No matter your purpose in using the internet - gaming, work, hobbies, anything else - no one wants bad internet. Bad or slow internet can make some tasks arduous or downright impossible. Because of this, it’s crucial to know that you’re getting a good broadband deal.
Glasgow enjoys many great options that you can use for quick and effective internet. If you have been looking for which broadband deal is right for you, look no further. Here are five of the best options and what sets them apart from each other.
NOW Broadband Fab Fibre
One of the first to look at is one of the most popular, and for a good reason. NOW Broadband is known for its cheap but good broadband deals. It’s become one of the more popular options for this excellent combination.
One of the more used plans is the Fab Fibre, which sits at a middle ground for their plans. The Fab Fibre plan comes at an extremely affordable monthly price and the possibility of upgrading it to their Super plan for even better service.
Another excellent perk is availability, as there’s nowhere in Glasgow that NOW Broadband doesn’t service. This makes it easy to look into NOW without concerns over whether it will service your location.
Their deal also comes with an extremely cheap setup, meaning getting started isn’t going to break your bank. You can even pay month-to-month instead of a yearly contract in case you don’t want to lock yourself in.
Even if you do decide to use the 12-month contract, this is much shorter than most contracts will lock you in. That means you won’t be stuck with a deal you end up disliking for some reason. Overall, it can be difficult to beat NOW Broadband, which is why they’re at the top of our list.
Pros
- Extremely affordable
- Monthly or annual contract options
- Includes phone plans for anytime calls
- Good speeds, though better exist
Cons
- There may not be a versatile enough plan for every need
BT Fibre 1
BT Fibre 1 is another highly effective choice for Glasgow residents. It also has the perk of being widely available, helping make sure that nearly any resident of Glasgow can enrol in it. Additionally, some parts of the city enjoy even better service, with speeds up to 900 Mbps.
BT is also renowned for its “stay fast guarantee,” which guarantees a minimum broadband speed. Some providers don’t do this, meaning your speed can drop to nearly unusable levels. BT’s guarantee makes it so that you’ll never have your internet reduced below a certain rate.
In addition to this, BT is known for having fantastic customer service. This is especially the case when helping you set up, meaning it won’t be too difficult to get up and running.
That isn’t to say that BT is without any sort of cons, though. One thing that can be problematic is that you’ll need to commit yourself for at least 24 months. If you aren’t happy with the service for some reason, a two-year contract can be extremely frustrating.
They also aren’t cheap, with their setup cost especially being a bit steep for some. Still, BT Fibre 1 is an excellent plan for service and speed. Consider the following as pros and cons:
Pros
- Widely available and accessible
- Ultrafast speeds depending on location
- Never dip below a minimum speed
- Reasonable monthly prices
Cons
- Lengthy lock-in for contracts of 24-months
- Higher-than-average cost to setup
Virgin Media M100
The third on our list is Virgin Media M100, which thoroughly earns its spot on this list as well. However, it has a few drawbacks that the plans I’ve discussed thus far don’t share.
For example, it isn’t as widely available throughout the city. Much of Glasgow will find themselves unable to use this plan simply because of this. If you can get your hands on it, though, you’ll enjoy some fantastic broadband speeds of more than 350 Mbps.
Virgin Media isn’t a cheap plan, being one of the more expensive options on this list. The M100 plan gives great value with a download speed of more than 100 Mbps for a solid price monthly. You can also enjoy television and phone add-ons with a number of packages to choose from.
Pros
- Extremely high speeds
- Good value at speed-to-cost
- Fantastic choices of television and calling add-ons
Cons
- More expensive than many competitors
- Not as widely available as some other plans
Vodafone Pro Broadband
Vodafone is an excellent provider that gives a few deals that aren’t dissimilar from the BT packages I mentioned above. They also have the added perk of being widely available throughout Glasgow.
Vodafone is a bit cheaper than BT, however. They also don’t charge any setup costs on any of their broadband plans. This makes them a wonderful choice for someone working on a budget.
The main drawback to Vodafone is that there’s a 24-month minimum to their contracts, but new customers get freebies. You can know more about Vodafone broadband free gifts here.
On the upside, the service includes a phone line rental. You receive unlimited calls throughout the UK and some solid broadband speeds. Another drawback is that Vodafone doesn’t give a minimum speed to their services, using an average instead.
Pros
- Solid and affordable monthly prices
- Commonly send gifts and reward cards to customers
- Includes anytime calls
- Widely available throughout Glasgow
Cons
- No guarantees on a minimum speed
- 24-month minimum lock-in
TalkTalk Faster Fibre
The last of the five plans for us to discuss is TalkTalk Faster Fibre. TalkTalk offers some fantastic deals for cheap, making it a wonderful provider to go for if you’re on a budget. However, there are a few cons that come with that low price.
For example, TalkTalk doesn’t offer ultra-fast fibre optics like I’ve discussed a couple of times now. They also use minutes instead of unlimited calling, which can turn away those that want broadband for phone use as well.
There’s also a 30-day window for your satisfaction guarantee, making it difficult to go back if you decide you aren’t a fan of your plan. A minimum speed is absent again, opting for a minimum.
Still, the low prices come with the added benefit of a lower contract lock. You will only need to commit for 18 months rather than the usual 24 that many plans request. They’re also extremely flexible, allowing you to switch around on extra addon packs as you need. This benefit of customisation is highly useful and adaptable to your changing needs.
Pros
- Versatile and flexible for customisation
- Highly affordable
- Low commitment at 18-month contracts
Cons
- Lack of ultra-fast fibre optics
- Use of minutes for calling and telephone plans
- 30-day window on satisfaction guarantee
- Average speeds rather than minimums
Glasgow Broadband Buyer’s Guide
Now that you know about five excellent plans, how can you pick? This list of frequently asked questions is a great guide towards deciding what broadband plan in Glasgow best fits your needs.
Who offers the fastest broadband in Glasgow?
As far as all of Glasgow goes, it’s challenging to pick a clear winner. Your location in the city can drastically impact how fast the plan you’re using is, for example. I mentioned above that plans like Virgin Media’s M100 are extremely fast, but only if you happen to be where it services.
Ultrafast speeds are generally considered to be around 300 Mbps and higher. A good way to do this is to visit websites like Hyperoptic and put in your postcode. This can show if they service the area around you. You can do the same for Virgin Media and BT.
The fastest broadband depends on your location and the deals available to you. This can take a bit of research, but you won’t regret going for the highest speeds you can find in the future.
What is the average internet speed in Glasgow?
Glasgow has a spot on the list of the top 100 fastest major cities in the United Kingdom. That said, Glasgow isn’t exactly at the top, and their speeds are actually lower than average for much of the UK.
The average internet speed in Glasgow is about 51.55 Mbps. Despite being low on the list, this is still faster than the average user will actually need, though faster is always better. 51.55 Mbps is roughly 20% lower than the average speed of 66.05 Mbps in the United Kingdom.
How much will I pay for broadband in Glasgow?
Obviously, this will completely depend on the plan that you choose. Of the five that I mentioned, you could expect an average of around £20 or so a month. This was the average given by BT at the start of our list, and many of the plans mentioned here were close in cost.
However, you can spend much more - or much less - than that monthly on different packages. Different add-ons can increase the price drastically, or you could lower the price by lowering your service. The plans mentioned above are only a sampling of the many available plans.
The plans given here were also ones designed to give great service at a great cost. You can likely find significantly cheaper plans, but they’ll likely offer much worse service.
I highly advise that you don’t cheap out on your broadband. The reason is that having an internet service that ends up barely usable can be an enormous detriment. Trying to save a couple of bucks and ending up with bad internet ends up just being a huge waste of money.
How do I decide how much bandwidth I need?
Bandwidth is a tricky thing to decide. Most individual services - streaming services like Netflix, for example - won’t use much with maybe around 5 Mbps of bandwidth. If that’s all you need for most services, why go for more?
The trick is that it also depends on how many people will be using it. If you live alone, you can likely go for less bandwidth than if there are four or five people under your roof.
However, make sure that you aren’t picking a plan that becomes useless if you have guests over that connect to the wifi individually. Added company means more people using the wifi, which can immediately drain your bandwidth.
There are a few online speed calculators you can use to help decide on what would be best for you. It’s a good idea to overshoot how much you’ll need. You’ll regret not having enough, but it’s hard to believe that you’ll ever regret having too much bandwidth.
What broadband contract length should I use?
The contract length is extremely personal and depends entirely on your needs and expectations. Still, there are a few factors that you might want to consider.
If you go for a longer commitment, there’s a good chance that your monthly costs will be lower. This can make it much more affordable to lock into a two-year contract, as the monthly costs can end up low enough that your wallet barely feels it.
Service providers also have a habit of increasing costs once a contract ends, meaning a longer contract gets cheaper service. If you intend to move soon, though, locking into a two-year contract or longer will likely be detrimental.
You might not use the same ISP at your new address, or that could even not be an option, depending on your provider’s coverage. You might also only want to use the ISP as a trial before you commit to years, and a lengthy trial likely isn’t favourable.
You also will want to consider how frequently you actually use the accommodations in question. For example, if you’re a student, you might not be at the accommodations during summers or holidays.
The same goes for if you intend to graduate soon - why lock into a two-year contract if you’re graduating in six months? It depends on your needs and expectations. If you expect to move soon, a month-to-month contract such as the NOW plan mentioned above could be perfect.
On the other hand, if you intend to be there for the future and are satisfied with your ISP, a lengthy contract can keep costs much lower than other plans. Weigh your requirements to judge what sort of plan best suits you.
How much broadband data will I get?
This aspect, again, is completely dependent on your plan. That said, there’s no reason to go for anything limited in today’s day and age. The best plans in urban cities like Glasgow are ones that offer unlimited downloads.
Thankfully, this has become commonplace enough that most providers are likely to offer it. You shouldn’t have much of a struggle on your hands finding a plan that gives unlimited downloads.
That said, there are budget plans that will give you a data cap.
This is especially true with mobile broadband. The amount of broadband data you get is dependent on your plan, so look into your monthly needs and what’s on offer. Again, it’s always better to have too much data than not enough and find your plan unusable.
Staying Connected
In conclusion, Glasgow enjoys a great number of deals that you can look through. Nearly any lifestyle will be able to find the right broadband plan. Different lengths, budgets, data, and speed needs are easy to shop for with the wealth of options that Glasgow has available.
If you have further questions, make sure to browse the rest of our site for more information on Glasgow service providers.