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Airband Broadband: What's on offer?

Airband specialise in offering ultrafast broadband to those living in rural areas in South West England and Wales who may otherwise struggle with slow broadband speeds.

They use both Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and Fixed Wireless technology, so even those in really remote areas have more chance of accessing a decent broadband connection.

FTTP broadband offers fast and reliable speeds as a fibre optic cable is laid all the way to a customer's house. Fixed Wireless (FWA) uses radio signals to send and receive Internet signals, but needs a direct line of sight to your property, so availability can vary.

Full fibre broadband, or FTTP, is more reliable than Fixed Wireless, so where Airband offers both connections, we only show results for their faster full fibre packages.

Full fibre broadband plans come in the following options:

  • Fibre 40
  • Fibre 150
  • Fibre 300
  • Fibre 600
  • Fibre 900

Those living in Fixed Wireless areas, can choose from:

  • Airspeed 40
  • Airspeed 150
  • Airspeed 400

Some of the main benefits of choosing Airband broadband include:

  • No mid-contract price rises
  • Switching offer to cover up to 6 months if you have early termination charges to pay on your current broadband contract
  • Optional phone line and call plans with up to 5000 anytime minutes
  • Free installation and equipment, including on the Fixed Wireless packages which need an additional outdoor aerial

Availability of Airband broadband

Airband focus on connecting rural areas, they currently have a network footprint of around 315,000 premises, with coverage throughout the South West of England and Wales, particularly in the following counties:

  • Devon
  • Cheshire
  • Gloucestershire
  • Herefordshire
  • Oxfordshire
  • Shropshire
  • Somerset
  • Warwickshire
  • Worcestershire

To find out if Airband is available in your area, you can use the free postcode checker above.

Airband broadband speeds

Whether you can access Airband full fibre or fixed wireless broadband, the provider offers those in hard-to-reach areas ultrafast broadband speeds.

Full fibre customers can choose from the following broadband speeds:

Download speed Upload speed
Fibre 40 40Mbps 10Mbps
Fibre 150 150Mbps 150Mbps
Fibre 300 300Mbps 300Mbps
Fibre 600 600Mbps 600Mbps
Fibre 900 900Mbps 900Mbps

While those who can only access Airband Fixed Wireless can select one of the following speeds:

Download speed Upload speed
Airspeed 40 40Mbps 10Mbps
Airspeed 150 150Mbps 30Mbps
Airspeed 400 300Mbps 75Mbps

All of Airband's broadband packages come with unlimited usage, and advertised broadband speeds must be received by at least 50% of their customers between the peak hours of 8pm to 10pm in the evening.

It's worth noting however, that where available, full fibre to the home broadband is likely to be more reliable, and faster, than a fixed wireless connection. So, if your property is covered by both options, a full fibre broadband plan would be a better option.

New customer offers

Airband offer new customers special offers, which include money off for an initial period as well as free setup and installation.

The deals listed in the table above are for new customers only, and these can save up to 50% off the standard price for up to 12 months.

Offers do change however, so please ensure to check the table above for the latest prices, as well as click through on the 'Get deal' buttons to visit Airband directly.

Which Airband broadband packages should I choose?

Where customers live in area with access to Airband's full fibre and fixed wireless products, the full fibre broadband connection is recommended as it's likely to be more reliable and faster overall.

The Airband full fibre broadband plans also come with an optional home phone line and inclusive call plans.

The other main option to consider is the download speed, with packages available for light users (40Mb), average users (150Mb - 400Mb, and heavier users or those where people are sharing the connection at the same time (600Mb - 900Mb).

Generally, the more users in a household sharing the connection, especially when they're going online at the same time, as well as connecting devices, the faster a broadband speed should be chosen.

Only small households of one to two people with light Internet use should choose the cheapest 40Mb plan, with most households likely to find the 150Mb and 300Mb plans adequate.

Key terms for Airband broadband deals

Both Airband full fibre and fixed wireless packages come with a minimum term contract of 24-months. Within this period, customers are unable to cancel their contracts without being subject to an early termination charge.

Airband do promise no mid-contract price hikes however, so the price at the start of the minimum term will remain the same for the duration of the contract with no unexpected increases.

Customers are provided with a Linksys WiFi 6 router, as well as an outdoor aerial for the fixed wireless service. While these are provided for free, customers are expected to return any equipment if they end their services.

Frequently Asked Questions

What equipment do I need for Airband wireless?

Customers who sign up for Airband's fixed wireless service will be provided with a wireless router for inside their home, as well as an outdoor radio receiver that will be installed as part of the free setup offer.

How does Airband wireless broadband work?

Fixed wireless from Airband can help homes in remote areas to access a faster broadband service where full fibre has yet to be rolled out.

A receiver is attached to the outside of a property and pointed directly at a larger receiver located somewhere it can connect to a full fibre line. Customer's do need a direct line of sight for this technology work, but where it's available it can bring speeds of up to 400Mbps on average to rural homes.

Which is better full fibre or fixed wireless in rural areas?

Where its available full fibre broadband is better than fixed wireless in rural areas. Full fibre installs a fibre optic line directly into a customer's home. It's therefore much more reliable and isn't affected by distance from the exchange like older broadband technologies are.

Fixed wireless also needs a direct line of sight, so objects like houses or even trees within the line of sight to the main receiver will cause problems with the signal.

If a customer can choose between Airband's full fibre and fixed wireless services, its recommended to take the full fibre connection.

Can I get a home phone line with Airband broadband?

Airband full fibre broadband can be taken with a digital home phone line for an extra £8 per month.

For this, customers receive a digital home phone line with 5000 minutes of anytime calls to UK landlines and UK mobiles.

It's possible to make and take these calls using an app on your mobile phone, or customers can add a standard home phone handset from £80.

What router will I get with Airband broadband?

Airband provide customers with a Linksys WiFi 6 enabled router on all packages.

Customers who sign up for the Fibre 600 or Fibre 900 plans will get two Linksys WiFi 6 devices, and using mesh technology, they can be placed in different areas in the home to boost the wireless coverage and speeds.