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Shell Energy Broadband review

Is Shell Energy Broadband right for you?

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Is Shell Energy Broadband any good?

The good:

  • Good value deals

  • Friendly call-agents

  • Low set-up costs

  • Discounts for energy customers

The bad:

  • No TV packages

  • No short-term contracts

  • No rewards

  • Line rental required

Shell Energy Broadband used to be known as First Utility, which was a popular broadband provider well-known for its low-budget internet solutions. Shell Energy Broadband is no different, continuing to offer good value broadband deals.

If it's simple, low-cost broadband you're after, without any of the bells and whistles, then Shell Energy Broadband would be a good choice. Its range of broadband and phone packages offer great value for money compared to some of the more well-known providers. 

What's more, if you also get your domestic energy from them then you can get further discounts. 

However, it doesn't offer any extra perks or TV services, so if you're after a full, comprehensive package then you may need to look elsewhere. Otherwise, read on to find out how the speeds and prices offered by Shell Energy Broadband stack up. 

How we review providers

How we review providers

When reviewing a broadband provider, it isn’t just as simple as looking at the price and the speed they offer. There is much more to it than that!

There are a few things we look into when determining whether we recommend a provider or not. These include things like speed, price, router performance, customer service...

We go through each of these in more detail in the review, look at how well the provider performs for each, and then compare how the provider's advertisements compare with real world experiences as well as other providers.

All our reviews are genuine, unbiased, and written by broadband experts.

Shell Energy Broadband packages and prices

Shell Energy Broadband is one of the cheaper broadband providers, and most customers believe the provider to be good value for money.

The following tables show how Shell Energy Broadband’s prices compare to similar packages from competitors:

Deals Shell Energy price BT equivalent package price Sky equivalent package price Virgin Media equivalent package price TalkTalk equivalent package price
Fast Broadband (11Mbps) £17.99 £29.99 N/A N/A £26.95
Superfast Fibre (35Mbps) £22.99 £27.99 £26 N/A £28
Superfast Fibre Plus (63Mbps) £24.99 £29.99 £26 £25 £29.95

*Prices correct as of September 2023

Shell Energy currently offers five tiers of broadband packages with varying speeds – Fast Broadband, Superfast Fibre, Superfast Fibre Plus, and Shell's new Full Fibre packages

Shell Energy Fast Broadband review

This package comes with average download speeds of 11Mbps and upload speeds of 1Mbps. This is ADSL broadband, meaning it is best suited for smaller households of one or two people who don’t use the internet very often.

Shell Energy Broadband

Fast Broadband

18 month contract + Phone

11Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£19.99 / month

£9.95 upfront fees

 

Although this is a well priced deal, we would only recommend this if you cannot access any of Shell's fibre optic packages. 11 Mbps is quite slow, and for a bit more each month you will be able to access superfast broadband speeds with their Superfast Fibre package.

Shell Energy Superfast Fibre review

With average download speeds of 38Mbps and upload speeds of 9Mbps. this is a fibre broadband package, making it faster and more reliable than the ADSL broadband. 

Shell Energy Broadband

Superfast Fibre

18 month contract Fibre + Phone

38Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£23.99 / month

£9.95 upfront fees

 

This broadband package is suitable for smaller sized households, but if you all plan on using the internet at the same time we would recommend you look a level up, at the Superfast Fibre Plus package.

Shell Energy Superfast Fibre Plus review

This broadband package offers average download speeds of 67Mbps and upload speeds of 17Mbps

Shell Energy Broadband

Superfast Fibre Plus

18 month contract Fibre + Phone

67Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£25.99 / month

£9.95 upfront fees

 

This package will suit most households. With 63 Mbps you will be able to have multiple users at once downloading and streaming video and music content without much issue.

Shell Energy Full Fibre reviews: Full Fibre 100 / 200 / 300 / 500 / 900

Shell Energy Broadband has just added 5 new contracts to its offering. The 'Full Fibre' packages are aptly name; they are all FTTP, which means they use use fibre optic cables all the way to your property (so full fibre) and the number denotes the average download speed they offer (e.g. the Full Fibre 100 packages comes with a 100 Mbps download speed).

If you are looking for a bit more oomph to your broadband connection, you can't go wrong with these. They offer blisteringly fast speeds, and are quite competitive in terms of pricing too!

Shell Energy Broadband

Full Fibre 100

18 month contract Fibre

109Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£26.99 / month

£9.95 upfront fees

Shell Energy Broadband

Full Fibre 200

18 month contract Fibre

207Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£29.99 / month

£9.95 upfront fees

Shell Energy Broadband

Full Fibre 300

18 month contract Fibre

311Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£34.99 / month

£9.95 upfront fees

Shell Energy Broadband

Full Fibre 500

18 month contract Fibre

525Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£39.99 / month

£9.95 upfront fees

Shell Energy Broadband

Full Fibre 900

18 month contract Fibre

944Mb / second

Average speed

Unlimited

Usage

£44.99 / month

£9.95 upfront fees

 

What makes Shell Energy Broadband stand out?

  • Good value broadband – Shell Energy has been known for offering some of the cheapest deals on the market, especially for basic, ADSL packages.
  • Low setup costs – Shell Energy Broadband send all their new customers the latest router for a small postal and packaging cost of just £9.95.
  • Unlimited data – All Shell Energy Broadband deals come with unlimited downloads, meaning you can browse and stream to your heart’s content.

Are there any downsides to Shell Energy Broadband?

  • Few extras – Shell Energy Broadband packages are fairly simple, coming with line rental, a router, and not much else.
  • No TV packages – Shell Energy Broadband doesn’t offer any TV subscriptions to bundle with your broadband, so you’ll have to get this service elsewhere from another provider.
  • No short-term contracts – All Shell Energy Broadband contracts last for 18 months, which means you’re free to switch in that time should you need to.
  • Charge of line installation – While Shell Energy Broadband's Full Fibre packages do not come with line rental, it's others do require a phone line. If you don’t already have one installed, you could be charged up to £67.50 for installation.

Availability: where can I get Shell Energy broadband?

Shell Energy, like many other internet service providers, uses the Openreach network, so their basic and superfast broadband packages are widely available around the UK. However, it seems that their ultrafast packages are not as easily available.

If you’re unsure you can use our postcode checker to find out whether Shell Energy broadband is available in your area.

Does Shell Energy Broadband offer any extra features?

Shell Energy Broadband don’t have too many special offers or extras to get excited about. There is no TV package currently available either.

Shell Energy Broadband home phone packages review

Shell Energy Broadband also offers three different call packages (Evening and Weekend Plus, Anytime Plus, and International Calls) that can be added to your broadband service depending on your personal needs.

As Shell Energy Broadband uses the Openreach network to deliver internet to your home, all of their broadband packages come with line rental, but pay as you go calls are standard. If you want to add inclusive calls to your broadband and phone package, consider the following offers:

  • Evening and Weekend Plus - £7.17 per month on top of your broadband bill. Inclusive weekend calls to UK landlines and mobiles.
  • Anytime Plus - £15.51 per month extra. Anytime calling to UK landlines and mobiles.
  • Unlimited calls to landlines in 54 international destinations, discounted calls to mobiles in those 54 destinations, plus a 50% discount on calls to all other international destinations (landlines and mobiles).

How is Shell Energy broadband rated by customers?

Shell Energy has a fairly good record when it comes to customer service. Although First Utility - the company it took over in 2018 - faced many complaints about unresolved complaints and long call waiting times, these pain points have significantly improved under Shell Energy Broadband's management in recent years. 

Shell Energy Broadband has a team of friendly call-centre agents, with phone lines open from 8am-8pm Mon-Sat, and 9am-6pm on Sundays. You can call their customer service team on 0330 0945801. It also has online customer support available 24 hours a day.

Shell Energy do not offer too many exciting packages for their customers in terms of add-ons and free gifts, but they are great for those on a low budget, providing some of the cheapest broadband deals in the market. So, they are a good choice for those after cheap and simple broadband, but if you want to bundle your TV with your broadband then you'll need to look elsewhere.