homebroadband
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Sky replaces Now TV ‘Combo’ bundles with standalone broadband
Back in 2016, Now TV extended its Netflix-style streaming service with TV, broadband and landline "Combo" bundles. Now, it's killing those packages and offering broadband as a standalone option. The entry-level package will offer speeds up to 17 Mbps and pay-as-you-go calls for £18 per month. The faster "fab" option (up to 38 Mbps) will cost £25 per month, while the top "super" tier (up to 76 Mbps) will set you back £35 per month. You can choose between a 12-month contract, which requires a £15 activation, and a rolling plan with a £50 upfront fee. Both come with a £10 postage and handling fee too (I'm not sure why it's so expensive to post a router).
Google wants you to trick out its OnHub router
With its first two OnHub routers, Google has a simple goal: to make the WiFi network in your home a stronger, simpler and more beautiful experience. Its debut hardware, built in partnership with TP-Link, is an already attractive piece of kit, but now the company is going a step further with customisable shells. From the Google Store you can buy one of three new exteriors, which come in either wood, a split black-grey or split white-gold combination. They look quite classy and support Google's vision that routers should be kept in plain sight, rather than tucked away behind a dusty bookcase. This, it believes, is one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve WiFi strength and reliability in your home.
5Gbps broadband is coming to Britain, for £399 per month
Words like "superfast" and "ultrafast" are thrown around all the time to describe UK home broadband. Of course, what we really want to know are the cold, hard numbers. Download and upload speeds, man. That's why Gigaclear has us champing at the bit with its latest announcement -- it's trialling 5Gbps broadband, right now, with a small group of customers in Oxfordshire. If you've never heard of Gigaclear before, we don't blame you. The company was founded in 2010 and only operates in 36 rural communities, spread across five English counties. You can check your postcode here, but the chances of you falling under its custom fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network are slim. And even if you own one of the 10,000 homes with Gigaclear access, you'll have to pay some serious cash for the faster speeds. The company will be charging £399 per month for homeowners and £1,500 for businesses when the trial expands to all Gigaclear customers next year. Got a Scrooge McDuck pile of cash in your basement? Otherwise, this is all just a pipe dream.
Vodafone's home broadband service opens to all
After a three-year hiatus, Vodafone returned to the home broadband game this summer, starting out with a limited service available in just a few counties. A few months later, it expanded the launch to everywhere its underground infrastructure (licenced and owned) covered, but only offered the "Connect" broadband service to existing Vodafone mobile customers. Today, the company announced it's now available to everyone, not just those it has on its books already. Assuming Vodafone Connect is available in your area, you can get up to 17 Mbps ADSL for a tenner a month, up to 38 Mbps fibre for twice that, or up to 76 Mbps fibre for £25 per month.
Vodafone's home broadband service is now live across the UK
Two months ago, Vodafone started selling home broadband in the UK again. The service was only available to a small group of customers in Manchester, however, as well as parts of Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. Well, now the company is opening the floodgates. Any Vodafone customer can sign up for the service, which is separated into three tiers: Broadband ADSL (up to 17Mbps), Superfast Fibre Broadband (up to 38Mbps) and Superfast Fibre+ Broadband (up to 76Mbps). The provider is relying on BT's Openreach infrastructure to do the heavy lifting, as well as the Cable & Wireless backbone it acquired in 2012.
