Three Broadband
Three has long been an established mobile network in the UK.
See: Mobile Phone Deals
Its reputation is primarily based on offering generous data allowances for mobile customers at competitive prices. In recent years, Three has made the move into the broadband market, where they have quickly made it clear they intend to be a game changer.
Three is offering broadband in a different way to other UK service providers.
Rather than requiring a landline with broadband delivered via fibre optic or copper cables, Three delivers home broadband wirelessly via its 4G and 5G network. This immediately takes paying line rental out of the equation, the need for engineers to attend your home, and potentially removes most of the common issues we experience with home broadband.
Three’s website promises that it makes its home broadband “Fast and Simple”, with the setup process simply being a case of signing up, taking delivery of the equipment, and plugging it in.
With 4G available across most of the UK and 5G being rolled out across the country, and already available in London and many other towns and cities, a huge percentage – 97% according to Three – of the UK population has access to these services.
How To Determine The Best ISPs In UK
In order to answer the question of whether or not Three Broadband is the best mobile network for you, we first have to know how to evaluate ISPs in the first place.
- First, we’re going to look at internet speeds that Three Broadband offers. This is important so that you can fit the bundles that this company offers into your lifestyle, especially in times like these when the internet is one of our primary means of communication to the outside world. So what internet speed do you need? For starters, you only need a minimum of 1 Mbps for simple browsing. However, the rate can scale up fast. You need about 1-4 Mbps minimum for video conferencing, with the data consumption rising along with the number of people in the call. 5-8 Mbps is the minimum for reliable high-quality video streaming. Meanwhile, 50 Mbps and above are recommended for frequent large file downloading.
- Second, we’re going to look at pricing and pricing comparisons. This is so that we can evaluate whether the deals we’re being offered are competitive relative to other options nearby. after all, we only want the best offers in exchange for our hard-earned cash.
- Lastly, we’re going to look at customer service, so that we can have an idea of how they treat their customers. When it comes down to it, customer service is the primary method of communication between customers and the company. This includes their online service ratings, the most voiced out complaints, and their contact information.
So without further ado, let’s get to it!
What Broadband Speeds Does Three Offer?
Three’s website does not currently talk about the speeds it offers, although the company has previously said it expects to deliver 100MB internet speeds via its 5G network, while OpenSignal has reported average speeds of 21.6MB for 4G home broadband customers.
However, as this is a general number across all the Three network, it is likely that there are Three broadband customers in urban areas who are receiving significantly more than that, while rural areas may be getting a lower speed. Three’s 4G coverage is exceptional, so you should not expect your speed to be a million miles away from 21.6MB.
While 21.6MB gets nowhere near what some providers offer as superfast deals, this could be significantly quicker than what many households may be getting from fixed line broadband at a similar price to what Three offers.
Three Broadband Speeds
Due to a ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority that came into effect in May 2018, internet service providers (ISP’s) in the United Kingdom are now required to advertise average speeds on the basis of what at least half of their customers can receive at peak times. Prior to this ruling, ISP’s could advertise higher headline speeds, so long as only 10% of customers were being provided with such a speed.
Although this ruling means the advertised speeds you see when looking for your ideal broadband package are more accurate, the speed you can receive, and use, depends on several variables. Use a broadband speed checker to get an even more accurate idea of the internet speeds you can expect to receive, from Three broadband or any other provider.
As Three does not currently advertise average speeds on its website, you should consider whether a wireless broadband solution is for you. As several factors play into how 4G and 5G is delivered, it remains to be seen whether Three will reach a point where they’re able to advertise average speeds to consumers.
How Does Three Broadband’s Average Speeds Compare with Others?
As of February 2020, the latest research from Ofcom had been conducted in November 2018 and published in May 2019. That research did not include Three broadband, so at present there are no sources of valid performance comparison data for this ISP.
If you’re currently with another broadband provider, then you can check your current speed with a speed checker and compare how Three broadband’s reported 21.6MB 4G or 100MB 5G performs.
Three Broadband Offers and Deals
Although Three broadband promises to keep things simple, there are several different pricing options on its website for the 4G home broadband service.
5G home broadband is currently listed as £30 per month on the Three website, with no details on upfront costs.
The cost differences for 4G home broadband packages depend on the 4G Home Broadband hub that you choose when you sign up for Three’s services, as well as on the contract length you choose. 5G customers receive a specific 5G hub to deliver those services.
Three currently offers two 4G hub options, a Huawei B535 WebBox wireless router, or a Huawei AICubeB900 wireless router, which doubles as a smart speaker with built in Alexa voice assistant.
Three does not currently offer any specific incentives to sign-up to their home broadband packages, although if you’re a Three mobile customer you may be able to get extra data or other benefits if you speak to Three about taking out a home broadband service.
Three’s latest deals are below:
Wireless Router | Contract Length | Upfront Cost | Monthly Payment |
---|---|---|---|
Huawei B535 WebBox | 1 Month rolling | £79 | £31 |
Huawei B535 WebBox | 12 Months | £29 | £27 |
Huawei B535 WebBox | 24 Months | Free | £22 |
Huawei AICubeB900 | 1 Month rolling | £149 | £32 |
Huawei AICubeB900 | 12 Months | £49 | £32 |
Huawei AICubeB900 | 24 Months | Free | £25 |
Three Broadband Pricing vs Competitors
Comparing Three broadband’s 4G packages to other competitors is difficult for several reasons:
- The reported average speed of 21.6MB for Three 4G is between typical UK home broadband tiers.
- The vast range of monthly cost options available from Three broadband.
- The different means of Three’s 4G services being delivered, with no improved internet speed from the AICubeB900, just the functionality of a smart speaker and voice assistant.
To try and give you a clear idea of how Three’s 4G packages measure up in terms of price against other UK ISP’s, we have compared them against UK ISP’s at the 10MB – 11MB tier and the 38MB – 37MB tier in the next section.
To keep the analysis as simple as possible, we’ve included both Three 4G wireless router options with the 24-month contract.
Three Broadband 4G Pricing vs Budget 10MB – 11MB Competitors
ISP | Package | Advertised Average Speed | Contract Terms | Upfront Payment | Monthly Payment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plusnet | Unlimited | 10MB | 18 months | Free | £19.99 for 18 months, then £30.98 |
EE | Standard Broadband | 10MB | 18 months | Free | £20 a month for 18 months, then £32 |
BT | Broadband | 10MB | 24 months | £29.99 | £26.99 for 24 months, then £32.99 |
Shell Energy | Fast Broadband | 11MB | 18 months | Free | £19.99 |
Sky | Essential | 11MB | 18 months | £19.95 | £20 for 18 months, then £25 |
TalkTalk | Fast Broadband | 11MB | 24 months | Free | £19.95 for 24 months, then £30 |
Now | Brilliant Broadband | 11MB | 12 months | Free | £18 for 12 months, then £25.99 |
Three | 4G with Huawei B535 | 21.6MB* | 24 months | Free | £22 |
Three | 4G with Huawei AICubeB900 | 21.6MB* | 24 months | Free | £25 |
*Reported by OpenSignal, not explicitly advertised by Three.
While Three is slightly more expensive than every ISP other than BT, the potential speed is double what can be enjoyed from the other providers.
Three Broadband 4G Pricing vs 35MB – 38MB Mid-Range Competitors
ISP | Package | Advertised Average Speed | Contract Terms | Upfront Payment | Monthly Payment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Three | 4G with Huawei B535 | 21.6MB* | 24 months | Free | £22 |
Three | 4G with Huawei AICubeB900 | 21.6MB* | 24 months | Free | £25 |
Shell Energy | Superfast Fibre Broadband | 35MB | 18 months | Free | £24.99 |
Plusnet | Unlimited Fibre | 36MB | 18 months | Free | £22.99 for 18 months, then £39.48 |
EE | Fibre | 36MB | 18 months | Free | £24 for 18 months, then £37 |
Now Broadband | Fab Fibre | 36MB | 12 months | Free | £25 a month for 12 months, then £35.99 |
BT | Superfast Fibre Essential | 36MB | 24 months | £9.99 | £27.99 a month for 24 months, then £32.99 |
TalkTalk | Faster Fibre | 38MB | 24 months | Free | £22.45 for 24 months, then £36 |
*Reported by OpenSignal, not explicitly advertised by Three.
For mid-range broadband, Three’s 4G becomes uncompetitive on pricing, with a similar monthly cost but speeds that are potentially more than 50% slower.
Three Broadband 5G Pricing vs 100MB Ultrafast Competitors
ISP | Package | Advertised Average Speed | Contract Terms | Upfront Payment | Monthly Payment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Three | 5G | 100MB | 24 months | Free | £30 |
Three | 5G | 100MB | 24 months | Free | £30 |
Vodafone | Gigafast Broadband 100 | 100MB | 18 months | Free | £28 |
Virgin Media | M100 Fibre Broadband | 108MB | 12 months | Free | £33 for 12 months, then £49 |
BT | Ultrafast Fibre 100 | 145MB | 24 months | £9.99 | £39.99 for 24 months, then £47.99 |
Sky | Ultrafast | 145MB | 18 months | £39.95 | £39 |
EE | Fibre Max 1 | 145MB | 18 months | Free | £36 a month for 18 months, then £49 |
Moving into the ultrafast market, Three broadband’s pricing compares well against its competitors, although at present Vodafone is the only other ISP offering a true like for like service.
How Does Three Broadband’s Pricing Compare Overall?
If you’re looking for budget broadband or ultrafast broadband and want the benefits of not having to pay for a landline, then Three broadband could be good value for you from a pricing perspective. If you’re looking for a mid-range home broadband package then Three’s 4G wouldn’t deliver the speeds you need, and for the price you’d pay you could get far quicker broadband from another ISP.
What’s interesting is that Three have not tried to go even lower with its pricing. Three sells “no line rental costs” as one of its benefits, but if you’re a customer not paying line rental to Three but still paying the same price as you would for a package that included line rental you might ask what it is you’re paying for.
Three Broadband Customer Service Performance
Three broadband currently has a rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars based on customer reviews on the broadband.co.uk website, and a rating of 2.3 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot. However, this seems to have fluctuated recently. Issues include contracts being disabled without warning because of a merger with another company, internet speeds being downright terrible even though it has been working well for months, and a sudden and absolute lack of available customer service.
The internet speeds complaint may just reflect the possibility we mentioned earlier of customers receiving different speeds and having different experiences despite Three having 97% 4G coverage across the UK. Although, this could also be because of internal issues if the customer reviews are to be believed – however at the time of writing there has been no news online about Three Broadband’s merger with another company.
There are several ways to get in touch with Three. @ThreeUKSupport and @three_broadband are available to deal with customer issues via Twitter, although the latter account was transferred over from Relish when Three broadband took that business over, so @ThreeUKSupport is likely to be customers’ best bet for getting a fast response.
Three can also be contacted via the Contact Us section on their website, although at present there does not seem to be a dedicated option for broadband, which may reflect the frustrations some customers have reported on Trustpilot.
Tips In Finding The Best ISP
Although this review has been pretty comprehensive, it does not cover all of the aspects of this company’s services. If you find yourself still in doubt whether to avail of their services or not, it’s best to gather more information and get a better idea of what you’ll be getting into. Here are some tips to do just that;
Reach out to people in your area. If you have a neighbor, friend, or coworker who also subscribed to Three Broadband, it’s a wise idea to hit them up and ask them about the broadband service. They would be able to provide their first-hand experience which you may find useful, which you simply can’t find in online reviews.
If they have issues about their internet speeds, check to see what they’ve done about it. There could be a lot of causes for their loss of access. Maybe they’re simply experiencing issues from an old router, or maybe their devices are filled with bandwidth-sucking malware. It could also be that their network security is compromised and they’re experiencing troubles because of internet leechers, or maybe they have forgotten subscriptions that suddenly upped their consumption rates. Regardless, they may have some internal issues and then simply putting the blame towards company services.
Whatever opinions and experiences they may hold, carefully evaluate their opinions about the topic, and make sure not just to take their words for it.
The other tip is to their customer service networks yourself. This would not only allow you to gauge their availability for help and inquiries for when you become a customer, but you can also ask them questions about their services personally.
Summing Up Three Broadband
Three delivers home broadband in a unique manner.
Whether Three broadband has the potential to provide value to you will depend on the internet you’re getting at present. If you have fixed line internet and can only get basic services, then Three can potentially more than double your speed for a similar price than what you’re currently paying.
However, if you’re looking at a mid-range broadband solution, you’re better off looking at a fixed line ISP.
Time will tell whether Three’s 5G broadband provides good value to homes. On the face of it, Three’s pricing is competitive, but whether it succeeds in the long-term will depend on Three delivering actual speeds on par with fixed-line providers.
As much as wireless 4G and 5G broadband is unique, consumers are likely to be more concerned with how quick and convenient their internet is, which is where Three will need to continue to earn its stripes if its to make a dent in the UK broadband market.