Our top NOW Broadband packages

About NOW Broadband

NOW Broadband offers a range of internet deals alongside its premium TV streaming memberships, allowing consumers to take all of their communications and entertainment services in one easy-to-manage bundle.

A subsidiary of Sky, NOW started out as an on-demand TV service similar to Netflix, offering easy access to some of Sky's most popular programming without the need for a lengthy contract or a satellite dish.

While it still offers a great range of entertainment, sports, movies and kids TV, it has also offers broadband deals that range from basic ADSL to superfast fibre broadband on both a contract and no-contract basis.

How good is NOW Broadband?

One area where NOW Broadband deals stand out from many other offerings in the UK is its flexibility. Unlike most providers, you don't have to be locked into a long-term contract with NOW Broadband, as all of its packages come with a choice of either a fixed 12-month contract or a rolling month-to-month deal.

This could be ideal if you're only living in your current address for a short period and won't need to bring your internet service with you when you move, for instance, since you’ll be free to end your service at any time without incurring cancellation fees. For example, NOW Broadband is ideal for student broadband.

You can bundle your NOW Broadband subscription with daily and monthly NOW TV membership, which are great if you only want to watch a specific event and don't want to be locked into a Sky Sports deal. For instance, you could pick up a weekly pass to cover an England cricket test, or buy monthly deals for the length of the Premier League season, allowing you to cancel it during the summer break.

As these services are delivered via online streaming, they're also perfect if you can't or don't want to add a satellite dish to your home.

Of course, there are some trade-offs for this flexibility. A rolling broadband deal will incur higher setup charges, so you'll need to decide if the flexibility is worth the extra cost. You'll also need to remind yourself to actively cancel your subscription when you don't need it, as otherwise your deal will automatically renew and you'll be billed every month.

NOW Broadband speeds

NOW Broadband has a number of packages available — Brilliant Broadband, Fab Fibre and Super Fibre. All these are available either as 12-month deals or on rolling one-month offers. They also come with line rental as pay-as-you-go phone services includes, or you can add unlimited evening and weekend or anytime calls for a small extra cost per month.

Which package is right for you will depend largely on what you want to do with your broadband. Higher speeds mean faster streaming and downloads, but may not be necessary for every user.

NOW Broadband subscribes to Ofcom's Voluntary Code of Practice on broadband speeds, which means it will show you a personalised guaranteed minimum speed for your address when you're signing up. If the provider can't meet this promise within 30 days, you'll have the right to cancel your NOW Broadband contract early without paying any termination fees.

NOW Brilliant Broadband

NOW Broadband's standard ADSL option, Brilliant Broadband is the cheapest way to get online with NOW Broadband and offers average download speeds of 11Mbps. However, this could vary widely depending on where you live and your distance from your local street cabinet, so it's important you check what speed you're likely to get before signing up.

This service is ideal for casual users who will mainly be surfing the web, streaming the occasional online video or browsing social media.

NOW Broadband Fab Fibre

For users who need a bit more speed, Fab Fibre offers average speeds of 36Mbps. Again, this may vary due to your location, among other factors, but as fibre is generally more reliable than ADSL, there should be less variation. It's still always worth checking before you commit, though.

Fab Fibre is aimed at users such as online gamers and frequent video streamers who demand a fast, consistent service that won't suffer from much lag or buffering, and should be ideal if you're also signing up to one of NOW's TV passes.

NOW Broadband Super Fibre

The fastest option available with a NOW Broadband package, Super Fibre, gives a further speed boost with an average speed of 63Mbps. This is perfect for larger homes where multiple users are expecting to be streaming, gaming or downloading all at the same time.

What is a good broadband speed?

What counts as a good broadband speed for you will depend on how you intend to use it. For instance, NOW Broadband recommends a minimum speed of 2.5Mbps for streaming, while Netflix suggests 5Mbps to ensure HD quality content. Meanwhile, ultra high-definition 4K services require around 25Mbps to work effectively.

Of course, these are just minimums, so if you want to guarantee a smooth experience, or will be using multiple devices at the same time in your home, faster services are highly useful. In general, the more devices you want to connect, the faster the speed you'll need.

What is the NOW Broadband speed in my area?

The broadband speed you get will be dependent on a number of factors, including whether fibre is available to your home and how far you live from your exchange, among other factors.

To find out what speeds you can expect, use the Uswitch Postcode Checker to see what's available in your area.

NOW TV

NOW is probably better known for its TV packages, offering a streaming alternative to Sky TV. Flexibility is at the heart of each NOW TV streaming subscription too, with each package or 'membership' available on a rolling monthly basis. NOW TV offers five different subscription packages: Entertainment, Sports, Movies, Kids, and hayu.

See what channels are on NOW TV to find out what channels and content you could get access to with a NOW TV membership.

NOW Broadband router and installation

All NOW Broadband packages come with a free NOW Broadband Hub 2 router, which provides dual-band wireless internet throughout your home, as well as two 1GB LAN ports for any wired connections you need to make.

NOW Broadband set-up

The router is simple to set up yourself and does not require an engineer visit. All you have to do is plug it into your home's master phone socket using the supplied cables. While you can use any phone socket in the home, using the master one — which is usually bigger than the others and may have an Openreach or BT logo — will guarantee the best possible speed.

All you have to do is plug the included microfilter into the socket, then plug your phone and router into the ports as labelled. However, if your socket is prefiltered (you can tell if it has two ports rather than one) you don't need the microfilter at all — just plug the router directly into the port, hook up the power cable, and you're good to go.

How to contact NOW Broadband

NOW Broadband has a series of online guides and FAQs to help you deal with the most common issues and queries, but it also offers real-time customer support online through its ‘Live Chat’ feature.

• Live Chat: NOW Broadband also has a live chat service that is available every day between 8am and midnight, which can be accessed via the company's help section.
• Top Articles and FAQs: Find step-by-step guides online for the most-asked questions and commonly-experienced problems in the NOW Help Centre.

Use our postcode checker to see if NOW Broadband is the best deal for your household.