SSE Broadband

*Please note*

In 2020 SSE Phone and Broadband was acquired by Ovo Energy.

Then, in October 2022, it was announced that major broadband provider TalkTalk, had acquired Ovo Energy’s Phone and Broadband sector, triggering the migration of all 135,000 customers to Origin broadband, also owned by TalkTalk.

The migration of all SSE Phone and Broadband customers to Origin Broadband has now completed.

Overview

Average Download Speeds	35Mbps – 900Mbps
Average Upload Speeds	9Mbps – 19Mbps
Broadband Type	Fibre (FTTC/FTTP)
Home Phone-line Rental	Yes
TV/Entertainment Packages	No
Cost	from £23.00 per month

Broadband Packages and Speeds

SSE offers a total of six broadband packages, spread across either partial-fibre or full-fibre connections.

Unlimited Fibre & Unlimited Fibre Plus (FTTC)

SSE’s ‘Unlimited Fibre’ and ‘Unlimited Fibre Plus’ packages have average download speeds of 35Mbps and 63Mbps, respectively. Both of these packages are ‘superfast broadband’ – also known as ‘Fibre to the Cabinet’ (FTTC). For this type of broadband, fibre optic cables are routed from the telephone exchange to the cabinet. Copper telephone wires are then used to connect your broadband from the cabinet to your home. Because of this you’ll need to have an active phone line, but SSE includes line rental in the cost of all of its broadband packages.

To work out whether either of these speeds would be suitable for you, it’s a good idea to allocate 10Mbps for each person in the household connecting to your broadband at the same time.

To find out more about broadband speeds and selecting the right package, check out our guide.

Full Fibre (FTTP)

SSE’s remaining four packages are Full Fibre broadband. Also known as Fibre To The Premises (FTTP), Full Fibre broadband means fibre optic cables run from the telephone exchange to your home. No phone line is required for this type of connection, and it is the fastest and most reliable type of broadband available in the UK.

The packages on offer here range in average download speeds from 100Mbps all the way up to 900Mbps.

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.

Contract length

SSE’s FTTC packages are available on 18 month contracts, while the FTTP packages are only available on a 24-month option.

SSE 60-Day Broadband Happiness Guarantee

Customers signing up for any of SSE’s broadband packages will receive the added assurance of their ’60-Day Broadband Happiness Guarantee’. The guarantee means that, if you are not happy with any aspect of the service from SSE within the first 60 days of your broadband being activated, you can terminate your contract without incurring any early termination charges (ERCs).

Home phone packages

SSE includes basic 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
Evening & Weekend	Unlimited calls to landlines and UK mobiles from 7pm – 7am weekdays, and anytime on the weekend.	£5.00
Anytime	Unlimited calls to landlines and UK mobiles any time of the day.	£10.00
Anytime Plus	Unlimited calls to landlines and UK mobiles, as well as top 50 International destinations.	£12.00

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 Instagram, other devices (e.g., sending memes over Whatsapp) or cloud storage. With SSE’s two FTTC packages, they offer average upload speeds of 9Mbps and 19Mbps, respectively.

These speeds would be more than adequate for sending emails with attachments, and uploading content to social media.

Router

Although SSE aren’t clear on the exact device they’ll send you, it will most likely be the Technicolor DGA4134 Wi-Fi router.

The router is free and will be for new customers to self-install the device. SSE have also posted a guide on their website to help get your router up and running once your broadband has been activated.

Installation

Both of SSE’s FTTC broadband packages are free of any set-up fees. However, if you require a new phone line, SSE will need to send out an Openreach engineer to install the line and a charge of £60 will apply.

Likewise, if you opt for one of SSE’s FTTP packages and don’t have a full-fibre line installed, an Openreach engineer will need to visit your home to set everything up. For this, a connection fee of £35 applies.

Customer service

SSE’s customer service team is available on 0345 071 9886 and are on-hand Monday to Friday, 8:00am – 6:00pm, and Saturdays 8:00am – 2:00pm. The team is also available over Whatsapp. Queries can also be sent via a webform on the SSE site.

At the time of writing, SSE has accrued over 50,000 reviews on Trustpilot, with an average rating of 4.2/5.00.

Pros and Cons

Pros

60-day guarantee:-

SSE’s ’60-day Broadband Happiness Guarantee’ is a generous bonus most other providers do not offer.

Cons

Contract length:-

SSE broadband packages are only available on 18 or 24 month contracts, meaning those who would prefer something more flexible – such as a 12 month, or even 30-day rolling contract – are left behind.