POP Telecom Broadband

POP Telecom is a family-run broadband provider based out of Essex. The company – which has been in business for more than 20 years – offers simple broadband packages with a few optional extras and is backed by a UK-based customer service team. Let’s take a look.

Overview

Average Download Speeds	11Mbps – 67Mbps
Average Upload Speeds	1Mbps – 19Mbps
Broadband Type	ADSL & Fibre (FTTC)
Home Phone-line Rental	Yes
TV/Entertainment Bundles	Yes
Cost	from £19.99 per month

Broadband packages and speeds

POP Telecom offers three main broadband packages:- ‘Fast Standard Broadband’, ‘Superfast Fibre 40’, and ‘Superfast Fibre 80’.

Fast Standard Broadband

POP’s entry-level package, ‘Fast Standard Broadband’ is a standard ADSL connection and offers average download speeds of 10Mbps. Because ADSL relies solely on copper telephone wires to deliver your broadband connection, it will require an active phone line. Thankfully, POP Telecom includes line rental in the cost of the package. ADSL, although the slowest type of broadband available, would still be suitable for an individual or couple who use the internet for checking emails, light browsing, and streaming shows in standard definition on Netflix.

Superfast Fibre 40

Next up is POP’s ‘Superfast Fibre 40’ option, with average download speeds of 38Mbps. This would likely be a good choice for an average household or accommodation shared by 3-4 people who, using a few devices simultaneously, browse the internet and stream TV shows and movies in standard definition. ‘Superfast’ broadband – also known as ‘Fibre to the Cabinet’ (FTTC) – means fibre optic cables are routed from the telephone exchange to the cabinet. Then, from the cabinet to your home, copper wires are used, so you’ll still need a phone line for this connection. But much like their standard broadband package, POP Telecom includes line rental in the monthly cost of the package. Because an FTTC connection uses less copper wiring than ADSL, you can expect a faster and more reliable connection.

Superfast Fibre 80

POP’s final and fastest package, ‘Superfast Fibre 80’ offers average download speeds of 67Mbps. This option is more likely to suit you if you live in a large household with many devices (5+) streaming and downloading content at once. Like the ‘Fast Fibre 40’ package, the ‘Superfast Fibre 80’ is an FTTC connection.

For more on broadband speeds, check our guide.

Upload Speeds

POP Telecom’s average upload speeds are 1Mbps with their ‘Fast Standard Broadband’ package, 10Mbps on ‘Superfast Fibre 40’ and 19Mbps on the ‘Superfast Fibre 80’.

If you’re someone who regularly shares content (photos and video) to social media sites such as YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook, you’ll want to have an idea of what upload speeds your broadband package provides. As an example, to upload 1GB (1 gigabyte) worth of content would take around 2.5 hours with upload speeds of 1Mbps, or about 7 and a half minutes with rates of 19Mbps.

Contract length

All of POP Telecom’s broadband plans are for 18 months.

They also offer their entry-level broadband deal on a monthly-rolling option, but this will cost you significantly more (£30.00 per month instead of £19.99 per month contracted for 18 months).

Phone bundles

POP Telecom includes phone line rental as standard on all its broadband packages. Separate to this, they offer a digital landline package (no copper wires required) and a standard Anytime call-plan:-

Package	Includes	Price per month
Anytime Calls (bolted-on to any broadband package)	Anytime calls to UK landlines (01, 02, 03)	£6.50
Digital Line with Unlimited Calls (separate to broadband package w/line rental)	Unlimited calls to UK landlines (01, 02, 03) and UK mobiles (EE, O2 Vodafone, Three)	£15.00

TV bundles

In addition to a home phone, POP Telecom also offers the option of a TV package.

The package comes bundled with an Alexa-compatible, Netgem set-top box. While it doesn’t offer as comprehensive a list of channels available from competitors like BT, Sky and Virgin, it does have over 135 channels, as well as apps such as BBC iPlayer, Rakuten TV, Hayu and Amazon Prime Video.

The TV package can be bolted-on to either the ‘Superfast Fibre 40’ or ‘Superfast Fibre 80’ deals, and costs an extra £15.00 per month.

Included in the deal is a free 12-month subscription to Amazon Prime.

Router

POP Telecom provides new customers signing-up to any of their broadband packages a free TP Link VR400 router. This is a dual-band router which can support speeds of up to 100Mbps. It also comes equipped with four ethernet ports and three antennae to give you a solid Wi-Fi signal.

Your router will arrive the day before your new broadband connection starts and although the device itself is free, a £9.99 postage and packing fee applies.

Installation

Although you’ll need to pay for the delivery of the router, installation itself is free. Once sign-up is complete, POP estimates it will take around two weeks to get you fully online with their service.

Customer Service

POP Telecom’s UK-based customer service team is available daily from 9:00am – 6:00pm and can be reached on 0343 538 6611. Alternatively, you can drop them an email at customer.service@poptelecom.co.uk.

At the time of writing, POP Telecom has accrued over 6,000 reviews on Trustpilot and holds an average rating of 4.7/5.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Straightforward selection:-

POP Telecom give a clear rundown of the packages they have available and what to expect. POP also adequately caters to those wanting to bundle their broadband with a home phone and/or TV package.

Cons

Lack of flexibility with contracts:-

POP Telecom only provides 18-month contracts. This may be seen as too restrictive for those who prefer a shorter, 12-month option. And, although they do offer the choice for a 30-day rolling contract (more than most other providers), it is only for their basic ADSL package.