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Shell Energy Broadband
Shell Energy Broadband (previously known as First Utility) is one of a handful of energy and gas companies that now offers broadband. Having recently acquired Post Office Broadband, Shell Energy is beginning to establish a name for itself for providing a wide range of competitively priced broadband deals. Let’s take a look.
Overview
| Average Download Speeds | 11Mbps – 944Mbps |
| Average Upload Speeds | 1Mbps – 109Mbps |
| Broadband Type | ADSL & Fibre (FTTC/FTTP) |
| Home Phone-line Rental | Yes |
| TV/Entertainment Packages | No |
| Cost | from £17.99 per month |
Broadband packages and speeds
ADSL broadband
Shell Energy’s base package, ‘Fast Broadband’ is a standard ADSL connection, with average download speeds of 11Mbps.
If you’re a small household (1-2 people) and only use the internet for very minimal activities such as checking emails and occasionally browsing the internet, this may be a good choice.
Fibre broadband
The next two packages on offer are ‘Superfast Fibre’ and ‘Superfast Fibre Plus’, which have average download speeds of 38Mbps and 67Mbps, respectively.
These packages are both on a fibre broadband (also known as Fibre to the Cabinet FTTC) connection, meaning it incorporates a mix of fibre optic and copper cables.
Because less copper telephone wire is used to deliver this type of broadband, you’ll get access to faster speeds and a more stable connection than ADSL – which uses only copper cables.
If you live in a household where a few devices (3-4) are accessing the internet at once to stream and download content in standard definition, superfast broadband makes for a good choice.
G.Fast broadband
The next two packages from Shell are titled ‘Ultrafast Fibre’ and ‘Ultrafast Fibre Plus’. Average speeds here range from 145Mbps to 290Mbps. Both packages use copper-based technology called ‘G.Fast’ to deliver your connection.
Although not as fast as ‘Full Fibre’ broadband, G.Fast is considered an improvement on FTTC broadband, delivering speeds up to four times faster than FTTC.
These packages would be great for larger households who use the internet for bandwidth-heavy activities such as streaming in UHD 4K, gaming online, and working from home.
Full fibre broadband
The final five packages from Shell Energy are all ‘Full Fibre’ or, ‘Fibre to the Premises’ (FTTP) broadband. This is where fibre optic cables are used for the entirety of the journey to deliver your broadband – from the exchange to your home.
Each package ranges in average download speeds from 100Mbps all the way up to 944Mbps. FTTP broadband is not only the fastest, but most reliable type of broadband available in the UK.
At the moment, only a relatively small percentage of the country can access this type of broadband. To see whether you’re eligible for full fibre broadband, use our postcode checker.
Shell Energy Social Tariff: Essentials
Shell Energy also offers two broadband and one home phone social tariff: Essentials Fast, Essentials Superfast Fibre, and Essentials Home Phone. Social tariff broadband exists as a way for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to offer special prices on a number of broadband deals to qualifying low-income individuals and households.
Essentials Fast is the same as the standard Fast package with an ADSL connection and 11Mbps in average download speeds. It is priced at £15 per month.
Essentials Superfast Fibre is the same as the standard Superfast Fibre option with 38Mbps in download speeds, and priced at a discount of £20 per month.
Finally, the Essentials Home Phone package – £15 per month – provides you with a phone line connection and free calls between other Shell Energy Phone and Broadband customers.
Upload speeds
Upload speeds determine how fast you’re able to copy or send content – such as photos or videos – from your device to apps like YouTube or Instagram, other devices (e.g., sending memes over Whatsapp) or cloud storage.
Shell Energy Broadband’s average upload speeds are listed below:-
| Package | Average Upload Speeds |
| Fast Broadband (ADSL) | 1Mbps |
| Superfast Fibre (FTTC) | 9Mbps |
| Superfast Fibre Plus (FTTC) | 17Mbps |
| Ultrafast Fibre (G.Fast) | 25Mbps |
| Ultrafast Fibre Plus (G.Fast) | 45Mbps |
| Full Fibre 100 (FTTP) | 19Mbps |
| Full Fibre 200 (FTTP) | 25Mbps |
| Full Fibre 300 (FTTP) | 38Mbps |
| Full Fibre 500 (FTTP) | 71Mbps |
| Full Fibre 900 (FTTP) | 109Mbps |
Contract length
All of Shell Energy Broadband’s packages are available on 18-month contracts only.
Annual price increases
Like most major internet service providers (ISPs), Shell Energy has annual broadband price increases baked into its contract’s terms and conditions.
This means that, on or after the 31st of March each year, the price of your broadband package will increase in-line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation. An additional fee of 3.9% also applies.
Home phone packages
Shell Energy Broadband includes phone line rental as standard on all its broadband packages. If you’d like to use your home phone to make calls, they also offer a few call plan options which can be bolted on to your broadband deal:-
| Package | Includes | Price per month |
| Basic | No inclusive calls. PAYG as standard. | £0.00 |
| Evening and Weekend | Inclusive evening and weekend calls to UK landlines, UK mobiles and 0845/0870 numbers. | £7.17 |
| Anytime | Inclusive anytime calls to UK landlines, UK mobiles and 0845/0870 numbers. | £11.94 |
| Anytime Plus | Inclusive anytime calls to UK landlines, UK mobiles, 0845/0870 numbers and landlines in 54 Countries. | £15.51 |
| International Calls Package | Inclusive anytime calls to landlines in 54 countries (plus discounted calls to mobiles in those 54 countries). 50% discount on all other international landline and mobile calls. | £8.36 |
Router
Shell Energy provides all new Superfast Fibre, Superfast Fibre Plus and Full Fibre customers with a Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 hub. This hub features Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), 2.4GHz (2×2), 5GHz (4×4), Band steering, Automatic Channel Selection, WPS, 4 x Gigabit Ethernet ports for LAN and 1 x Gigabit Ethernet port for WAN.
Shell Energy Broadband Wi-Fi Router Specification –
Shell Energy Wi-Fi 6 hub
Wi-Fi: 802.11ax (2.4GHz 2×2) & (5GHz 4×4)
Dual-band Wi-Fi: Yes
Tri-band Wi-Fi: No
Ethernet: 4x Gigabit LAN, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet WAN
Extras: Bandsteering, Automatic Channel Selection, WPS
For those customers signing up to either the Superfast Fibre Essentials, Ultrafast Fibre or Ultrafast Fibre Plus plans will receive a dual-band Technicolour DGA0122 wireless router.
Shell Energy Broadband Wi-Fi Router Specification –
Technicolour DGA0122
Wi-Fi: 802.11n (2.4GHz) & 802.11ac (5 GHz)
Dual-band Wi-Fi: Yes
Tri-band Wi-Fi: No
Ethernet: 4x Gigabit LAN, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet WAN
Extras: N/A
Fast Broadband and Fast Broadband Essentials customers will be given a single-band Zyxel AMG1302 wireless router.
Shell Energy Broadband Wi-Fi Router Specification –
Zyxel AMG1302
Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz)
Dual-band Wi-Fi: No
Tri-band Wi-Fi: No
Ethernet: 4 x 10/100 LAN
Extras: N/A
It’s important to note, you will need to return your router once your contract ends. If Shell Energy finds that the router you have sent back is not in good working order, a charge of between £39.98 – £56.25 will apply.
For help with setting up your router, Shell can help.
Installation
Shell Energy Broadband does not charge an installation fee for new customers signing up to either their ADSL or partial-fibre (FTTC/G. Fast) broadband packages.
However, if you do require a new phone line to be installed, or, are signing up for any of full fibre deals, a £67.50 fee applies.
Finally, although the router you’ll receive with any deal you choose is free, a small ‘setup fee’ of £9.95 will be applied to cover the postage and packaging of this device.
Customer service
Shell Energy Broadband’s customer service team is available on 0330 094 5801 and is available Monday to Saturday 8:00am – 8:00pm, and Sundays 9:00am – 6:00pm. The team is also available over live chat.
If you’re experiencing connection issues and would rather try and resolve the problem yourself before calling, Shell features a troubleshooting guide on their website. Or, if you’d rather reach out to them via email, you can do so by using their online webform.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Range of packages:-
Whereas many broadband providers only offer a few options for broadband deals, Shell Energy offers an extremely wide-range of packages that will suit any internet user.
Cons
Annual price rises:-
With the cost of goods and services on the rise, it’s important to be aware that Shell Energy broadband is a provider that has annual price hikes included as part of its broadband contracts.