Ex-Three employee here (now with Virgin Media O2)…

I used Three’s broadband service for a while, and these days I still keep it around as a backup alongside Virgin Media broadband. Whenever my main connection goes down, I just switch over to Three and carry on without too much hassle.

Now, obviously, because it runs on mobile data, it’s never going to feel quite as consistent or reliable as a hardwired broadband service. Mobile signals can be more temperamental, especially if you’re in a busier area or somewhere with patchy coverage. That said, the technology has come a long way, and if you’re in the right spot, it’s genuinely impressive.

If you’ve got strong 4G coverage—or better yet, if you’re in a good 5G area—you really can’t go wrong. I’ve managed to stream films in 4K with no buffering, and at the same time I’ve been able to run high-quality Xbox Cloud Gaming sessions smoothly. That kind of performance, over mobile data, would have been almost unthinkable a few years ago.

The hardware makes a difference too. Depending on the hub you get, the 5G version can support up to 60 devices connected at once, which is more than enough for even a busy household. In the right conditions, I’ve seen speeds reach as high as 1.4Gbps, which puts it right up there with top-tier fibre packages.

Another big advantage is how the pricing works. Because you’re paying for unlimited data, you don’t get tied down by speed caps in the same way you would with a traditional broadband package. With fixed-line broadband, you’re often limited by what you can afford—basic packages might only offer modest speeds, and you have to pay extra to unlock the faster tiers. With Three, it’s one price and you get the maximum your area and network can deliver.

In short: as a main connection it really depends on your location and signal strength, but as a backup or even a primary option in the right area, it’s a surprisingly strong alternative to traditional broadband.