About thinkbroadband - why we do what we do?

Our History

We are not your typical broadband comparison site!

Back in 2000, the word 'broadband' meant very little to most people, except early adopters of 'always on' Internet technology. We were looking forward to being able to access the Internet without needing to use a dial-up modem and as soon as broadband trials started, we were some of the first users to sign up to services which back then started at £50 a month, didn't provide connectivity to more than one computer at a time by default, and came with a hefty £150 setup fee on top!

We started this website (called ADSLguide.org.uk back then as our focus was on ADSL technology specifically) to inform early adopters of how to get the most out of what was then, an amazingly fast Internet connection. Over the next couple of yeard, we became the de facto broadband information resource for UK Internet users and the press alike. In 2006, we renamed the site thinkbroadband, recognising that our site was about broadband rather than ADSL as a specific broadband technology. Today, we include cable, wireless, fibre and other broadband services.

Our goal is to provide a fair and impartial atmosphere for broadband providers, users and other stakeholders to discuss relevant topics. We are independent of any broadband suppliers, offer our broadband ISP listings free of charge to any ISP that meets our listing criteria, regardless of whether or not they are willing to pay us a small fee when a user signs up having visited our site. This makes us different to most broadband comparison websites which are run solely, or at least primarily to receive commission from broadband providers when users sign up.

We are passionate about broadband and we do this to help people, rather than running it as a large enterprise designed to sell you a new broadband service.

"We don't just want you to come to our site so that we can persuade you to switch to a new broadband provider, earning us a few quid in return"

What makes us different?

We don't just want you to come to our site so that we can persuade you to switch to a new broadband provider, earning us a few quid in return. We help out many of the hundreds of thousands of users that come to our site each month. We try to put as much of the content online for everyone to use, but we do respond (subject to limitations on our resources) to user queries. We have built a community on our forums to help users help each other.

We build useful free broadband tools like our speed test, broadband quality monitor and our popular tbbMeter broadband usage monitoring application, and try to provide information to users in an easy-to-understand format like our broadband maps platform which shows broadband coverage and speed information around the UK.

We have been privileged to work with many contributors over the years who have helped make the site what it is today, including our editorial staff and our forum moderators whose patience can be tested at times.

Our Values

Throughout our history, we have always followed our values which we consider to be engrained in everything we do, however we felt it was important to share these with our users:

• Integrity & Honesty—we will always act with integrity and will not let any commercial relationships interfere with the advice we provide.
• Impartiality—we are independent of any provider or supplier.
• Fairness—we will treat all users and companies fairly. This means our listing criteria shall ensure we list providers small and large, irrespective of whether they pay us commission if a user signs up.
• Transparency—we will ensure that all advertising on the site is clearly identifiable as such and that users should be able to identify links on our site where we may receive affiliate revenue.
• Responsibility—we will act responsibly in ensuring that our content is accurate, up-to-date and provides users with the most appropriate information necessary to make informed decisions.
• Accessibility—where possible, we will ensure our information is provided in a format which is accessible to as many users as possible. This means we try to use plain english when explaining concepts.

We believe passionately in these values and we will seek to improve wherever possible, however we do hope users understand that given our limited resources as a semi-volunteer project, it is not always possible for us to be perfect whilst also fulgilling our goal of listing as wide a range of providers as possible and the volume of updates from each provider. If you do spot any errors, please do contact us!

How we make money

Thinkbroadband was started as a project to help UK broadband users get the most out of their broadband, rather than as a commercial venture. As we grew we needed to fund infrastructure to deliver the tools we provide so we started to include banner advertising on the site, which is our primary income source. We also receive commission from some broadband providers on the site, although note that our listing policy does not discriminate between providers who pay us commission and those who do not.

Our staff work for thinkbroadband along side full time jobs at hosting company NetConnex (ncuk.com) providing business cloud servers, co-location and VPS/dedicated servers within the Telehouse Docklands datacentre, including hosting the thinkbroadband infrastructure and speed test platform. 

Editorial Staff

Our editorial staff are responsible for the key content on the site, in particular our broadband news. We ask you not to e-mail individual staff with technical queries but to use our forums instead where a helpful community of fellow users can help you resolve an issue whilst ensuring that the solution is also available for others to share.

We have published our editorial policy to help companies and their PR agencies understand how best to work with us.

If you do need to e-mail us, do not copy or send e-mails to individual staff members as this is likely to result in your e-mail being ignored by everyone. We receive a lot of e-mail and since this isn't our full time job, we have to prioritise responses.

If you would like to add us to a press release mailing list, please check with us first (and note we write about broadband and relates issues, so we don't want to receive PR relating to widgets), and finally please note that we never engage in 'link exchanges', nor do we accept unsolicited requests to write 'blogs' on our site, so please bear this in mind! With the exception of occasional guest posts (always based on quality and never in return for any financial benefit), all our content is produced by our in-house staff.

Broadband Providers - how to get listed

If you offer broadband services, please check that you meet our listing criteria first before completing the application form available on our additions page. All listing enquiries should be sent to [email protected] and not to individual staff members. The same applies for any database updates for service providers listed on the site.

Quoting from thinkbroadband.com

thinkbroadband.com material is subject to copyright. This means you may not copy or re-publish it without permission, except as permitted by statute in English Law. If you want to quote from our content (within statutory limits), please include a link to our news story or other relevant page. In print media, this should be credited as follows:

Source: thinkbroadband.com

We welcome links to our news stories and we are happy to provide quotes, opinions and interviews for online, paper and broadcast media. Such requests should be made via [email protected].

Linking to thinkbroadband.com

You are welcome to link to our website, including any specific public pages on the site, provided you do so with standard links which appear in browser windows. We do not permit 'framing' of our site.

References / Logo Usage

The thinkbroadband.com logo or any images from our site should only be used with our permission, All other references to the thinkbroadband.com name should be in lower case where possible. Where it is used outside the thinkbroadband website, the ".com" extension should also be included.

Requesting removal of content

If you find a post on the forums that breaches our rules, or other content on our site that is libellous, defamatory or illegal, e-mail [email protected] with the exact details of why the content should be removed being specific as to which parts contribute to a breach in rules, libel, defamation or statute. Each forum post has a 'link to this post' link which identifies the specific post.

Ambiguous requests which do not provide the basis for removal will not be considered. You must include your full name and contact details which allow us to verify your authenticity and if you are acting on behalf of another party, their details. We may require reasonable proof of any claims you make. Whilst we will not always remove material when requested to do so, this does not mean we approve of it. We reserve the right to publish any correspondence sent to it in any form whatsoever. These terms override any disclaimers or contrary instructions present in communication sent to us unless we explicitly agree otherwise in writing with specific reference to this statement.

Press

If you are a member of the press, we would be happy to help you with any broadband related queries. Details are available on our Press Contacts page.

Advertising

Our banner advertising is managed by Sovrn and Google Adsense. If you are interested in banner advertising on the site, please contact one of these companies. If you are interested in other sponsorship opportunities, please contact [email protected]. Please note we are not seeking new advertising network partnerships.

The Legal Stuff

Intellectual Property Statement

1. All material contained and presented on this website, including but not limited to text and graphics is the copyright or similar rights of thinkbroadband, unless otherwise expressly stated.
2. thinkbroadband reserves all its rights and strictly forbids any unauthorised use or duplication. Any statutorily authorised rights to print or download are strictly limited for your sole personal use. No material, however, can be used for any commercial purpose whatsoever.
3. Any copies of the pages of this website which you save, by any means whatsoever can only be used for subsequent viewing purposes or to print extracts for personal use.
4. Unless otherwise expressly permitted in writing, you may not create a database or derivative work in any form whatsoever of these webpages or other content provided by thinkbroadband.
5. Unless otherwise expressly permitted in writing you may not associate this website to another website by employing any technology including but not limited to framing or crawlers where such association seeks to bypass parts of thinkbroadband.
6. You grant thinkbroadband a non-exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual free license to use and reproduce any contribution you make on the site (such as posts you make on the forums for example).

Disclaimers

1. thinkbroadband does not represent nor make any warranty in respect of the accuracy, reliability or continuous supply of any of the information on this website. The services and information contained on this website are only for general information and use and are not intended to address your particular requirements.
2. Any reliance you place upon any material on this website will be at your sole risk. thinkbroadband reserves the right in its sole discretion, but without any obligation, to make amendments or improvements to, or withdraw or correct any error or omission in any portion of the material without notice.
3. In particular, the services and information do not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by thinkbroadband and are not intended to be relied upon by users in making any specific investment or other decision. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Where the information consists of pricing or performance data, the data contained therein has been obtained from financial reporting services, company reports, and other sources believed reliable. Although carefully verified, data computations are not guaranteed by thinkbroadband or any data provider or affiliate and may not be complete or timely.
4. The service and the materials are provided by thinkbroadband on an "as is" basis, and thinkbroadband expressly disclaims any and all warranties, express or implied, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
5. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable laws, thinkbroadband hereby excludes liability for any claims, loss, demands or damages of any kind whatsoever with respect to the service, information and materials given by thinkbroadband including, without limitation, direct, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damages, whether arising from loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss of data, loss of use or otherwise and whether or not the possibility of such loss has been notified to thinkbroadband. The foregoing will apply whether such claims, loss or damages arise in tort, contract, negligence, under statute or otherwise.
6. Removal requests for material should be sent to [email protected]. thinkbroadband reserves the right to publish in full or part any communication sent to it.
7. Moderators and other volunteers assisting thinkbroadband are not official representatives and thus cannot issue statements or act on behalf of thinkbroadband.
8. Your visit to and use of this website and any dispute over liability is subject to these Disclaimers, including limitations of damages, and the laws of England and Wales.

We respect your privacy—please read our privacy policy

thinkbroadband. is a trading name of NetConnex Ltd. Registered in England (No: 3416805) at 5 Fleet Place, London. EC4M 7RD. VAT 797995328. This address is provided for legal purposes only. Please do not send press releases, marketing materials, invitations or any general business correspondence to this address or add it to any mailing list as any such material sent to this address will be discarded on receipt.