Why you should use a broadband checker and switch provider

Dan Howdle | March 27th, 2024

In this blog, we're going to go into the detail on both why you should be checking you're getting the best broadband deal by comparing those available where you live, and what you might reasonably expect to save. We'll also address concerns of the perceived 'hassle' of switching, and demonstrate how it amounts to very little compared to the large sums of money you could be saving.

Broadband where you live: What's available and why it matters

There are currently half a dozen different types of broadband technology available. Broadband, contrary to what many may assume, is not just 'one thing' but instead a patchwork of technologies delivering digital connectivity at different speeds and in different ways. Here's a quick overview of the different technologies available. Understanding which technologies are available where you live is the first step to understanding what you can get, while seeing what you can get remains as easy as entering your postcode into our broadband checker.

Broadly speaking, the trend is that the more available the technology, the less desirable it tends to be. Satellite broadband, for example, can be purchased so long as your home has a view of the sky – so, everywhere. But, it should be considered a last resort, because it suffers with big latency problems and tends to be very expensive.

Likewise, Virgin Media and any provider offering Full Fibre via Openreach (all the others: Sky, TalkTalk, BT and so on) should be considered the most desirable, and yet are only available to around two thirds and one third of homes respectively.

Hopefully, this snapshot has helped you to undertand the picture you see when you enter your postcode into a broadband checker. You can only get the types of technology that are available in your street, and the type of technology available dictate both the providers and the speeds available at your address.

The cost of loyalty and laziness

Despite many interventions by the UK communications regulator Ofcom, broadband providers continue to get away with whatever they can. Some years ago, Ofcom stopped providers from advertising 'free broadband' while putting the cost into a separate figure called 'line rental', for example. More recently, Ofcom forced providers to offer their customers the opportunity to leave their contract free of charge in the case of mid-contract price hikes – providers now get around that completely by setting out future price rises in the contract you sign when you sign up. It's the same practice, but you no longer have the opportunity to leave!

Perhaps worst of all, there remains no rules that prevent providers from hiking the price of your broadband substantially when the term of your contract ends after 12, 18 or 24 months.

You'd think, wouldn't you, that when a broadband package goes from £30 per month to £45 per month, and our provider has informed you that's what they're doing, most customers would immediately go and find a better deal. But sadly, that's just not the case with many perceiving the exampled additional £15 per month as worth the money not to have to go through the hassle of getting a new broadband providers, setting up the equipment and so on.

But think about it this way: It's not £15 more. It's £180 more per year. And worse, your provider is going to keep ratcheting that price up at least once a year. From a customer's perspective, it's thorwing away money in the worst possible way, and more often than not for no reason at all.

Here's an example of just how much not changing your broadband provider at the end of your contract could end up costing you:

It gets so much worse

Believe it or not, the above example, which we're sure you'll agree is quite shocking when laid out in black and white, is by no means at the harsher end of customer experience. Some loyal customers are paying double or more the monthly price of other customers on the same deal, simply through not taking a few minutes to switch.

Even if you think it's going to be a hassle to do (it's not, and we'll get into that next), you have to ask if a few minutes of your time is worth hundreds and hundreds of pounds down the drain. Loyalty is never rewarded, and your broadband provider is not your friend.

Switching broadband is usually quick, easy and hassle-free

For most people, choosing a new broadband deal is a very straightforward process, though what you're switching from and to does play a part in just how easy it ultimately turns out to be. In this section we're going to talk your through three different types of switch, how to go about them and what they involve. Hopefully this will put paid to any notion that switching broadband to save money is somehow a drag or not worth your time.

Switching from one Openreach provider to another

More than 650 broadband providers use the Openreach network to deliver broadband to homes around the UK. That number may sound shockingly high, but that's because there are an enormous number of small, local providers that rent network capacity from Openreach to provide their service. From the point of view of the average broadband customer, the Openreach providers you need to be aware of are:

• Sky Broadband
• BT Broadband
• NOW Broadband
• TalkTalk
• Plusnet
• Vodafone Broadband
• EE Broadband
• Shell Energy Broadband

These providers are available ubiquitously – wherever the Openreach extends. For the chances of getting different speeds you can refer to the table at the top of this page.

So, if you're switching between any of these providers (one to another), the process is the simplests of all. Here are the steps:

1. Choose a new broadband deal

Compare broadband deals using our postcode checker, choose a new broadband deal, click through and buy it.

2. Wait for connection date

Typically, this is one to two weeks, but since you're switching from one provider to another on the same network, this tends to be the fastest type of switch.

3. Plug in your new router

Once your new router arrives in the post, plug it in and you're off. Your old provider may need you to return their equipment. They will let you know if this is the case and usually provide you a pre-paid box to send it back in.

Check your area now

Switching between Virgin Media and Openreach

If you're switching between Virgin Media to an Openreach provider the process is the same, albeit with one important difference. You will have to inform your existing provider of the switch. This is because Virgin Media and Openreach do not share a database of customers and so neither will know if you've signed up to another provider until you tell them. The process, and the order, is therefore:

1. Choose a new broadband deal

Compare broadband deals using our postcode checker, choose a new broadband deal, click through and buy it.

2. Inform your existing provider you're leaving

Only after signing up to a new deal can you then inform your existing provider you're leaving. Your existing provider may try to persuade you to stay, but it's unlikely they will be able to match the terms of the new deal you've just chosen and certainly won't match any joining benefits like cashback or vouchers and so on.

3. Wait for connection date

Typically, this is one to two weeks, but since you're switching from one provider to another on the same network, this tends to be the fastest type of switch.

4. Plug in your new router

Once your new router arrives in the post, plug it in and you're off. Your old provider may need you to return their equipment. They will let you know if this is the case and usually provide you a pre-paid box to send it back in.

Check your area now

Switching when you have both broadband and TV

Things do get a little more 'sticky' when it comes to switching when you have a broadband and TV deal because different providers that offer some form of TV subscription (Sky, Virgin Media, EE, TalkTalk) do not mirror one another in terms of what they offer. You can only get Sky Atlantic and Sky Box Sets (including HBO content) from Sky directly for example. Virgin Media matches most of what Sky offers in terms of channels, but there are those notable omissions.

Likewise, lesser TV providers such BT (now EE TV), EE (also EE TV) and TalkTalk (TalkTalk TV), offer their channels and bolt-on services in different ways and via TV boxes of varying quality. Unlike broadband, there is no like for like.

However, the process of switching remains straightforward, albeit with more attention now needing to be paid to whether your TV service requires an engineer visit to install and the added hardware you're going to need to return to your existing provider:

1. Choose a new broadband and TV deal

Compare broadband deals using our postcode checker, choose a new broadband deal, click through and buy it.

2. Inform your existing provider you're leaving

If you're switching between Virgin Media and another provider, either way, you will need to inform you're existing provider you're leaving after getting a new deal. Same applies here as it does for broadband alone in that respect.

3. Wait for connection date

Typically, this is one to two weeks, but since you're switching from one provider to another on the same network, this tends to be the fastest type of switch.

4. Plug in your new router and TV equipment

Virgin TV will send an engineer to install this for you. Sky will too if you're going for Sky Q (satellite) but not necessary if you chose Sky Stream. The other providers are all plug and play. You will need to return your old equipment to your existing provider, which will provide you the means to do that.

Check your area now

New customer deals – a little something extra

The number one reason to switch broadband providers is the continually ratcheting monthly cost that sees you haemorrhaging money left, right and centre. Another, smaller consideration is that only new customer deals provide additional benefits such as cashback, vouchers, bill credit or free gifts. Once you've entered your postcode to see what you can get, it pays to also consider who is offering the best new customer sweetener.

New customer offers

These broadly come in five types. And you can filter your broadband comparison to 'deals with rewards and offers' in our broadband comparison to see just those. These types are:

• Cashback rewards: These typically arrive in the form of a pre-paid Mastercard, or 'Reward Card' you can spend anywhere and are claimable once you're set up and after your cancellation period
• Gift vouchers: As above, but the card can only be spent at a specific retailer. Often where these are offered you will have a choice of four or five cards, each applying to a different retailer
• Bill credit: Is an amount of money applied to your first bills until such time as it is spent. So if you have £90 bill credit and your monthly cost is £30 you'll get the first thee months free
• Free gifts: Somewhat more rare these days, but gifts do still apear from time to time. Recently Virgin Media was giving away a free 4K TV with some of its broadband and TV bundles, for example
• First X months free or reduced: Sometimes providers will give you the first six months at half-price for example, or the first three months free. The exact terms of these sorts of offeres will vary

Check your area now

Closing comments

It is, we hope you will now understand, less about paying as little as possible, and more about not throwing money away. Staying with your existing provider for years while quietly watching your monthly cost inflate is the worst possible way to get and maintain a home broadband connection. Compare, save, and don't throw away money. You will be astonished at just how easy it is to switch.