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NOW Broadband is one of the newer players in the UK broadband market. It first entered the fray in 2016, carving out a niche as a budget-minded subsidiary of Sky.
While NOW only serves around 1 per cent of the market, there are still several reasons to consider it as your next broadband provider, including extensive network coverage across the UK, a competitive price point compared to other major players and straightforward add-ons for the NOW TV streaming service.
NOW Broadband isn’t the fastest option available, and anyone looking for high-speed fibre optic connections that can download hundreds of megabits per second (Mbps) is going to be left disappointed. But when it comes to price, simplicity and flexibility, there’s a lot to recommend for this value broadband deals provider. If NOW offers good coverage for your area, it may be worth switching from your current contract to improve your internet connection speed or save a few pounds every month on a cheaper plan.
Unlike some other broadband providers, NOW Broadband has just three deals to consider, and they’re very similar in pricing, starting at £20 per month and ending at £24 per month. So, the main consideration isn’t the cost, but rather which internet speeds are available for your home. If you can get the highest speeds possible, there’s little reason not to get them.
| Deal name | Average speed | Contract length | Downloads | Monthly price* | TV or phone included? | Setup fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Fibre | 63Mbps | 12 months | Unlimited | £24 | Line rental included | £0 |
| Fab Fibre | 36Mbps | 12 months | Unlimited | £24 | Line rental included | £0 |
| Brilliant Broadband | 11Mbps | 12 months | Unlimited | £20 | Line rental included | £0 |
As ever in life, you get out what you put in – and the benefits of NOW Broadband scale according to how much you’re willing to pay.
Fibre broadband is the fastest kind of internet connection available today, using fibre-optic cables to transmit information at high speeds. NOW relies on a part-fibre network, which uses a mix of fibre-optic (new and fast) and copper cabling (old and slow). It can still reach download speeds of 30Mbps and above, but that’s far less than the maximum broadband speeds offered by BT, Virgin Media and EE, which can exceed 1,000Mbps (1 gigabit per second or 1Gbps).
Many customers will be content with NOW’s speeds, though, especially for smaller homes or those with less-intensive internet usage. (You’ll find a good explanation of broadband speeds in our broadband deals guide.)
Alongside broadband, NOW also offers TV streaming packages. As a subsidiary of Sky, it lets you add a Sky Sports or Sky Cinema subscription to your contract, giving you good internet speeds as well as plenty of content. There are also add-on options for reality TV streaming service Hayu and an Entertainment package that throws in Peacock, MTV, Comedy Central and a host of other Sky TV channels, including HBO shows through Sky Atlantic.
NOW Broadband speeds are a little slow compared to some full-fibre providers. That’s because NOW’s part-fibre broadband network still relies heavily on an older copper cable standard, limiting the maximum speeds possible. NOW’s speeds will be sufficient for people with less-intensive internet needs, though you won’t be getting the 1.6Gbps performance boasted by EE.
However, it’s very hard to make sweeping statements about broadband speeds, as they can vary hugely between postcodes, even within the same city. You may get poor coverage on certain London streets and excellent performance in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Urban areas are likely better covered, with speeds of up to 70-75Mbps, but it’s often up to chance whether your own address is connected to NOW’s broadband network or if you’re stuck with maximum 10Mbps speeds.
We recommend looking at our guide to the best broadband providers in your area to get a sense of what’s available to you and using NOW’s postcode checker for your home address.
| Plan | Average Speed (Where Available) | Hackney London Estimated Download | Catford London Estimated Download | Leeds Estimated Download | Berwick-upon-Tweed Estimated Download | Margate Estimated Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Fibre | 63Mbps | 40-50Mbps | 70-74Mbps | N/A | 72-74Mbps | 55-74Mbps |
| Fab Fibre | 36Mbps | 36Mbps | 36-37Mbps | N/A | 36-37Mbps | 36-37Mbps |
| Brilliant Broadband | 11Mbps | 3.5-8Mbps | 14-19Mbps | 14-19Mbps | 14-19Mbps | 11-17.5Mbps |
In April 2023, Ofcom introduced a “One Touch Switch” requirement for broadband providers, ensuring that customers don’t have to liaise with two providers to switch between them.
If you’re currently with BT, EE, Plusnet or TalkTalk, NOW Broadband will automatically contact your existing provider and handle the transition for you. That means you don’t need to cancel your current broadband plan or contact customer support: “As soon as you’ve ordered NOW Broadband, we’ll contact your current provider and switch your phone line over to us. So, you can sit back and relax whilst we do the work.”
If you’re moving from Virgin Media, things are a little different. You’ll have to manually cancel your current contract and ideally set it to expire the day after your NOW Broadband access begins to ensure you aren’t left without internet coverage during the transition.
For any providers not mentioned here, we recommend contacting them directly to manage the cancellation.
Thinking about a NOW Broadband deal? Here’s everything you should consider before committing:
NOW’s low Trustpilot score (1.3/5) is sadly on par with other broadband providers – most customers only bother leaving a review when they’ve had a poor experience. NOW doesn’t broadcast its customer support line too loudly, either; you’ll have to sign into your account to see the number on its website (0330 3323 050).
One thing to keep in mind is that Ofcom‘s statistics show that, once you have called NOW’s customer support, the average wait time to speak to a service agent is only 51 seconds, beating every other major provider. However, NOW would rather you find a solution from its online help pages or customer service bot.
NOW Broadband deals are generally a good value but a little light on perks to sweeten the deal – the low cost is seen as incentive enough without other benefits. If you want more from your NOW plan, you’ll likely have to pay for an add-on such as NOW Boost, which ups the maximum streaming quality to Full HD, or a separate channel package that throws in more TV shows and films (Entertainment, Cinema, Sports, etc). You’ll get a landline included in your broadband plan, too.
There are two primary payment options when signing up for NOW Broadband – either a 12-month Saver Plan with no up-front fee or a No Contract Plan with a £60 setup charge but the ability to cancel whenever you like. As £60 is around three months of broadband, it’s probably worth picking the Saver Plan if you’re confident you’ll stay with this provider for the foreseeable future. (You’ll also have to pay a £10 delivery charge to have your router shipped to you.)
Cancelling can be expensive, though – when you sign up for NOW Broadband, you agree to a “minimum term” that must be covered. So, if you’re on a 12-month contract and end it halfway, you’ll have to pay for the remaining six months regardless.
You should keep an eye on your contract renewal date, as you can be locked into a price increase for the following year if NOW decides to raise its rates for your specific broadband plan. It’s always worth haggling for a better rate, asking to switch to a different plan or looking at other providers ahead of renewal.
