SSE Broadband

SSE broadband deals offer two superfast fibre broadband packages to customers with speeds of either 35Mb with Unlimited Fibre or 63Mb with Unlimited Fibre Plus Broadband.

Customers signing up to SSE broadband plans are backed by a 60-day Happiness Guarantee which is designed to ensure customers can receive a good home broadband connection with their new SSE broadband. If there are any issues within that period that SSE can't resolve, customers are free to settle their final bill and leave.

SSE broadband packages are delivered to customers using the Openreach fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) network, so they are available to customers across much of the country, although there will be some premises unable to access the services just yet.

Little is known about SSE's customer service record as they are such a small provider, yet reviewers on Trustpilot seem to be happy with the service offered. In addition, SSE are one of the few broadband providers to fix their prices for the entire 18 months of a customer's contract, so there are no mid-contract price rises to contend with.

SSE broadband plans can also be combined with energy deals for discounts.

SSE broadband packages are budget broadband deals with few frills, although customers are eligible for SSE Reward which allows SSE venue perks and access to exclusive prizes and competitions.

SSE ensure that customers who sign up to SSE broadband deals know what they are paying for the length of their contract - there are no mid-contract price hikes on either SSE's broadband or any call plans customers may add to it.

Customers already taking a variable energy deal from SSE can have £75 credit added to their bill as a reward for signing up to broadband too. There is also a fixed energy and broadband plan available to customers looking to combine the two services.

One downside of broadband from SSE is their basic router, yet it serves customers with superfast broadband well and will be adequate for most households at these speed levels.

SSE broadband plans are available with a choice of two average speeds: their Unlimited Fibre Broadband offers speeds of around 35Mb while their Unlimited Fibre Plus Broadband provides speeds of around 63Mb.

SSE also offer a Fix & Fibre deal for broadband and energy customers to combine utility bills. This cuts the monthly price of SSE broadband plans as well as providing a 5% reduction on fixed price energy costs.

All SSE broadband packages come with line rental and a basic router, plus they promise zero price hikes during the 18-month minimum term of the broadband contract. As in standard with broadband packages these days, all SSE broadband deals come with unlimited downloads.

SSE do not offer a basic copper broadband plan to their customers, nor have they moved into ultrafast broadband packages yet, so the only options available to customers are superfast deals.

SSE broadband packages offer download speeds averaging 35Mb or 63Mb depending on whether a customer chooses their Unlimited Fibre Broadband or their Unlimited Fibre Plus Broadband.

We don't have independent testing showing how fast SSE broadband deals are in real-life, but it's important to remember that ISPs are only allowed to advertised speeds that can be achieved by at least 50% of customers during peak evening hours. So, we can expect at least 50% of SSE fibre broadband customers to be able to receive speeds of at least 35Mb and 63Mb on those packages.

As SSE broadband plans are delivered to households via the Openreach fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) network, some speed may be lost along the copper cable that runs from the street cabinet to a customer's home.

Customers already taking their energy from SSE on a variable tariff will receive a £75 credit to their energy account if they sign up to Unlimited Fibre or Unlimited Fibre Plus.

This credit is not applied to the account in one lump sum - instead, customers will receive six quarterly credits of £12.50 to their energy account for the length of their 18-month contract.

Only customers taking energy on a variable tariff from SSE are eligible for this account credit and customers will lose any remaining quarterly payments from their £75 credit if they switch to a fixed deal, even if that fixed energy tariff is with SSE themselves. Given that variable energy plans can be more expensive for customers, the £75 credit may not work out as a cheap deal.

There is a different offer available for customers looking to sign to SSE energy and take SSE fibre broadband at the same time. This is known as Fix & Fibre and offers a monthly discount on both energy and broadband when a 12-month fix is taken with Unlimited Fibre Plus.

SSE Reward is a series of extras give to customers taking SSE broadband deals. Offers may change depending on the partnerships SSE has at any given time, but they cover certain perks at The SSE Arena and The SSE Hydro in Glasgow.

Benefits may include exclusive presale tickets for events, exclusive competitions and upgrade to SSE lounges at venues.

These perks may be of interest to music fans, although they probably won't be reasons for choosing SSE broadband packages above all others when comparing broadband deals.

The minimum term for SSE broadband plans is 18 months. This means customers are tied into an 18-month minimum term contract with SSE and will be required to pay exit fees if they want to leave their contract early.

As we explain in our guide to cancelling broadband, leaving a contract early can incur some significant costs for customers, so it's worth ensuring you can commit to an 18-month deal before choosing one of SSE's broadband deals.

SSE are transparent about their early exit penalties, with maximum caps of £199.80 and £243 for Unlimited Fibre and Unlimited Fibre Plus packages respectively.

One final point: if customers don't return their router to SSE at the end of their contract, they will be charged for that too.

SSE broadband deals come with a Happiness Guarantee. This allows customers to leave within 60 days of their contract beginning if there is an issue with the home broadband connection.

This Happiness Guarantee is not a green light to try the SSE service then leave without penalty - customers will need to be able to prove there is a problem with the connection for the Guarantee to be invoked and for them to leave without penalty.

SSE will first try to address the connection problem. If that cannot be done, a final bill will be arranged and customers will be able to return their equipment and exit the contract.

SSE broadband packages are some of the few on the market backed by a commitment to no mid-contract price rises.

Their Unlimited Fibre Broadband and Unlimited Fibre Plus packages are fixed for 18 months, so customers will not have an annual price increase added to their bills as we find with most other broadband providers who either have a fixed annual increase rate or are pegged to rises in inflation.

For customers looking for a broadband deal where prices are locked for the duration of their minimum term contract, SSE broadband plans fit the bill.

SSE fibre broadband is delivered via the Openreach superfast broadband network.

The nationwide superfast infrastructure installed and maintained by Openreach is available to more than 97% of UK premises, so most potential SSE fibre broadband customers will be in a suitable location for signing up.

This does mean there will be a small number of households that will not be able to sign up to SSE broadband deals as they are not yet connected to the Openreach superfast network.

Like most providers, SSE don't offer any inclusive calls with their fibre broadband deals, although customers must take line rental from SSE to be able to sign up to one of their broadband deals.

To add calls to one of the SSE broadband plans customers will need to sign up to a call plan. These begin from around £4, although prices may vary as special offers are promoted.

One important point: call plans are considered to be part of the whole SSE broadband package, so their prices are frozen for the length of the 18-month contract in the same way the broadband deals are frozen.

SSE broadband packages come with a fairly basic router in the form of the Technicolor TG589vac WiFi router.

The Technicolor is an unremarkable home router that will ensure a decent signal in most homes, but it does come with dual band technology to switch effectively between two channels to optimise the wi-fi signal around the home. It also has four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports and a Gigabit Ethernet WAN port as well as a USB 2.0 master port.

Overall, the Technicolor is a decent router that will cope with the demands of superfast fibre broadband around the home. However, some may wish to swap the router out for a more technologically advanced one. Using a different router is permitted under SSE's terms and conditions, although they do point out customers won't be able to ask for help from them with any router-related issues.

As SSE are a small broadband provider and aren't included in Ofcom's customer service data, we don't know much about their customer service record.

If we look at Trustpilot reviews covering both broadband and energy from SSE, we get a positive picture of their customer service, with a ranking of Excellent that puts them far above many mainstream broadband providers.

It's difficult to judge a company's service levels based on their record on sites like Trustpilot since only delighted or frustrated customers tend to leave reviews. Yet without other indicators available, it's positive they have such a good reputation on Trustpilot.

There are usually no setup charges for SSE broadband deals as they try to be budget friendly and avoid extra costs for customers.

Some of SSE's budget broadband rivals do charge setup or installation fees, sometimes called postage and packing fees for the router. This is something to watch out for when comparing broadband deals, along with checking whether ISPs pledge to keep monthly costs fixed for the length of the contract. While SSE broadband plans are fixed price, many of their budget rivals will increase costs annually.

Customers looking to switch to one of the SSE broadband deals listed in the table above will usually find it a straightforward process.

As long as a household is currently connected to an Openreach provider like TalkTalk, Plusnet, Shell Energy Broadband or Zen Internet, all they need to do is sign up to their new deal with SSE broadband and their new provider will do the hard work behind the scenes.

It becomes slightly more complicated if a household is on an entirely different broadband network like Virgin Media's cable network or the full fibre network offered by Gigaclear or CityFibre. In these instances, a customer will need to contact their existing broadband provider directly to cancel their services and fix an end date for the contract.

It's also important to remember that switching away from a provider to SSE broadband plans may incur exit charges if a customer is still within the minimum term of their contract. Details of these exit fees can be found in the terms and conditions of a customer's broadband contract.