The Best Broadband ISPs for 2014 – ISPreview UK Editors Pick

Best UK Consumer ISPs for Quality

Affordability is always an important factor but some people, such as home workers, small businesses and those whom generally seek better reliability, might ultimately have to consider paying a bit extra in order to secure a higher quality of service, shorter contract and proper UK-based technical support by real IT people.

The good news is that there are plenty of smaller ISP options out there that offer a highly reliable service where quality, support and service are frequently placed above the mass market desire for lower pricing.

Zen Internet

Zen, over a period of many years, has managed to earn itself a solid reputation for quality. The service has also won multiple awards along the way and they’re highly rated among visitors to our website (Zen’s Reviews). On top of that they’re also one of the largest medium sized ISPs and have a broadband subscriber base of around 100,000 customers. Most recently Zen has invested £3.5m into their core infrastructure (here) and used that to help build a new network of local telephone exchange PoPs (Points of Presence).

Admittedly Zen’s packages aren’t always the cheapest but you get what you pay for. Prices for their standard broadband (up to 16Mbps) packages start at £18.37 inc. VAT for Zen Lite, which includes a 50GB usage allowance and 1 month contract (this comes with free email, 2GB of web space, a static IP address and other features). By comparison the mid-range Zen Active package includes 200GB of usage but costs £25.52 per month.

The ISP also offers a range of highly attractive home superfast broadband (FTTC) packages, which start at £19.50 for a 50GB usage allowance and up to 38Mbps download speeds (plus £30 setup). The next option up costs £27 and offers UNLIMITED allowance with up to 38Mbps speeds or £30 for 76Mbps; this is enough to give some of the bigger ISPs a run for their money! Some packages also require phone line rental from £15.44 a month.

Pros:
• Speed
• Support
• Additional Services

Cons:
• Standard Broadband is a little pricey

AAISP

Andrews and Arnold is a technically niche ISP that use to be best targeted towards businesses, home workers and those familiar with telecoms jargon. But they’ve since simplified their packages for home users (Home::1) and continue to offer strong reliability and extremely knowledgeable support staff that often go out of their way to help customers, which earns them plenty of praise (AAISP Reviews).

Prices typically to start at around £25 per month for a standard home broadband service with a 100GB usage allowance (+£10 per 50GB top-up) and you can add a superfast FTTC line for an extra +£10 per month. Native IPv6 support and a free router are some of the highlights, not to mention the usual phone line and calling solutions (line rental from an extra +£10 a month). Bigger allowances and faster speeds are also available at extra cost.

Pros:
• Speed
• Support
• Additional Services
• Honesty (everything is in the open)

Cons:
• Price
• Jargon (could confuse some people)

IDNet

A generally strong and reliable ISP (IDNet Reviews) that focuses more on businesses but still has a soft spot for home workers too, provided you don’t mind paying a bit extra. Prices start at £19.80 inc. VAT per month (up to 20Mbps speed, 25GB usage) and this rises to £27 if you want a superfast broadband (FTTC) connection. Take note that £25.80 will get you a monthly data usage allowance of 100GB (£35.40 if you connect with FTTC).

All packages come with anti-virus/spam filtering, static IP, native IPv6 support, a 1 month contract (except FTTC that requires 12 months) and these can also be bundled alongside a phone service from an extra +£12 per month (various free call options are also available at extra cost).

Pros:
• Speed
• Support

Cons:
• Usage Allowance
• Price

XILO (Uno Broadband)

Despite a few autumn 2013 gripes about customer service, which mostly appeared to afflict their sales contacts rather than support, XILO has otherwise continued to be a highly rated ISP (XILO Reviews) and thus they maintain their position as a recommended choice; though the presentation of their broadband packages could benefit from a little more clarity and less platform type jargon.

Prices start at £13.99 inc. VAT per month for an up to 24Mbps capable service with 10-100GB data usage and a static IP address. Each package also includes 250MB of UK web and email space, plus unlimited email addresses protected by security. A superfast broadband (FTTC) service is also available from £22.99 with speeds of up to 40Mbps and a 15-125GB usage allowance (unlimited overnight usage).

Pros:
• Speed
• Price (Pro Package)
• Additional Services

Cons:
• Some will be confused by the jargon rich package names

ICUK

A moderately well priced ISP that continues to hold plenty of positive feedback in our review system (ICUK Reviews), although their extensive array of broadband packages and platforms could confuse some customers. The ISP also offers a nice range of phone line rental / call services and most packages include email, anti-virus/spam filtering and even static IPv6 addresses.

Prices start at just £10 per month for a bog standard up to 24Mbps package with a 4GB usage allowance, while £25 will get you an unlimited (LLU) service. The ISP also offers an expensive mix of superfast broadband (FTTC and FTTP) options, with prices starting from £20 for a 10GB usage allowance (plus 50GB off-peak).

Pros:
• Speed
• Support
• Additional Services

Cons:
• Some packages only offer small usage allowances
• FTTC/P options can be expensive

Aquiss

Aquiss might not have the same historic reputation for quality as some of the others above but they’ve still managed to carve a nice corner of the market out for themselves and receive a lot of general praise (Aquiss Reviews). They’re also one of the few ISPs to offer a home phone line rental service alongside a 1 month contract from £13 inc. VAT per month. On the other hand the loss of their cheaper LLU packages make the service look a lot less attractive than last year.

Prices tend to start at £27 per month for a 19Mbps connection with unlimited usage (includes a static IP address, email, email security) and the option of a 1 month contract. Meanwhile those who want a superfast 38Mbps (FTTC) connection will have to shell out a hefty £36 per month but they do get unlimited usage and IPv6 support.

Pros:
• Speed
• Support
• Honesty about extra charges

Cons:
• Price