If you just want an Internet service and you’re not bothered about extras like TV and landline calls, then you’ve got few options.
Fortunately, we’ve picked the best of the few deals that are actually out there, so you don’t have to wade through all of the tedious small print to find out what you want – how fast you can go and how much you need to pay.
In this feature we’ll focus exclusively on fixed-line services as we’ve written features discussing the pros and cons of satellite and wireless broadband elsewhere.
Best Broadband Only deals with no line rental
Virgin Media Broadband Only
Cable broadband provider Virgin Media offers three packages providing download speeds of up to 50Mbps, up to 100Mbps and up to 200Mbps – on a broadband only basis.
All Virgin Media broadband packages come with unlimited downloads as standard. While download traffic isn’t subject to peak time restrictions these days, uploads are – see our feature on traffic management policies here for more details.
There’s a standard one off £49.95 charge for new installations, but aside from that, you’ll only pay the following each month.
| Virgin Media SuperFibre 50 | Virgin Media Vivid 100 | Virgin Media Vivid 200 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download speeds | up to 50Mbps | up to 100Mbps | up to 200Mbps |
| Upload speeds | up to 5Mbps | up to 10Mbps | up to 20Mbps |
| Download cap | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Wireless router | Free | Free | Free |
| Connection fee | Free/£49.95 | Free/£49.95 | Free/£49.95 |
| Contract length | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months |
| Monthly cost | £30.25 | £35.25 | £42.75 |
All Virgin Media broadband only contracts last 12 months. Price rises have kicked in for the last two years and tend to be announced for October, so be mindful of that if you plan to move around or after then.
While Virgin Media is currently only available in 12 million premises across the UK, the network has recently revealed plans to expand coverage to include an extra 4 million premises over the next five years.
While most of the places Virgin Media will cover gaps in their existing network, but trials in places like Papworth Everard and the One Voice community project prove that Virgin Media doesn’t exclusively cater for the suburbs.
Hyperoptic
Pure fibre provider Hyperoptic is a newcomer on the block but one that’s delivering full FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) connections capable of giving subscribers up to 1Gbps (1,000Mbps) download and upload speeds.
Hyperoptic currently has three services available; an entry-level 20Mbps service a mid-range 100Mbps deal and the top-tier 1Gbps package. Hyperoptic doesn’t shape traffic on its network.
All of these are available as standalone broadband services and can be taken out on a rolling contract basis or for 12 months. Overall, it’s cheaper to go for a 12 month option. The no contract deals are there for folks who require a bit more flexibility.
Hyperoptic broadband only 12 month contract
| 20Mb Broadband Only | 100Mb Broadband Only | 1Gb Broadband Only | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download speeds | up to 20Mbps | up to 100Mbps | up to 1Gbps |
| Upload speeds | up to 1Mbps | up to 100Mbps | up to 1Gbps |
| Download cap | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Wireless router | Free | Free | Free |
| Connection fee | £40 | £40 | £40 |
| Contract length | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months |
| Monthly cost | £22 | £22 (£35 after 6 months) | £35 (£60 after 6 months) |
Hyperoptic broadband only no contract
| 20Mb Broadband Only | 100Mb Broadband Only | 1Gb Broadband Only | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download speeds | up to 20Mbps | up to 100Mbps | up to 1Gbps |
| Upload speeds | up to 1Mbps | up to 100Mbps | up to 1Gbps |
| Download cap | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Wireless router | Free | Free | Free |
| Connection fee | £40 | £40 | £40 |
| Contract length | 1 month (rolling) | 1 month (rolling) | 1 month (rolling) |
| Monthly cost | £24 | £38 | £64 |
Hyperoptic’s footprint is small – but growing. Since February, it passed 100,000 premises across 12 cities in the UK. Armed with £50 million in investment, Hyperoptic is gunning for half a million customers by 2018.
The most recent city to feel the fruits of Hyperoptic’s investment is Birmingham, where residents of the Queens College Chambers can sign up for some of the fastest broadband services going.
Gigaclear
Like Hyperoptic, Gigaclear is another small scale ISP with a small, but growing FTTP footprint. Gigaclear differs from the competition in that it focuses on rural areas of the UK that have missed out on getting superfast broadband from the government’s BDUK (Broadband Delivery for the UK) scheme.
While you don’t get any inclusive landline minutes with Gigaclear packages the cost of line rental is included in the monthly bill. While Anytime minutes can be added for an extra £7/month, you’re not obliged to sign up for any call plans.
Aside from installation, you’ll pay the same thing every month.
| Home 50 Unlimited | Home 100 Unlimited | Home 200 Unlimited | Home 1000 Unlimited | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Download speeds | up to 50Mbps | up to 100Mbps | up to 200Mbps | up to 1Gbps |
| Upload speeds | up to 50Mbps | up to 100Mbps | up to 200Mbps | up to 1Gbps |
| Download cap | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Wireless router | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Connection fee | £100 | £100 | £100 | £100 |
| Contract length | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months |
| Monthly cost | £38.80 | £44 | £51 | £72 |
Gigaclear operates 19 networks, has plans to launch a further 23. It’s recently been awarded contracts to set up networks in rural West Berkshire, Essex and the Cotswolds and hopes to have 200,000 customers signed up within the next few years.
Best Broadband Only deals with no inclusive UK national calls
Unfortunately, as you might have noticed, there aren’t any true broadband only services – that is, fixed-line services where you don’t have to pay for line rental – available from ISPs that use BT’s Openreach network.
While these deals below will require you to pay line rental, they are ‘broadband only’ deals in the sense that they don’t come with any UK national calls.
If you don’t live in an area where Virgin Media, Hyperoptic and Gigaclear are available, this package is your best bet.
TalkTalk SimplyBroadband
SimplyBroadband practically does what it says on the tin. It’s an unlimited broadband service with no bells and whistles. You’ve got the option of going for the basic ADSL SimplyBroadband service (up to 17Mbps, unlimited downloads) or the superfast Fibre Broadband package (up to 38Mbps, unlimited downloads).
While there aren’t any inclusive calls to all UK national numbers, TalkTalk SimplyBroadband does give the option of free voice calls to other TalkTalk customers.
TalkTalk doesn’t apply traffic shaping on its network but unlike the FTTP products of Hyperoptic and Gigaclear, it can’t guarantee that everyone will get close to those top download speeds.
The top speeds you’ll get on ADSL and FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) depend greatly on your proximity to your nearest telephone exchange and street cabinet respectively.
| TalkTalk SimplyBroadband | TalkTalk Fibre Broadband | |
|---|---|---|
| Download speeds | up to 17Mbps | up to 38Mbps |
| Download cap | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Wireless router | Free | Free |
| Connection fee | £50 | £50 |
| Contract length | 12 months | 12 months |
| Broadband cost | Free (£7.50/month after 12 months) | £10 (£17.50/month after 12 months) |
| Standard line rental** | £17.70/month | £17.70/month |
| Total monthly cost | £17.70/£25.20 | £27.70/£35.20 |
Note that TalkTalk doesn’t officially publish upload speeds for its broadband services. Typically, the top upload speed will be ten per cent of the download speed.
While standard line rental is charged at £17.70/month, deep-pocketed individuals can stump up £191.16 for 12 months in advance, which is equivalent to £15.93/month.
You can check broadband speeds, and see which ISPs are active in your area, with our broadband speed test tool.
Leave a Reply