Broadband Guide

Unlimited broadband deals

By Editorial - news@consumerchoices.co.uk

"Unlimited broadband" is a phrase that’s used a lot by broadband providers advertising their packages. However, in many cases, “unlimited” doesn’t really mean you can download to your heart’s content.

The majority of "unlimited" broadband packages actually come with a fair usage policy, which may restrict your speeds at certain times of the day, or cap your downloads if your provider believes you are using their service excessively. Fair usage policies can also come in the form of traffic management policies or acceptable use policies, all of which essentially boil down to your internet usage not being 100% unlimited.

Some broadband providers advertise the limits of their fair usage policies while others prefer to keep their limits vague. The way that fair usage policies are applied also varies from one supplier to the next, with some ISPs throttling your speed if you download too much during peak hours, and others simply slowing you down if you download too much over the course of a whole month.

Fair usage policies may, at first glance, appear to be unreasonable on a package that is advertised as being "unlimited", but in reality they can be beneficial for the majority of us who have moderate internet usage. Fair usage policies are only usually applied to those people with the heaviest downloading appetites to prevent their usage slowing the broadband speed of others who are sharing their connection.

Up to 50 people may be sharing a single line coming from the exchange, this is referred to as the contention ratio, and if one user is downloading excessively, it will reduce the connection speeds received by others sharing the same line.

Unlimited broadband without a 'fair use' policy

Broadband without a fair use policy is available on Virgin Media's (www.Virginmedia.com) up to 50Mb XXL Package. Other Virgin broadband packages have speeds up to 30Mb and unlimited downloads subject to an "acceptable use" policy.

Sky (www.Sky.com) also offer unlimited broadband without a fair usage policy – this is, unsurprisingly, with Sky's "Broadband Unlimited" package. Call Sky on 0844 241 1407 to find out more.

Cheap unlimited broadband

However, if you are one of the many light-to-moderate users, an unlimited broadband plan with a fair use policy, could be better value.

Unlimited broadband is also available from TalkTalk (www.talktalk.co.uk). Under its fair usage policy, TalkTalk Plus customers have no restrictions on surfing streamed content like BBC iPlayer or online gaming applications.

BE (www.bethere.co.uk) also offer broadband with unlimited downloads as standard, subject to a fair use policy. However, BE insists that it doesn't shape or cap speeds in any way. According to BE, its fair use policy will only affect you if "you're downloading illegal materials, spamming, abusing the network in some way, or your usage is affecting other members".

Last but not least, Plusnet's (www.Plus.net) Extra package has a 60GB download allowance, and unlimited overnight downloads. However, it may also experience traffic management at busy times of the day. Plusnet has highly competitive tariffs and could work for you if you're on a budget.

What is a set download limit?

Broadband packages with set download allowances allow you to download a certain amount of data each month. You won’t be cut off if you reach that limit, but you will be charged for any data you use outside of your download allowance.

Use our free Broadband Download Monitor to track how much you download each month and make sure that you never get charged for exceeding your limit.

Compare unlimited broadband packages

Use our free, Ofcom-accredited broadband comparison service to find a package that perfectly suits your needs as well as your budget - we will tell you the download limit and fair usage policy for each UK broadband package, as well as flagging up any other issues or added extras.

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