The short version
General information, not advice
- Start with what reaches your address: full-fibre, part-fibre, cable or 4G/5G. Nothing else matters until you know.
- Most homes need less speed than they're sold. Add up what happens at once in the evening.
- Compare the cost over the whole contract, including any price rise, not the first month.
- Switching means one call, to the new provider.
See it step by step
How much speed your home needs
Step 1 of 6
What reaches your address
Start with the lines that serve your home. Nothing else matters until you know.
- Full-fibre runs to your door.
- Part-fibre runs to a street cabinet, then over copper.
- Cable is the separate network Virgin Media uses.
- 4G or 5G home broadband uses the mobile network, with no line at all.
Put in your postcode and house number. Two neighbours can get different results, so check your own address rather than the street's.
Figures from the Switch4Good guide, Choosing a broadband package, checked 4 October 2026. The 15 Mbps (4K) and 5 Mbps (Full HD) streaming figures are Netflix's recommendations, checked at Netflix. The roughly 35 Mbps example and "well under 100 Mbps" are the guide's own statements. Example figures are illustrative: the speeds for video calls, home working, gaming and smart devices, every upload figure and the package speeds are invented round numbers, not provider figures. Not to scale.
What reaches your address
Put your postcode and house number into a provider’s checker, or the comparison on Switch4Good, and you’ll see which lines serve your home. Providers now have to describe them plainly: full-fibre runs to your door, part-fibre runs to a street cabinet and then over copper, cable is the separate network Virgin Media uses, and 4G or 5G home broadband uses the mobile network with no line at all. Two neighbours can get different results, so check your own address rather than the street’s.
How much speed you need
Work it out from the busiest moment of your day. Netflix recommends 15 Mbps for a 4K stream and 5 Mbps for Full HD, so a household with two 4K streams and a video call needs roughly 35 Mbps plus upload for the call. Many households need well under 100 Mbps. If you work from home, look at the upload figure too, because that’s what carries your side of a video call. Our broadband speeds guide explains why a fast line can still feel slow.
The cost over the whole contract
Multiply the monthly price by the length of the contract, add any set-up or router charge, and add the price rises written into the contract. For contracts from 17 January 2025 those rises must be shown in pounds and pence, so the sum is easy to do. A deal with a cheap first six months and a steep rise can cost more over two years than a plainer one. The figure to compare is the total.
Switching
Under One Touch Switch you only contact the provider you’re moving to, and it arranges the rest, including with networks like Virgin Media. If you’re still in contract with your current provider, check its exit fee first; if you’re out of contract, there isn’t one.
Get a reminder before your deal ends
We’ll email you about two months before, early enough to compare before your provider’s own letter arrives.
Sources, checked 26 September 2026: Netflix: internet connection speed recommendations · Ofcom: ban on inflation-linked price rises · Ofcom: One Touch Switch. Switch4Good Limited is a commercial business and not a charity. General information, not advice.
See what reaches your address
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