About SSE broadband deals
In this guide
- What is SSE broadband?
- Our latest SSE broadband deals
- What does SSE broadband offer?
- Why choose SSE broadband?
- Pros and cons of SSE broadband
- Frequently asked questions
What is SSE broadband?
SSE is one of the UK’s best-known energy providers. Since 2015, it has provided a range of broadband deals in addition to gas and electricity, offering a budget-priced alternative to the established telecoms companies like BT and Sky. Like most UK broadband providers, it provides its service through BT’s Openreach network: see our broadband jargon guide for more on what this means. In August 2022, SSE’s parent company, OVO Energy, agreed to sell SSE Broadband to TalkTalk, but for now, nothing will change for SSE Broadband and phone customers.
What does SSE broadband offer?
All SSE’s broadband deals come with a free wireless router and the promise of no price hikes during the 18 or 24 months of the contract. There’s no exit fee if you decide you’re not happy within the first 60 days, but the deals do include a set-up fee. SSE doesn’t have a TV service and it doesn’t offer any mobile or SIM-only contracts.
- Fibre broadband – SSE previously offered an ADSL broadband package, but the company dropped this in 2019 to focus on fibre broadband. There are currently three standard SSE fibre broadband packages: Unlimited Broadband provides average speeds of 11Mbps, Unlimited Fibre provides average speeds of 35Mbps, and Unlimited Fibre Plus promises average speeds of 63Mbps. If you want greater speeds (of up to 900Mbps), you can purchase a special Full Fibre package.
- Home phone – All SSE’s broadband deals come with line rental included but you’ll have to pay extra for any phone calls you make unless you add a calls package. There’s Evening and Weekend calls and Anytime calls, both of which cover local, national and UK mobile calls. And there’s Anytime Plus, which also includes calls to landlines in 50 countries.
Why choose SSE broadband?
SSE promises ‘frustration-free broadband’, which plays into the company’s wider ethos of finding ways to help its customers save money and make their lives easier. Specifically, these are the things SSE does to make its broadband frustration-free.
- Price promise – SSE promises not to hike the price of your broadband during your 18 or 24 months contract. Although it makes a point of saying VAT and other relevant taxes aren’t included in this promise – SSE is talking about your broadband package price, including the line rental and any call packages you’ve added.
- Happiness Guarantee – If you’re not completely happy with the service you’re getting from SSE, you can leave for free in the first 60 days. This is quite a bit longer than the 14-day cooling-off period you get with most providers.
- OVO Live – OVO Live is the rewards program for SSE customers that allows members to buy event tickets before they go on general sale, apply for upgrades to OVO lounges, and enter competitions. It applies to events at The OVO Hydro in Glasgow and The OVO Arena, Wembley. The rewards program was previously known as SSE Rewards but took its new name following the 2020 sale of SSE Energy Services to OVO Energy, a British energy provider.
Pros and cons of SSE broadband
Pros
- Generally low broadband prices
- 60-day cooling off period with no exit fees
- Unlimited downloads
- Fixed prices for the duration of your contract
- Reward scheme offers the chance to buy presale event tickets
Cons
- No option for TV bundles
- Few extras
Frequently asked questions
Does SSE run credit checks?
Yes, SSE does run credit and fraud prevention checks on its customers. If you’d rather not put yourself through that, we have already gathered the best broadband deals with no credit checks.
Does SSE do traffic management?
Yes, SSE is one of the increasingly few broadband providers that still operates a traffic management policy. This means it prioritises certain types of internet traffic over others when the network gets busy. For example, the company prioritizes video-conferencing and audio-conferencing over typical web-browsing and download traffic that is not time-sensitive.
Does SSE broadband offer a discount for SSE energy customers?
No, there’s no discount for existing energy customers. SSE used to charge a surplus to non-SSE energy customers signing up to broadband, but scrapped this a while back.
Are SSE’s broadband deals unlimited?
Yes, all SSE’s broadband deals are unlimited. This means there’s no download limit, although SSE does have traffic management and acceptable use policies.
How easy is it to switch to SSE broadband?
Like all widely available broadband providers in the UK, other than Virgin Media, SSE uses the Openreach network to offer its broadband services. Switch from any other provider on the same network and SSE will contact your old provider on your behalf. It’ll tell you when your broadband is going live and send you a wireless router in the post with instructions on what to do with it.
How do I get in touch with SSE broadband?
You can call SSE broadband on 0345 071 9886 from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and from 8am to 2pm on Saturdays. Or use the online form on the SSE website.
Can I use my own wireless router?
Yes, you can use your own router if you already have one to access SSE's broadband services.