NOW broadband deals
NOW Broadband Deals
NOW has a range of different broadband packages on offer. Use our tool to see which packages are available in your area:
Who is NOW?
NOW is a member of the Sky Group. It is best known for NOW TV, its live and on-demand internet television service. However, it also offers a range of broadband and landline packages. These include “no-contract” deals that work on a 1-month rolling basis, allowing the user to cancel at any time without incurring charges or penalties.
NOW’s relationship with Sky is apparent throughout all of its products and services. The TV platform, first launched in 2012, offers a range of different “passes”, providing access to Sky channels and on-demand content on a monthly or pay-as-you-go basis. Entertainment, cinema, sports and Hayu (reality TV) passes offer premium content across a range of different categories, including programming from the Sky Sports and Sky Cinema channels. For more detail on NOW TV, click here.
The broadband service, launched in 2016, also shares a number of similarities with Sky. Most significantly, all of the infrastructure is shared. As a result, there is a great deal of crossover in the packages and speeds that are offered. The primary variation comes in the length of contract, with NOW providing more flexibility than its parent company.
What is NOW Broadband?
NOW Broadband is the brand name covering the entirety of NOW’s ISP services: both ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) and fibre. This differs from Sky, where “broadband” technically only refers to the ADSL service.
ADSL works by transmitting data through copper telephone cables. This technology is older than fibre, and some providers (like Virgin Media) have stopped offering it altogether. However, like Sky, NOW continues to offer an ADSL broadband service as its most basic package. This is marketed as “Brilliant Broadband”, available for £18 per month for 12 months. Average download speed on this package is 11 Mb/s, the same as the equivalent Sky ADSL package.
Like all NOW Broadband packages, the Brilliant Broadband package is also available on a “no-contract” deal. However, the one-off installation fee is waived for customers taking out the more traditional fixed contract.
What is NOW Fibre?
NOW Fibre uses fibre cables to transmit data, instead of the more traditional copper telephone cables. This produces much faster average download speeds. NOW’s packages use “fibre to the cabinet” (FTTC) technology - this means that fibre cabling is run to local cabinets, with the final stretch to individual homes transmitted via copper cables.
There are two fibre packages available through NOW Broadband. These are known as Fab Fibre and Super Fibre respectively. Here are the average speeds on each package:
Fab Fibre: Average download speed 36 Mb/s, average upload speed 10 Mb/s
Fibre 150: Average download speed 63 Mb/s, average upload speed 19 Mb/s
Both of these packages come with free anytime calls included for the duration of the contract. As with the ADSL broadband package, both 12-month and “no-contract” 1-month rolling options are available.
NOW, like a lot of other ISPs, uses the Openreach infrastructure network. Openreach is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT, and rents out its cable system to a wide assortment of providers. Openreach is in the process of developing a network that runs fibre cables directly to individual homes. This is known as “full fibre” (fibre to the premises), and is capable of delivering significantly faster internet speeds. However, unlike its parent company Sky, NOW Broadband does not currently offer any FTTP options, even to eligible properties.
All available NOW Broadband packages come with the Hub Two. This router is essentially a rebranded Sky Q Hub.
Is NOW Broadband unlimited?
Yes, all NOW Broadband packages are unlimited. There is no traffic management, data cap or fair use policy.
Perks of NOW Broadband
All ISPs offer unique benefits and perks to try and attract new customers - and hold on to existing ones. But how does NOW Broadband compare when it comes to offering enticing extras? Here is a rundown of all the add-ons available through NOW.
What is the NOW Broadband Guarantee?
NOW is signed up to the Ofcom Voluntary Code of Practice. As a result, it is committed to allowing customers to exit their contract early if the minimum guaranteed speed is not being delivered within 30 days.
Lots of other providers offer custom guarantees above and beyond this agreement. However, because of NOW’s focus on no-contract deals, the guarantee is not as significant. Read on to find out more about the no-contract system.
What are NOW No-Contract Deals?
NOW Broadband stands out from competitors through its no-contract deal options. These are technically misnamed, given that a contract is formed whenever an ISP makes a deal with a consumer to supply them with internet connectivity. But the premise is that customers are not tied into long contracts: NOW sells packages on a rolling 1-month basis.
This gives consumers a great deal of flexibility. Traditional broadband contracts can tie in customers for up to two years. During this time, lots of things can happen. Better and/or cheaper packages may become available elsewhere. Or customers may become dissatisfied with their provider. NOW’s no-contract option ensures that subscribers can leave at any time, and for any reason, without paying a penalty.
What is NOW Easy Switching?
NOW Easy Switching is a service designed to make transferring onto NOW TV from an existing provider as hassle-free as possible. Specifically, customers transferring from BT, TalkTalk, EE, PlusNet, or any other non-cable provider can make the switch without having to make any contact with their existing ISP. NOW communicates with the provider on behalf of the customer, arranging the changeover in such a way as to ensure uninterrupted internet connectivity.
It is worth noting that customers switching from Virgin Media will need to directly notify their provider about transferring to NOW. A cancellation date as close as possible to the NOW activation date will then be arranged.
In many cases, switching to NOW Broadband can also be carried out without the need for a visit from an engineer. An engineer will only be sent out by NOW if the customer’s property does not have an existing phone line, in which case one will need to be fitted.
What is NOW Broadband Buddy?
NOW Broadband Buddy is a parental controls system. It gives the administrator power to control which websites are accessible from devices connected to broadband. This can be achieved through the use of pre-made filters of PG, 13+ and 18+, which can be set up to activate and deactivate at specific times of day. Alternatively, custom filters that block specific websites and categories can be created.
Broadband Buddy also provides protection against malware-infected and phishing websites. By detecting and blocking these sites, the software can help to keep connected devices and personal data protected.
Broadband Buddy is available to all NOW Broadband customers at no extra cost.
What is NOW TV?
NOW TV is NOW’s main product. Some estimates put the number of subscribers at 1.6 million or higher. The live and on-demand service provides access to a range of Sky channels and other premium programming. Like the broadband service, NOW TV’s primary selling point is the no-contract concept. Various packages can be bought on a monthly basis. In the case of sports, a day pass can even be purchased. NOW TV is available as a standalone service separate from broadband, but NOW Broadband customers can access some discounts on NOW TV passes.
One of the passes discounted to NOW Broadband customers is the Entertainment pass. This provides access to channels such as Sky Atlantic, Sky Comedy, Sky Witness, Sky Crime and Comedy Central. All of the included channels can be watched live, but users also have access to on-demand content that has aired on these channels in the past. This includes the box set of the widely-acclaimed series Game of Thrones, which aired in the UK on Sky Atlantic. NOW Broadband customers get a £3 monthly discount on the Entertainment pass.
The Sky Cinema pass is also available to NOW Broadband customers at a discounted rate. As with the Entertainment pass, the cost is reduced by £3 to broadband users. This provides access to a wide range of on-demand movies: more than 1,000 are included in the library. In addition, the Cinema pass allows customers to watch any of the Sky Cinema channels live. The channels often rebrand on a temporary basis, but the core selection looks like this:
Sky Cinema Action
Sky Cinema Animation
Sky Cinema Comedy
Sky Cinema Drama
Sky Cinema Family
Sky Cinema Greats
Sky Cinema Hits
Sky Cinema Premiere
Sky Cinema Premiere +1
Sky Cinema Sci-fi Horror
Sky Cinema Select Sky Cinema Thriller
None of the other NOW passes come with a discount for NOW Broadband customers, but they can all still be purchased at the standard rate. Among these other passes is the Sports pass. Sky Sports has the largest UK share of broadcast rights to Premier League matches, as well as airing a range of EFL fixtures and Scottish Premiership games. Formula 1 is another big draw, as are major golf tournaments including the Ryder Cup and US PGA Championship.
The Kids and Hayu (reality TV) passes are the other available NOW TV passes. Boost can be added to all NOW TV passes for an extra £3 per month. This increases the number of concurrent screens allowed from two to three, enables full HD (1080p) and offers Dolby 5.1 surround sound.
How to contact NOW support
NOW Broadband offers a wide selection of services and perks. But, as with all broadband providers, there is always the possibility that problems might arise. Should this occur, here’s how you can contact NOW Broadband:
How do I contact NOW by phone?
NOW Broadband customer service is reachable at 03303 323 050. Calls made from a NOW Calls landline are not charged.
How do I contact NOW online?
NOW encourages users to try the community forum as the first step for resolving broadband issues or questions. Thousands of common problems are addressed: in total, more than five thousand solutions have been posted. If users cannot find what they are looking for via a search, they can start their own topic thread and invite help from the community.
Customers can also run a line check, which may be able to reveal any technical issues with the broadband connection.
A NOW live chat is also available between 8AM and 11PM each day. This is dedicated to resolving issues with broadband and calls. A separate live chat, running between 8 and midnight, is available for problems with NOW TV.
As well as offering greater flexibility on deal length, NOW is effectively Sky’s slightly more budget option. This puts it into direct competition with the likes of TalkTalk and Vodafone. But given the high-end TV content available on NOW, it also competes with the likes of Virgin Media and BT.
Conclusion
That wraps up this guide to the NOW Broadband service. There are a wide range of perks on offer from NOW, primarily focused around the contract flexibility and the TV offerings. Now you have read this run-through, you should be in a better position to make an informed choice on whether it’s time to switch over to NOW Broadband.