I wanted to switch my broadband provider. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for

Recommended Tech I wanted to switch my broadband provider. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for I received 18 calls in four days, but eventually saved myself £250 in 10 minutes Save Comment speech bubble icon Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Britta O'Boyle Britta has been a technology journalist for 15 years, covering everything from phones, tablets and fitness devices, to smart home and beauty tech. Britta spent 10 years as deputy editor of technology site Pocket-lint. Now freelance, she is co-founder of reviews website The Disconnekt and writes for various publications including The Telegraph, British GQ, Metro and Good Housekeeping. Britta has also been a guest on a number of radio stations, including BBC Radio, Siren FM and Academy FM, as well as the Big Tech Show Podcast. See more Published 10 April 2026 8:00pm BST Related Topics Sky, Better broadband Save Comment speech bubble icon Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Changing broadband providers might be a fight, but it’s good for your wallet Britta O'Boyle Britta has been a technology journalist for 15 years, covering everything from phones, tablets and fitness devices, to smart home and beauty tech. Britta spent 10 years as deputy editor of technology site Pocket-lint. Now freelance, she is co-founder of reviews website The Disconnekt and writes for various publications including The Telegraph, British GQ, Metro and Good Housekeeping. Britta has also been a guest on a number of radio stations, including BBC Radio, Siren FM and Academy FM, as well as the Big Tech Show Podcast. See more Published 10 April 2026 8:00pm BST Switching my broadband was something I had on my to-do list for years. I signed up to Sky when my husband and I moved into our first flat together 15 years ago, and when we moved house seven years later, I stuck with the same provider. Fast forward another eight years, and here I was, still with Sky (I had apparently achieved something called ‘Platinum VIP’ status by this stage), accruing year-on-year price increases every April. But after receiving an email from them, thrilled to be promising me faster speeds for the same price I was already paying, the penny finally dropped. I was actually getting a rubbish deal, and I think even Sky knew it. It was time to switch, but I wasn’t prepared for the ordeal that was to come. What I was (over)paying for The Superfast package I was on was super expensive I finally put aside some time to research and I’m embarrassed at how little effort it took to discover how much I had been overpaying. I was on what Sky calls ‘Superfast Broadband 80’. This package gave me average download speeds of up to 67Mbps, which is frankly far too slow by modern standards – especially for my four-person family. The email was offering me an upgrade to ‘Full Fibre 100’, with speeds of up to 100Mbps for the same price. This package was costing me £53.50 a month, and if you think that sounds expensive, you would be correct. A quick browse on rival Virgin Media’s website revealed that I could get Gigabit speeds, ten times as fast as what Sky was offering me, for £30.99 per month – increasing to £35.99 next year. I’m a writer, not a mathematician, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Sky’s £53.50 for 67Mbps (or 100Mbps if I upgraded) was a worse deal than Virgin’s £30.99 for ten times the speed. In Sky’s defence, every broadband and mobile provider is guilty of this ‘loyalty penalty’. While there are consumer protections in the UK for home and car insurance, preventing companies from offering better deals to new customers than existing ones, this doesn’t apply to broadband or mobile networks. I’ll also say that I received an email from Sky prior to them telling me about the speed boost, which said I was going to be out of contract soon. So the company did at least try to warn me. A warning to all – expect a lot of calls Only a few spam calls Now armed with the figures, I entered my address on Virgin’s site to confirm I could get the fastest speed (Gig1) in my area, closed my laptop and made a note to sort it out before the annual price increase on April 1st. That was where I went wrong. In the four days that followed, I had six missed calls from Sky, presumably hoping to convince me to sign a new contract, and 12 from Virgin hoping to seal the deal. These came every couple of hours until I got so fed up, I blocked the number. By the fourth day I was so angry that I contemplated no broadband at all just for some peace. Instead, I did what Virgin was no doubt hoping I would do: I opened my laptop back up and completed the switch. It took 10 minutes. Before doing this, I rang Sky to see if it was able to match Virgin’s price for a similar speed. I’d always recommend this. Sadly, it came out £11 a month more expensive, despite my years of loyalty. I hung up, a little disappointed my 14-year relationship was resulting in divorce without so much as a trip to the couple’s counsellor. I learned a hard lesson – but I saved £250 a yearBy kicking the can down the road for 14 years, I wound up spending at least £250 per year more than I should have for broadband. So whatever you do, please look at how much you’re paying and consider switching. Loyalty is no longer rewarded: less than 10 minutes of my time saved me money and I’m now getting a much faster service than what I was offered with my previous provider. Join the conversation Show comments The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Related Topics Sky, Better broadband License this content You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Find out more here. Log In Subscribe Advertisement More Stories