BT ultimate broadband is half price but Virgin has something better

If your current internet speeds are driving you to distraction then now is a great time to look at switching things up. As part of its ongoing Black Friday sale, BT has as a deal which is offering its very best Full Fibre 900 plan for half the usual price. That means you’ll get speeds of over 900Mbps beamed into your house for just £27.99 per month – that the same price BT usually charges for standard 70Mbps downloads.

As a quick comparison, downloading a full HD movie via this 900Mbps plan will take around 30 seconds – the same Hollywood blockbuster takes over 10 minutes to arrive on TVs via basic speeds.

Along with those quick downloads, you’ll also get BT’s Stay Fast Guarantee which means things will never drop below 700Mbps.

If that sounds enticing you’ll find full details about BT’s half-price plan here but before you sign up it’s worth noting that Virgin Media has something even better.

This UK Internet Service Provider is currently offering its even faster Gig1 plan (1,145Mbps) for just £45 per month.

That appears to be a little more expensive than BT but if you do some quick calculations you’ll soon see that Virgin’s overall price is very similar to that of BT

That’s because BT’s half-price deal only lasts for the first six months of the 24-month contract before rising to £55.99 for the remainder of the term – the total price is £1,205 including a £29.99 joining fee.

Virgin’s £45 deal lasts for the entire 18-month contract before rising to £62 – the total over 24 months, including a free set-up fee, is £1,182.

That is around £20 less than BT plus you do get those faster speeds and you’re only tied in for 18 months rather than 24 months which means you can shop around for a new deal sooner.

It’s worth noting that these ultrafast speeds are only suitable for busy homes that spend endless hours downloading huge files or have lots of people attempting access files, games, movies and video calls at the same time.

If you are a little baffled by all the speed jargon Express.co.uk has a simple guide below to help you.

What Broadband Speeds Do You Really Need?

We all want faster broadband but do you really need those blisteringly quick downloads? The faster your package the more you’ll pay each month so it’s worth checking to see if your home would cope with a slower connection. If all you do is watch a bit of Netflix and send the odd email you won’t need a premium plan.

Here’s a quick guide to help you choose

36Mbps – 75Mbps • Perfect for web browsing and streaming in HD

100Mbps – 250Mbps • Perfect for web browsing, streaming in 4K and casual gaming

300Mbps – 500Mbps • Perfect for very busy homes where lots of people are using the web, streaming films and making video calls at the same time

1Gbps • Perfect for gamers who download endless new titles and don’t want to spend hours waiting for files to arrive on their consoles. Gig1 will also suit homes with lots of people streaming and watching TV in 4K/8K quality.