4G home broadband: who it works for, and who it does not
By Tom HartleyFigures checked 20 July 2026
A 4G router replaces your fixed line with a mobile signal. No engineer, no digging, no waiting for a rollout. For most of the 1,471,838 UK homes with no gigabit plan, it is the realistic answer rather than a compromise.
What speed you actually get
Expect 10 to 60 Mbps down in normal conditions. Networks advertise higher and occasionally deliver it, but planning around 20 to 30 Mbps is the honest baseline outside a town.
That is enough for two 4K streams, video calls, and normal household use at once. It is not enough for a house of heavy uploaders, and latency is worse than fibre by 20 to 40 milliseconds, which competitive gamers will notice and nobody else will.
The variable that decides everything is signal strength at the spot where the router sits, not the network you pick. A window facing the mast beats a better tariff every time.
When it does not work
- Deep valleys and thick stone. Terrain that blocks fibre economics usually blocks radio too. Rural notspots often stack.
- Congested rural masts. One mast serving a wide area slows to a crawl between 7pm and 10pm. Speed tests at 11am tell you nothing.
- Heavy upload work. Uploads on 4G are typically 5 to 15 Mbps. If you move large files for a living, this is the limit that will bite.
The three networks that sell it
Only the mobile networks offer proper 4G home broadband with an unlimited allowance and a fixed router. Ordered by entry price.
Three
from £17 a month
Cheapest unlimited 4G and 5G home broadband of the three networks, and the only one that routinely bundles the router at no extra cost.
Worth knowing. Coverage is the thinnest of the big networks once you leave towns. Check the signal at your address before anything else.
Check Three at your postcodeVodafone
from £20 a month
Strong 5G coverage in and around larger towns, with a 30-day money-back guarantee that makes it low-risk to test.
Worth knowing. Rural 4G is weaker than EE. Worth trying only if the coverage map is convincing at your postcode.
Check Vodafone at your postcodeEE
from £25 a month
The widest 4G footprint in the UK, which matters more than headline speed once you are outside a town.
Worth knowing. Costs more than Three for comparable data. You are paying for the coverage, which in a notspot is usually the right trade.
Check EE at your postcodeLeaning towards Vodafone? We tested the GigaCube in full.
Read the Vodafone GigaCube reviewHow to choose without guessing
- Check all three coverage maps at your exact postcode. Discount each one slightly, they are drawn optimistically.
- If you already have a phone on one of these networks, walk around the house and watch the signal bars. That is free field data nobody else has.
- Pick the network with the best signal, not the best price. A £17 plan that drops out is worth less than a £25 plan that does not.
- Take the shortest contract available for the first month, and test in the evening rather than at lunchtime.
If 5G reaches your postcode, read the 5G comparison first. The price gap is small and the speed gap is not. If neither works, see the full guide.