John Lewis Broadband

Best known for it’s chain of high-end department stores, John Lewis may at first seem an unlikely choice for broadband. But, powered by established internet service provider, Plusnet, does the retailer stack up? Let’s take a look.

Overview

Average Download Speeds	10 Mbps – 66 Mbps
Average Upload Speeds	1Mbps – 19.5Mbps
Broadband Type	ADSL & Fibre (FTTC)
Home Phone–line Rental	Yes
TV/Entertainment Bundles	No
Prices from	£25.00 per month

Broadband packages and speeds

As John Lewis Broadband is operated by Plusnet, customers will find very similar deals and pricing across the two providers. John Lewis’ range of broadband packages are slightly more limited however, with just three options:- ‘Unlimited’, ‘Fibre’, and ‘Fibre Extra’.

‘Unlimited’ is a standard ADSL connection with average download speeds of 10Mbps. For individuals or a couple who only use the internet for light browsing, a standard ADSL service may be sufficient. But bear in mind that as the entire connection relies on copper telephone wires, speeds you get may vary depending on the time of day and quality of the network connection. For example, if you live in an area where the infrastructure has not been upgraded for a long time, the copper wires may have degraded in quality, making your connection slower.

The next tier, ‘Fibre’ offers download speeds of up to 36Mbps. It is a standard fibre – or ‘Fibre to the Cabinet’ (FTTC) connection – and uses BT Openreach’s network to deliver your broadband. With FTTC broadband, copper cables are used for the journey from the green cabinet in the street to your home. Because FTTC still uses copper wires for at least part of the journey, you may not always get the headline speeds promised, but your vulnerability to network congestion will be less than that of an ADSL line.

The final – and fastest – package is the ‘Fibre Extra’, with download speeds of 66Mbps. Much like the ‘Fibre’ package, this one also runs on an FTTC connection. Households with numerous devices connected at once who spend their time online gaming, streaming content and downloading large files, would suit this package.

Not sure what broadband speed is right for you? Check out our guide here.

Traffic management policy

John Lewis broadband employs a traffic management policy. This means your connection may be slowed artificially during peak times when the network is particularly busy.

During these peak times (generally from 4-8pm), John Lewis gives priority to web browsing and emailing over streaming and file sharing. Consequently, you may experience buffering and loading issues on streaming service apps such as Netflix and Disney+ at these times of the day.

Home phone packages

All John Lewis broadband packages come with line rental and evening with weekend calls as standard. Optional call plans and mobile-bolt ons are as follows:-

Package	Includes	Price per month
Anytime	Free calls to UK landlines for up to 60 minutes per call	£6.86
Anytime and International	Free calls to UK landlines for up to 60 minutes per call + 300 minutes to top 35 countries w/25% discount on any further calls beyond 300 minutes	£9.15
Mobile Bolt-on	Can be added to either ‘Anytime’ or ‘Anytime and International’ call packages	£5.00

Contract length

All John Lewis broadband packages are for 12 months.

Annual price increases

John Lewis broadband are one of a handful of providers that have annual price increases baked into their contract’s terms and conditions. This means that, on or after the 31^st of March every 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.

Bullguard Anti-Virus cancellation

John Lewis broadband used to offer its customers a free antivirus service with Bullguard. However, since the 1^st of June 2022, this service is no longer included with any packages.

Upload speeds

John Lewis broadband’s average upload speeds with ‘Unlimited’ are 1Mbps, 2Mbps with ‘Fibre’ and up to 19.5Mbps with ‘Fibre Extra’.

Upload speeds, although not generally regarded as important as download speeds, will be important to anyone who plays video games online, uploads content regularly to sites and apps like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, or works from home and frequently sends emails containing large files.

For context, if you want to upload 1GB (1 gigabyte) worth of photos or video material, this would take around 2.5 hours to complete at 1Mbps, or about 8 minutes at 19.5Mbps.

Router

All John Lewis broadband packages come with a free router. The ADSL package includes a Netgear WNR1000 Wi-Fi model. Although easy-to-use, it only supports 802.11n (4G Wi-Fi). This will, however, likely be sufficient for most homes just wanting to get online.

Both fibre packages come with the arguably better ZyXEL VMG8924 router. It supports 5G Wi-Fi (802.11ac), and comes equipped with four gigabit Ethernet ports, enabling a high-speed connection for any wired device.

Installation

If you have an existing phone line, installation is free. But if you require a new line to be activated, a one-time charge of £49.99 applies.

Because John Lewis broadband operates on BT’s Openreach network, if you’re switching over from another provider who uses the same network infrastructure (e.g., BT, EE, Plusnet, etc.), John Lewis will let them know you’re leaving. Switching from one of these providers also means that no extra work – such as drilling holes into your walls – needs to be carried out.

Customer service

Because John Lewis broadband is operated by Plusnet, it also uses their same customer support service. The support team is UK-based and available 24 hours a day. They’re free to call from any landline or mobile and can be reached on 0800 022 3300.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Simplicity of choice:-

If you’re after no-frills broadband options, John Lewis provides simplicity with its choice of three straightforward packages. The inclusion of line rental and free evening and weekend calls is a nice bonus, too.

Cons

Annual price rises:-

With the cost of goods and services on the rise, it’s important to be aware that John Lewis broadband is a provider that has annual price hikes. This is perhaps something to consider if you’re on a budget.