Three Home Broadband

What is Three 4G broadband and 5G broadband?

Three 4G broadband is an internet service for your home that uses a 4G connection (like your smartphone does) rather than a more typical ‘fixed line’ (generally delivered through your landline and/or a fibre optic cable). Three 5G broadband is much the same, except it can tap into faster 5G networks, allowing for higher speed internet.

Why is 4G and 5G home broadband good?

• No landline needed, saving you money
• Quick and easy to set up with no engineer visit required
• Short-term contracts
• Easy to take with you
• Can be faster than some fixed line services

There are a number of benefits to 5G and 4G home broadband. For one thing, as the data isn’t sent through your landline, you don’t need a landline. This is a potentially big deal as many people rarely use their landline for calls these days, keeping it simply because it’s a requirement for their internet. So by taking it out of the equation you can also remove line rental costs.

The setup process is also simple. We’ll get into a bit more detail on this below, but it’s basically just plug and play. So you can set it up yourself without needing to wait for (or pay for) an engineer visit.

Contracts are also often shorter. In fact, you can sometimes get as little as a 1-month contract with 4G or 5G home broadband. So if you only need it briefly – say if you’re only going to be in your accommodation for a couple of months, or you need something to tide you over until your fibre broadband gets installed, it’s a flexible option. But if you’re happy to commit long-term there are longer contracts too, which can save you some money each month.

Depending on where you are, 4G home broadband may also be faster than your fixed line options. This isn’t always true – far from it – but in places with good 4G signal but poor fibre infrastructure it can be.

5G home broadband is even faster, and therefore even more likely to be faster than fibre broadband – though again exact speeds will depend on the network, coverage, and other factors, such as the ability for the signal to pass through obstacles. For a clearer idea, you can check your coverage on Three’s home broadband coverage checker.

And finally, due to its plug and play nature, 4G and 5G home broadband is easy to take with you. So if you move house (or are even just traveling somewhere with plug sockets but no Wi-Fi), then you can bring your router with you and simply plug it in again in the new location.

How does it work?

With 5G and 4G home broadband the signal is sent wirelessly from a nearby mast to your router, whereas with fixed line broadband the signal is sent through wires all the way to your router. In either case, once your router receives a signal it then sends it out (usually wirelessly) to the rest of your devices so they can get online.

So in short, with 4G and 5G home broadband there are far fewer cables involved.

This lack of cables also makes setup simple. While the process can vary slightly depending on which 5G or 4G home broadband device you have, it’s basically a case of inserting the supplied SIM card, plugging the router in, and turning it on.

From there it should start broadcasting a network, one you can access using the name and password supplied with the router. That’s enough to get online, but there should also be details on accessing the admin panel, which will allow you to change the password and any other router settings you might want to.

Other than having to put a SIM card in this is all similar to the setup of most routers – except without the engineer visit that usually comes first to get the internet itself up and running.

What speeds can you get with Three 5G and 4G broadband?

The speeds you’ll get will depend in large part on coverage in your area, as well as other factors, such as the number of users and the obstacles between the mast and your router. Speeds are also affected by the actual router you’re using.

At the time of writing, if you order Three 4G Broadband you’ll get sent the Three 4G Hub (a rebranded ZTE MF286D), the hardware of which is capable of maximum theoretical speeds of 600Mbps for downloads and 150Mbps for uploads. However real-world speeds are typically far lower and will vary from place to place, so use Three's broadband coverage checker here to ensure the product is suitable for you. 

Three 5G home broadband is significantly faster, with the Three 5G Hub (which is a rebranded ZTE MC801A 5G Hub and is what you’ll be sent if you take out Three 5G Home Broadband) theoretically supporting maximum download speeds of up to 3.8Gbps. However, current speeds with Three 5G broadband are typically much lower, with Three claiming average download speeds of 150Mbps, and our own tests recording an average of 445Mbps. That’s still very fast though, and you can check whether 5G is available in your area here.

Note that there’s also a Three 5G Outdoor Hub, which can deliver similar speeds to Three’s standard 5G home broadband plans but comes with a Hub that you can install outdoors, so it’s better able to lock on to 5G signals.

What is the difference between home broadband and mobile broadband?

The difference between home broadband and mobile broadband is that the former requires you to plug in a router – so it requires access to a plug socket – and is designed to be left on permanently in your home, while the latter is typically battery-powered and designed to be used when out and about.

Battery aside, 4G and 5G mobile broadband generally works a lot like 4G and 5G home broadband in that you have a router with a SIM card in it that beams a signal to other electronic devices, getting them online.

As such, you could use mobile broadband in place of home broadband, but the number of devices you can get online at one time is often lower and data limits are often more restrictive, so it’s not ideal.

You can also get ‘dongles’ for 5G and 4G mobile broadband, which are designed to be plugged into the device you want to get online. This is done via USB and means they can only generally get one device online at once – and only one with a USB port.

What are the differences between the Three 4G and the Three 5G Broadband?

The difference between Three 5G home broadband and Three 4G home broadband primarily comes down to the router you’re sent, with the former coming with a Three 5G Hub (a rebranded ZTE MC801A 5G Hub), and the latter coming with a Three 4G Hub (a rebranded ZTE MF286D).

Note that there’s also a Three 5G Outdoor Hub, and this will instead come with an Eero 6 Wi-Fi router. The main difference here is that you install the Hub outside, giving it better access to 5G signals, so it’s a better choice in homes that struggle to get a signal, but otherwise it’s a similar product to the standard Three 5G Hub.

In any case, with their support for 5G, the Three 5G Hubs are far faster than the 4G one – as you can see in the chart above. Though note that the listed speeds are what the hardware is theoretically capable of, not what Three is promising. In the real world your speeds are likely to be much lower in all cases – check the speeds section above for more details.

Beyond that, the main difference other than the design is that the Three 4G Hub has four Ethernet ports, while the 5G Hubs have just two. So if you rely on a lot of wired connections to devices then the 4G Hub actually has an advantage.

Overall though, Three’s 5G Hubs are by far the fastest and best home broadband routers on Three. However, you should check your home actually has Three 5G coverage before buying one of these. Entering your postcode during the purchase process will inform you of whether you have 5G coverage or not.

Can I get unlimited home broadband?

Yes, all of the devices listed above are available with unlimited data on Three.

Does Three offer 5G home broadband?

Yes, Three 5G Home broadband is available with the Three 5G Hub (ZTE MC801A 5G Hub) and with the Three 5G Outdoor Hub (which comes with an Eero 6 Wi-Fi router). Coverage isn't available everywhere, so please check here before purchasing.

Is there a money-back guarantee?

Yes, Three offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on both Three 5G Broadband and Three 4G Broadband plans, so if you find that you don’t have a good signal or speeds, have other issues, or just decide that it’s not for you, then you can return the Hub and cancel your plan for a full refund within the first 30 days.

Note that while this information was correct at the time of writing, it’s always worth double checking Three’s terms and conditions direct before buying.