BE broadband

About BE Broadband

BE Broadband (www.bethere.co.uk) was one of Britain's less well-known broadband providers, offering a competitive service with award-winning speed and reliability.

In March 2013, BE broadband and its sister company O2 broadband - both of which are owned by Spanish company Telefonica - were bought out by telecoms giant, Sky.

Sky will be in contact with all O2 and BE broadband customers about the options available to them before their service is switched later in 2013.

The news was met with some negative reaction from O2 and BE broadband customers who were concerned their service will get worse or who took issue with Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation owning a controlling stake in Sky.

However, potential upsides to the takeover are: the possibility that O2/BE broadband customers could be offered the option to bundle Sky TV with their broadband, potentially reducing the cost of their combined broadband, phone and TV services. It may also mean fibre broadband will become an option for BE broadband customers.

Jeremy Darroch, chief executive of Sky said of the takeover: "We believe the O2 and BE consumer broadband and telephony business is a great fit, with customers used to high-quality products and strong levels of customer service. We look forward to welcoming these new customers to Sky and giving them access to our wide range of high-quality, great value and industry-leading customer service."

BE Broadband packages

BE Broadband's packages remain unchanged at present despite the sale to Sky.

BE Broadband's Value broadband package offers download speeds of up to 10Mb, but if you're a heavier downloader, BE Unlimited provides speeds of up to 16Mb.

If you work from home or do a lot of gaming online then BE Broadband's Pro package could be the one for you, delivering higher upload speeds - at up to 1.9Mb - than the Value and Unlimited packages, which offer upload speeds of up to 1.1Mb.

It's worth pointing out that all BE Broadband packages give you unlimited broadband with no set usage limit.

Although users are subject to a fair usage policy , it is only implemented in extreme cases where usage is affecting other members or if illegal content is being downloaded. This could make BE Broadband a great choice for heavy downloaders.

The BE Broadband service

As well as fast, reliable broadband, all BE customers receive a free wireless modem, the BE Box.

Remember, as with all broadband connections, the speed advertised is the maximum you should expect to receive. The actual bandwidth will depend on how close you are to your local telephone exchange, the quality of the copper wire connection to your home and signal interference.

Visit the BE Broadband review page to see how BE Broadband customers rated the service they received.

BE Broadband benefits

At present BE Broadband customers can manage their accounts online, allowing them to make changes to their service as well as letting them access a range of extra options.

BE Broadband also offers you the opportunity to 'Build Your Own' broadband package, or you can double the download speeds you receive by bonding two lines at the local exchange.

Customers on BE Unlimited and Pro packages, who don't want to commit to a long contract, can choose to pay a higher fee each month in exchange for a three-month contract. BE's Value package is only available on a 12-month contract.

BE Broadband awards and accreditations

Despite being the winner in range of categories in the broadbandchoices Customer Satisfaction Awards 2011, BE Broadband was not a winner or highly commended in any category in the broadbandchoices Customer Satisfaction Awards 2012.

However, in February BE Broadband was named a Which? Recommended Provider, achieving an overall customer score of 76%, the second-highest overall customer score achieved.

Our expert's verdict

Michael Phillips, broadbandchoices managing director, said: "BE Broadband's reliable broadband has been a great choice for broadband users no matter what their needs, with its generous fair usage policy and customisable broadband it is particularly suited to gamers and heavy downloaders. We will watch with interest how the takeover of BE Broadband by Sky progresses and how this impacts on the service that BE Broadband customers receive."