Student Broadband Deals

Compare The Best Student Wifi Deals

If you’re on a student budget, you won’t want to overpay on your bills. But you will need a fast, reliable internet connection to get your work done. So how do you find the right broadband for you without paying a fortune?

What is student broadband?

Student households tend to differ from typical households. They’re often occupied by multiple people at once and only for a year or less. So they often have high bandwidth needs.

Every now and then a provider will offer a broadband deal specifically designed for students, spanning the academic year. But these student-specific offers are rare. To find the best broadband deal for your student house, you’ll need to compare all the tariffs out there. Here’s what to consider.

What to look out for when choosing the best student broadband deals?

Here’s what you need to think about when you’re choosing the broadband package for your next year as a student.

The broadband speed you need depends on how many people will be living in the accommodation and what they’ll be doing online. In 2024, 69% of students in the UK had at least some of their lectures online ^[1]. You and your housemates might also stream videos, play games online or make lots of video calls. To make sure everyone enjoys their internet time with minimal issues, get the fastest speed you can reasonably afford.

Contract length

The length and terms of your tenancy will influence the length of the broadband contract you choose. Although providers sometimes offer lower payments for longer terms, this isn’t good value if you stop needing the service partway through the contract.

If your tenancy agreement is shorter than a full year, your best bet for broadband is probably a one-month rolling contract. They let you give a month’s notice to cancel with no exit fees.

Rolling contracts sometimes have an extra charge at the start. Your provider might explain this as the cost of getting a new router delivered, or it might be called a “set-up fee” or “connection charge”. Whatever they call it, it’s a one-off payment you make upfront, and should be factored in when you’re comparing tariffs.

The formula for calculating the true cost of your broadband package is:

Monthly payment multiplied by the duration of your tenancy plus any set-up costs.

There’s a very occasional exception to the rule that one-month contracts are best.If you can bag a 12-month deal with a very low monthly price that isn’t subject to change, or a student-specific package for nine months. Both these scenarios are rare, but it’s worth taking a quick look at the cheapest possible longer deals and then doing the sums.

Student Broadband providers

If you’re in a shared student house on a fairly short tenancy, you need:

• A contract that won’t lock you in for over a year
• Broadband speeds fast enough for everybody’s needs

Comparison sites like ours are perfect for filtering out the offers that aren’t relevant to your needs. Then you can look at the list of deals available and think about other factors:

• Are there any upfront fees and how much are they?
• Does the broadband provider have good reviews for customer service?
• Are they offering any incentives for signing up, like a free gift?

Broadband cost

If you’re a skint student, it’s tempting to go for the very cheapest deal available. But this could be a false economy. If the bandwidth isn’t enough for everybody in the house to do their thing, you could end up in some very frustrating situations. No one wants to yell at your housemate to stop watching Netflix so they can upload their coursework.

Paying a bit extra for a fast, reliable connection could avoid a lot of conflict and stress. If you’re splitting bills evenly with your housemates, you’ll be paying less than the advertised monthly payments anyway.

Student Broadband bundles

If you’re planning to have a telly in your student accommodation, then you could save money with a broadband and TV bundle. This often costs less than buying the two services separately. But there are a few potential issues to be aware of:

• The contract might be too long for your needs. This kind of bundle tends to be offered for 18 or 24 months. Not good if you’re all moving out within a year
• It might be hard to decide. There are a lot of entertainment packages to choose from. While comparison sites like ours can help, you’ll still have to agree with your housemates about what’s worth paying for
• You’ll need a TV licence if you’re planning to watch or record any live television

It might be cheaper to buy a subscription to just one entertainment channel and get your broadband separately. But if you’re planning to share a Netflix account or something similar with housemates, check first how many different devices can be logged in.

How to get affordable and cheap student broadband

The quickest way to find a broadband deal for your student place is to compare with us.

Pop your postcode in to see all the plans available in your area right now.

Then filter by the things that matter most to you: contract length, speed and cost.

Why wireless might be your best option for student broadband

When you’re looking through the deals available, you’ll spot that some are labelled “5G broadband”, “mobile broadband” or maybe “wireless broadband”. These all refer to broadband based on a different technology from your traditional cables. And it might just be what you’re looking for.

Broadband on the 4G/5G network

Wireless technology is now so good that you can get a powerful internet connection without any physical cables. This could be the perfect option if you’re travelling back and forth between home and uni.

4G and 5G broadband uses a SIM card inside the router to pick up signals on the same cellular network that mobile phones use. Then it broadcasts that signal as wifi. You can connect your laptop or TV to it as you would with any other connection. There are two kinds:

• Mobile broadband is truly mobile with a small, portable router that you can take with you anywhere - for example, you could use it to get your coursework done on the train
• 4G or 5G home broadband has a router that’s designed to stay in one place, so it’s bigger and plugs into a power socket. The trade-off for it being less portable is that it’s usually a bit faster and more reliable

Both types of broadband are great for students because they’re not connected to any specific address. When you move, your broadband connection moves with you.

The contracts for 4G or 5G broadband won’t tie you down either. They tend to be one-month rolling deals.

Before you sign up for wireless broadband, check the coverage in your area. 5G coverage only covers about half the area of the UK at the moment, mostly concentrated in cities.^[2] If you’re studying in a rural area, you might be better off with cheaper, more widespread 4G even though it’s a bit slower.^[3]

What do I need to get a quote?

To get a quote for broadband in your student accommodation, you’ll need to know:

Plugging this info into a price comparison site like ours means you’ll only get the results that are relevant to you. Then you can scan the deals available, see what looks good and sort by price.

How far in advance should I buy student broadband?

Broadband companies need a couple of weeks’ notice to start providing broadband to a new address, so buy your broadband package about a fortnight before you’re due to move in.

• Don’t start setting up utilities until you’ve signed on the dotted line with the landlord and have a definite date for your tenancy to begin
• Your new broadband set-up might require an engineer to visit and actually drill holes in a wall. You’ll need to get your landlord’s permission for this
• Although it’s good to be organised, it’s probably not worth trying to set up your broadband account too far in advance. Many providers won’t schedule a switch more than a few weeks ahead

If you’re going with 4G or 5G broadband, set-up is much quicker because it doesn’t need connection to a physical network. But you still need to wait for the router to arrive, so it makes sense to allow at least a few days.

What student broadband speed do I need?

• Up to 20 Mbps is fine if you’re going to be living alone and use the internet for fairly basic things like email and browsing the web. But at the lower end of this range you might struggle with video calls
• 20-30 Mbps is perfect if you have online lectures and seminars but only one or two housemates who aren’t all hogging the bandwidth at the same time
• 30-80 Mbps counts as superfast and allows a shared house of four or more people to use streaming services and make video calls at the same time
• 100+ Mbps is in the ultrafast category. This is great if you have a lot of housemates and more than one person into online gaming

Not every home will be able to get the highest possible speeds. If the network in your area hasn’t been upgraded to full fibre yet, you’ll be wasting your money paying for the fastest connection. Check with your provider what’s actually feasible before you buy.

Can you get a 12 month student broadband contract?

There aren’t many deals specifically marketed as student broadband, but there are regular 12-month contracts available that might work for your student budget. Go.Compare lets you filter your search by contract length.

What happens when my broadband contract ends?

If you’re on a fixed contract like a 12-month broadband package, the end of the contract doesn’t mean the end of the service.

Once the fixed minimum term of your original deal is up, most providers move you to a more expensive “rolling contract”. So if you don’t actually cancel the contract, almost every broadband provider will keep supplying the house with broadband and take money out of your account for it. Even worse, they’ll charge you more than before.

Your provider is required by law to notify you when the contract is coming to an end. But don’t rely on them to remind you - especially if your contact details change a lot. Put a note in your calendar and be proactive about cancelling.

If you’re not moving out but switching to a new provider for a better deal, you don’t need to tell your old provider. The new provider will do it for you.

How do I cancel my broadband?

The broadband cancellation process varies depending on the provider. Some let you do it through your online account, others want you to ring them up.

Sometimes providers bury the number of the cancellation line in the depths of their website, so it’s quicker to google it. If you find the number elsewhere on the web, paste the number you’ve found into your search engine before you ring it. You should get a page of results confirming that it’s really the provider’s number. This will probably be a mix of forums, blogs, news sources and social media. If there’s only one source for the number you found, it’s probably at best outdated info and at worst a scam.

Once you’ve got through, they will want your customer or account number, so have it ready. They might try to stop you cancelling by offering a new deal. If you’re actually in a position to sign up for something new then take our advice on haggling with your broadband provider and get the best deal you can. If not, be clear that you’re ringing to cancel and need it to happen straight away.

Try to get some proof that they’ve agreed to cancel, whether that’s a confirmation email or letter, or just a screenshot of the confirmation page.

Getting rid of your router

Some broadband providers will ask for their router back when you cancel your contract. They’ll often charge a fee if you don’t return it, so make sure you get proof of postage when you send it off. It’s easy to lose pieces of paper, especially if you’re moving house, so take a photo of any receipt or tracking information as a backup.

Others don’t demand their router back but give you the option of posting it to them to be recycled. Do this if you can - it’s unlikely you’ll be able to use your old router for anything else and you shouldn’t throw it in the normal bin because it counts as electrical waste.

Notice periods for cancelling

Most broadband providers need a minimum of 30 days’ notice to cancel your contract. But some only need as little as 14 days. Check the small print to find out.

You might wonder if it’s possible to give 12, 18 or 24 months’ notice - in other words, just tell your broadband provider at the start exactly when you want the service to end, so you don’t have to bother getting in touch again. Unfortunately not. Even if there isn’t a maximum notice period in the terms and conditions, in practice they probably won’t agree to cancel more than 60 days ahead.

Cancelling your contract early

If you’re cancelling your broadband before the agreed end date, your provider will probably charge an exit fee. There are only a few ways you can get out of this.

• Is it a fortnight or less since you signed up? Providers have to offer a 14-day cooling-off period for new customers and let you leave with no penalty.
• Has your provider raised prices with no warning? They’re allowed to put up the prices mid-contract but they have to let you know from the start that this is going to happen. If not, you’re within your rights to leave fee-free.
• Are you prepared to pick up the phone? If there’s a good reason why you’re cancelling early - maybe problems with your housing situation - your provider has discretion to waive the penalty. This is a situation where talking to a human could work wonders.
• Are you leaving because the service is bad? If you’re cancelling the broadband contract because of ongoing problems like slow speeds, you shouldn’t have to pay an exit fee. Proving this is the hard bit, so make sure you actually log a complaint when there’s a problem.

FAQ’s

Do any broadband providers offer student discounts?

It’s possible to bag a broadband deal specifically for students, although these are rare. Student broadband deals usually:

• Come out in the summer before the academic year starts
• Require an ac.uk email address to activate

Although they can offer great savings when they’re available, don’t rely on being able to get one or limit your search to just this kind of deal. Your best bet is to compare all the broadband deals on the market that meet your needs, even if they’re not labelled “student”.

What if I don't have a high credit score?

Many broadband providers carry out a credit check before agreeing a contract with you. This is because they usually start supplying the broadband before your first payment goes out, and they want to know that you will actually pay. If your credit file shows a history of defaulting on credit, they might decide it’s too risky to have you as a customer. You could have the broadband in a housemate’s name instead - but check out our guide to improving your credit score so you can work on fixing the problem.

If you’re a young student and paying the bills for the first time, you probably haven’t built up much of a credit history. But this shouldn’t be a barrier to getting a broadband contract.

Having the household broadband contract in your name and making regular payments is a good way to establish a credit history and improve your credit score.

Do I need to buy a broadband router?

Some providers include the cost of the router in your monthly payments, others charge a separate upfront fee at the start of your contract.

You’re more likely to pay for the router separately with a mobile broadband deal.

Can I bundle a TV subscription as part of my student broadband deal?

Yes, you can get your TV services bundled in with the broadband for your student house. But first make sure it’s actually good value for what you need.

How long does it take to install broadband?

Getting a new address connected to broadband usually takes a couple of weeks, even if there’s no work needed on the physical network. It’s an admin thing.

If the new connection requires an engineer visit, it might be a bit longer. Despite the name, your “engineer visit” might not involve anyone actually coming to your new address. They might be able to switch everything on from the local exchange. But you’ll have no way of knowing this in advance, so you do need to plan for someone to be at the house for the appointment.

Whatever your installation requires, you will be given a specific date and timeslot for the switchover. Your broadband should be operational after that.

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Page last updated: 9 January 2025

[1] Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), Student Academic Experience Survey 2024 , last checked 6 December 2024

[2] House of Commons research briefing, 5G in the UK . Published 8 March 2024, last checked 6 December 2024

[3] Ofcom, Connected Nations, England Report 2023 . Published 19 December 2023, last checked 6 December 2024