{"id":23930,"date":"2021-05-29T00:01:01","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T23:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=23930"},"modified":"2021-05-30T06:25:54","modified_gmt":"2021-05-30T05:25:54","slug":"comparison-of-uk-isps-on-openreachs-fttp-broadband-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/05\/comparison-of-uk-isps-on-openreachs-fttp-broadband-network.html","title":{"rendered":"ISP Choices on Openreach’s UK FTTP Broadband Network 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this short article we attempt to clear up some of the confusion over ISP choices on Openreach<\/a>’s new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP<\/a>) based “ultrafast broadband<\/em>” (100Mbps+) network, which usually occurs once people realise that it\u2019s not yet available from all the UK market’s internet providers.<\/p>\n

Historically people have tended to assume that all the most popular ISPs, except for Virgin Media<\/a>, will support Openreach<\/a>’s latest technologies, but that isn’t always the case. Several reasons for this exists, although the key issues relate to limited network availability, capacity (some ISPs have to upgrade first), the cost \/ time required to adapt existing systems to a new product and the fact that the market today is full of many alternative FTTP<\/a> networks (summary<\/a>).<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> Openreach<\/a> covers c.4.8 million UK premises with FTTP<\/a> (build rate of c.43,000 per week) and they’re investing c.\u00a315bn<\/a> to reach 25 million by December 2026.<\/div>\n

Nevertheless, over the past couple of years many more providers have begun to offer Openreach based FTTP packages, including major ISPs like Sky Broadband<\/a> and TalkTalk<\/a> that initially appeared to shun it. At the end of the day none of the main ISPs can afford to ignore the network provider’s significant commitment to build, which will make it the largest full fibre operator in the UK.<\/p>\n

Suffice to say that many consumers have been left feeling confused about what their choices are. In response, we’ve extracted a few of the more consumer friendly Openreach-based options from our UK ISP Listings<\/strong><\/a> to help. But this guide is not intended to be an exhaustive list, just a reasonably reflective one.<\/p>\n

ISP Options for Openreach’s FTTP Network<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

In order to narrow this list down we’re only going to cover those ISPs that offer packages based off Openreach’s 160Mbps download \/ 30Mbps upload tier at more consumer affordable prices. This package is probably one of the network’s most popular “ultrafast broadband<\/em>” tiers due to its attractive balance of speed and affordability. On ISPs that don’t offer this, we’ll take the closest ultrafast tier (usually 115Mbps or 100Mbps) – listed separately at the bottom of the table.<\/p>\n

On top of that we’ve excluded some of the more expensive business focused providers, as well as those that lacked enough package detail, failed to clearly display whether their prices included VAT, or where we couldn\u2019t be certain whether the packages were even Openreach based. We have not taken a view on the service quality of these providers, so the list below should NOT be taken as a table of recommendations.<\/p>\n

Something else to note is that we aren’t highlighting any of the other value added features that may come with these packages, such as cloud backup, static IP addresses, access to public WiFi<\/a> hotspots and phone services etc. The table below is merely intended as a quick guide to the cheapest monthly options.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> All of these packages include unlimited data usage, except AAISP’s where we used their 2 TeraByte option. Some ISPs discount the price for their first contract term, so for those we’ve put the post-contract price in brackets. Data is from early April 2021.<\/div>\n

Summary of 160Mbps UK ISP Plans (Openreach)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
ISP<\/strong><\/td>\nPrice<\/strong><\/td>\nUpfront (New Install)<\/strong><\/td>\nContract<\/strong><\/td>\nFree Router<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TalkTalk<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a332 (\u00a339.95)<\/td>\n\u00a34.95<\/td>\n24<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sky Broadband<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a335 (\u00a340)<\/td>\n\u00a39.95<\/td>\n18<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EE<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a339 (\u00a344)<\/td>\n\u00a325<\/td>\n18<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BT<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a339.99 (\u00a347.99)<\/td>\n\u00a39.99<\/td>\n24<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
iDNET<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a342<\/td>\n\u00a360<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vispa<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a346 (\u00a352)<\/td>\n\u00a37.95<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Optanet<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a348<\/td>\n\u00a30<\/td>\n24<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aquiss<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a348<\/td>\n\u00a30<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Freeola<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a349.99<\/td>\n\u00a348<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cerberus Networks<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a352.80<\/td>\n\u00a348<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Juice Broadband<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a352.99<\/td>\n?<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Structured Communications<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a352.99<\/td>\n\u00a360<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Distance Voice<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a355.14<\/td>\n\u00a364.80<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spectrum Internet<\/td>\n\u00a356.99<\/td>\n\u00a349<\/td>\n24<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spitfire<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a358.80<\/td>\n\u00a315<\/td>\n24<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
AAISP<\/td>\n\u00a360<\/td>\n\u00a3100<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I Need Broadband<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a369.99<\/td>\n\u00a349.99<\/td>\n24<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vodafone<\/a> (115\/20Mbps tier)<\/td>\n\u00a326 (\u00a329)<\/td>\n\u00a30<\/td>\n24<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pulse 8<\/a> (115\/20Mbps tier)<\/td>\n\u00a336<\/td>\n\u00a399<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zen Internet<\/a> (115\/20Mbps tier)<\/td>\n\u00a338.99<\/td>\n\u00a329.99<\/td>\n18<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No One<\/a> (Trunk Networks<\/a>) (115\/20Mbps tier) *<\/td>\n\u00a339.99<\/td>\n\u00a30.00<\/td>\n24<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1310<\/a> (115\/20Mbps tier)<\/td>\n\u00a346.20<\/td>\n?<\/td>\n12<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Giganet<\/a> (220\/30Mbps tier) *<\/td>\n\u00a335-\u00a359<\/td>\n\u00a39.95-\u00a355<\/td>\n12-24<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n