Name: Broadband Deals
Brand: Uswitch
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.7 (29764 reviews)

Are all broadband deals unlimited?

Yes. The vast majority of broadband deals available nowadays - including all deals available on Uswitch - are unlimited. This means you don't have to worry about the amount you use your broadband at home anymore, and you won't be charged extra for excessive use.

The only broadband deals that remained limited for a while longer were 5G mobile broadband packages, but the majority of these are now unlimited too.

So there's no need to be concerned that you'll get charged more if there are lots of people using broadband at home. Any new broadband deal you choose will be unlimited for the entire time you use the service.

Which providers offer unlimited broadband?

All recognisable UK broadband providers offer unlimited broadband deals as standard.

It's very rare to find a limited broadband deal nowadays, so you can feel free to switch to any provider with the knowledge you won't be charged for excessive use.

Here's a selection of the providers we have on our site, all of which offer unlimited deals:

All broadband providers on Uswitch

Compare broadband and home phone deals

Browse our wide selection of broadband and landline packages.

Uswitch broadband and home phone

Who might need unlimited broadband?

Everyone can enjoy unlimited broadband these days, as we're all using broadband more and more at home and providers have stopped pricing their deals by data cap.

When unlimited broadband was less common an option and more expensive than limited deals, it mainly suited the following people:

Gaming broadband users, especially those playing MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) such as the very popular World of Warcraft
Family broadband users with multiple broadband-enabled devices such as PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones and gaming consoles.
Heavy film and music downloaders, especially peer-to-peer enthusiasts

What is a fair usage policy?

As you may have already suspected, unlimited wireless broadband isn't always completely unlimited. If you’re still using a copper line, whether for standard ADSL or part-fibre broadband, you share your internet connection with the surrounding homes.

Couple that with the fact that there is a limit to the amount of information that copper lines can transmit, and it leaves broadband providers with little alternative but to put some sort of restriction in place on heavy downloaders at moments throughout the day

For this reason, providers try to make sure that 'super users', for example student broadband users, don't slow down the connection for others by subjecting users to fair usage policies for these types of connection.

Fair usage policies are your provider's way of trying to manage online traffic fairly and work by limiting the speed of your connection during peak times. For more information, read our fair usage policy guide.

What is 'truly unlimited' broadband?

Truly unlimited broadband is a broadband connection that is both unaffected by data caps and fair usage policies. They mean that even if your household uses a lot of broadband at home, you won't have your speed limited by your provider in order to free up bandwidth for your neighbours.

The best example of 'truly' unlimited broadband is full fibre. This does away with copper cables entirely and connects much faster, more reliable fibre-optic cables directly to your home.

Since fibre cables allow for so much data to pass through them so quickly, there is no need to manage the traffic passing through it, because it won't affect the broadband connection in your surrounding properties.

Compare 100Mbps+ broadbad

Compare our best broadband deals with 100Mbps average speeds and above. This includes full fibre, Virgin Media and our range of smaller altnet providers.

100Mbps deals

How much data do typical internet activities use?

Activities like streaming, gaming, working from home or downloading don't use up too much data on one device, unless you're doing so in very high quality.

The higher quality the files you are interacting with, the more data they require at any given moment and therefore the higher internet speed you need for it.

Plus, you need to account for all connected devices in your home when calculating the broadband speed you need. Nowadays this could be up to a couple of dozen, so it's worth considering other members of your household too.

Guide: What broadband speed do I need?

Yes. All broadband social tariffs offered by most UK providers are unlimited too. So if you're eligible for a discounted broadband deal, you don't have to worry about the amount you use your internet when at home.

The only limitation you might find with social tariffs is that they are often applied to providers' slower broadband packages. So you may find that you can't do as much with a social tariff speed compared to some of the faster speed options that providers offer.

Check if you're eligible for a broadband social tariff

Our broadband expert says

“There's no need to be concerned about limited broadband deals anymore. Almost every broadband package you'll find will be unlimited, which means there won't be a cap on the amount of internet you use.

So if you're unhappy with your current broadband service, don't be put off from switching by the risk of limited deals. Thankfully, that's something we no longer need to worry about when shopping for broadband.”