the best known Broadband ISPs in the UK at present:

Note: Our recommended option for the vast majority of Home users (PlusNet) is shown in bold

ISP	Package	Max Speed	Download Allowance (Per month)	Set-up Cost	Monthly Cost (Inc VAT)	Cost over 2 years	Notes
PlusNet	Option 1	8Mb	3GB	Free	£11.98	£287.52	LoCall (0845) Tel Support, Includes Web Space and unlimited email addresses
PlusNet	Option 2	8Mb	6GB	Free	£14.99	£359.76	LoCall 0845 Tel Support, Includes Web Space and unlimited email addresses
AOL	Silver	2Mb	?	Free	£17.99	£431.76	0870 - National rate Tel support
AOL	Platinum	8Mb	?	Free	£29.99	£719.76	0870 - National rate Tel support
BT	Total BB Opt 1	8Mb	3GB	Free	£17.99	£431.76
BT	Total BB Opt 1	8Mb	6GB	Free	£18.34	£440.16
Orange	Starter	2Mb		Free	£14.99	£359.76	Premium Rate Support
Orange	Unlimited	8Mb		Free	£19.99	£479.76	Premium Rate Support
Virgin	M-Cable	2Mb		£25.00	£18.00	£457.00	LoCall - 0845 Tel Support
Virgin	M-Cable	4Mb		£25.00	£25.00	£625.00	LoCall - 0845 Tel Support
Virgin	Plan2 - ADSL	8MB		£25	£17.99	£456.00