No-contract broadband

A rolling contract offers you flexibility as it doesn’t tie you down for 12-24 months like a traditional broadband contract.

You can find rolling contracts of different lengths, but a monthly rolling contract lets you cancel your deal and switch at the end of the month. That makes it easier to switch to newer deals. The downside is that rolling contracts can be more expensive.

The shortest agreement most providers offer is broadband for a month. You may see this advertised as rolling one-month contract broadband, which means you need to give 30 days’ notice to leave. Do that and you won’t be charged for cancelling.

Six-month rolling contracts are much harder to find these days. Although you may still come across them, you’ll have fewer options to choose from. That means you’re unlikely to have the best choice of broadband deals.

Many providers in the UK offer no-contract broadband deals, including Now Broadband (from Sky), Hyperoptic, Virgin Media and Cuckoo. Unfortunately, networks like TalkTalk and Plusnet don’t offer no-contract broadband.

If no-contract broadband doesn’t work for you, you may want to consider:

• Mobile broadband – depending on where you live, you could use a dongle to get online. However, this is more suitable for basic web browsing than streaming.
• Tethering – this is where you use your smartphone as an internet hub or WiFi hotspot, essentially ‘tethering’ it to your PC. If you’re on limited data, it will burn through your allowance, so watch out for excess data-usage charges.
• Student broadband – if you’re a student at university, you can sign up for a nine-month contract, so you won’t have to pay for broadband during the summer holidays.

Your broadband speed will depend on the type of connection you have:

• Fibre broadband – often called superfast broadband, this uses fibre-optic cables that run from your home to the street cabinet. This is known as fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) and gives you speeds of around 70 Mbps. According to Ofcom, the industry regulator, 97% of UK households use a superfast broadband service.
• Full fibre broadband – often referred to as ultrafast broadband, this uses the same fibre-optic cables, but connects them straight to your home. This is known as fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) and can provide speeds up to around 900 Mbps.
• Gigabit broadband – companies like G.Network and Virgin Media offer gigabit broadband, the fastest speeds of all. Delivering speeds of 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps) or more, this is a boon for busy households.

The broadband speed you need depends on how you use it. If you’re a large family or shared house that spends a fair amount of time streaming and gaming, you’ll need the speeds provided by superfast fibre optic broadband. If you live alone or only use the internet for light browsing, you could probably get away with less. 

No-contract broadband usually involves paying a one-off set-up fee. Set-up fees vary but you could pay as much as £60. You may see these fees included in your delivery charge.

If you don’t have a WiFi router or telephone line installed at the property, you’ll probably have to pay a connection charge. 

It should be fine to get a no-contract broadband deal if you’re moving home, as most broadband providers will let you move the service with you. But if you’re about to sign up to a long contract, it’s definitely worth making sure it’s portable.

Each broadband provider offers different services and what’s available to you depends on your postcode. Depending on where you’re moving, you might have to change your plan. Whether your service is portable comes down to the provider, your current deal and where you live.

Read our guide to broadband when moving home for more information. 

Yes, no-contract fibre broadband deals are available. However, you won’t find as much choice as most providers only offer longer-term fibre packages.

Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) home broadband isn’t available. But you can get PAYG mobile broadband without having to sign a contract or pay a monthly fee. Simply top up your account as and when you need data. This gives you flexibility if you only occasionally use the internet, but it could be more expensive than short-term broadband.

It’s possible to get no-contract broadband without line rental, but options are limited because most broadband is supplied through a landline. So, in most cases you’ll still have to pay for line rental, which will be included in your bill.