Broadband for working from home: a setup guide

Sources: Microsoft Learn, Google Workspace Admin Help and Zoom Support, checked October 2026. Mbps is megabits per second; kbps is kilobits per second, a thousandth of that. Each app measures differently (Microsoft's "recommended" level, Google's "up to" figures, Zoom's per picture quality), so compare rows within an app rather than across apps.

• The figures are per device. Microsoft counts each device that joins a call separately, so joining on your laptop and your phone counts twice, and two people on calls at once need their figures added together. As an example, two adults each in a Teams video meeting would need around 5 Mbps of upload between them on Microsoft's recommended figures.
• Audio is tiny. A voice-only call needs a fraction of what video does, which is why switching your camera off is a reliable fallback on a struggling line.
• Screen sharing varies by app. Microsoft recommends 2.5 Mbps each way for screen sharing in a Teams meeting. Zoom lists 50 to 75 kbps for screen sharing on its own, or 50 to 150 kbps with a video thumbnail.
• The apps adapt. Teams puts audio ahead of video when bandwidth runs short, and Microsoft says it can deliver HD video in under 1.5 Mbps. Google Meet lowers the video definition when bandwidth is short.

Sending large files and syncing work folders lean on upload too. Our guide to download vs upload speed explains the difference, and what broadband speed you need helps you size a package for the whole household rather than just your desk.

A call can fall apart on a fast connection if the connection isn't steady. Microsoft notes that calls with static, or voices that sound like robots, could be caused by jitter (variation in how long data takes to arrive) or packet loss (small chunks of data that never arrive). Neither shows up in a download figure. Microsoft also says routing calls through a VPN can add latency and jitter, and that Wi-Fi networks aren't necessarily designed for real-time media such as calls, which is why the wired desk and VPN sections below matter. For the jargon, see latency, ping and jitter explained.

Ofcom guidance in force since 16 September 2024 says providers should describe the network behind each broadband deal in one or two clear terms before you buy: on the website at the point of sale, in the contract information and in the contract summary. Ofcom's examples are "full-fibre", "part-fibre", "cable" and "copper", or a similar term, and providers can no longer use the word "fibre" on its own. Ofcom explains the two fibre terms like this:

• Full fibre: fibre-optic cable all the way from the exchange to your home.
• Part fibre: fibre from the local exchange to the street cabinet, then usually a copper wire from the cabinet to your home.

Providers should also link to a fuller explanation, so follow it if a label isn't clear. Our guides to what full fibre broadband is and Virgin Media's network explain the main options. If full fibre reaches your home, our fibre broadband deals page lets you compare packages by postcode.

Some full fibre providers sell symmetric packages, where upload matches download. Zzoomm advertises equal speeds from 200/200 Mbps up to 2300/2300 Mbps, and Hyperoptic says its 150Mb packages and above have equal upload and download speeds (both checked October 2026). See our Zzoomm broadband deals and Hyperoptic broadband deals pages.

Symmetric speeds matter most if you regularly send large files, such as video, photography or design work. If your day is mostly email, documents and calls, the table above is a better guide than a headline speed. Either way, compare the upload figure as well as the download, and use our guide to UK broadband providers to see who operates where.

A few providers sell plans or add-ons with features usually found on business lines (checked October 2026):

• Hey!Broadband says its Home Worker 900 plans come with a one working day SLA (service level agreement), which it describes as one working day response times to technical issues. That is a promise about how quickly it responds, not how quickly a fault is fixed. Home Worker Pro adds a static IP. See our Hey!Broadband deals page.
• Zen includes a static IP on every full fibre package. See our Zen broadband deals page.
• toob uses CG-NAT as standard and sells a static IPv4 address as a monthly rolling add-on (not on toob essentials).

A static IP is a fixed internet address that's yours alone. CGNAT (carrier-grade network address translation) shares one public address between many customers. ISPreview, the UK broadband news site, says sharing addresses like this can cause security and connectivity issues that matter to IT people, online gamers and those with particular security requirements; that providers tend not to communicate their use of CGNAT well; and that IPv6 support and static IP options reduce the impact. If your work involves anything technical, such as remote access set up by your IT team, ask them whether CGNAT would be a problem before you sign and read CGNAT, static IP and IPv6 explained. If you run your own business from home, see home or business broadband.

• Use the 5GHz band. Microsoft says the 2.4GHz band is often affected by other household devices, while 5GHz is better suited to real-time calls, though it needs more access points to cover the same area. Microsoft describes band steering, a feature on some dual-band Wi-Fi equipment, as a technique to influence devices that support both bands to use 5GHz.
• Place the router centrally in your home, as Virgin Media recommends, or move your desk closer to it.
• Fill weak spots with an extender or mesh system; our guide to mesh Wi-Fi vs Wi-Fi extenders explains the difference.
• Upgrade an old router, which Virgin Media also suggests for home workers.
• Agree quiet hours. Virgin Media suggests pausing heavy use such as streaming and gaming during work hours. It costs nothing and leaves more of the connection for your call.

Run our broadband speed test on the device you work on, sitting where you work: once on Wi-Fi and once with a cable plugged in, ideally at the time of day you usually have calls. Note the upload as well as the download. If the cabled result is much better than the Wi-Fi one, we'd take that as a sign the weak point is your Wi-Fi rather than the line, so try a cable, a better router position or a mesh point before paying for a faster package.

Your router has two passwords: the Wi-Fi password that lets devices join, and an admin password for the router's settings page. Vodafone's help pages say several of its hubs ask you to change the admin password the first time you log in, and that a factory reset restores the default admin password and resets the Wi-Fi name and password too, so after a reset expect to reconnect your work laptop and everything else.

For the smart gadgets sharing your network, the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) advises changing any default password a device comes with, switching on automatic updates, and switching off remote access you don't need away from home. It explains that if a criminal can guess a smart device's password, they could use it to get into your network. For a walk through your router's own settings, see how to secure your home router and Wi-Fi.

Usually not. BT's help pages say most VPN clients used for home working should work on a BT hub without port forwarding (a router rule that sends particular incoming traffic to one device). Some do need rules, and the ports should come from your IT department, not guesswork. BT's Mini Hub doesn't support port forwarding at all. If your VPN won't connect from home, the NCSC notes that some networks restrict or block one type of VPN traffic (IPsec) and that another type (TLS) can be more reliable through routers and firewalls.

If calls stutter only when the VPN is on, there's a known reason. Microsoft says VPNs typically aren't designed for real-time media and can add latency and jitter, and recommends split tunnelling, which sends Teams call traffic straight to the internet rather than through the VPN. Your employer sets that up with its VPN supplier, but it's worth mentioning to IT if calls are poor. A personal VPN service is a different product: the NCSC's VPN guidance is for organisations and doesn't cover individuals. Don't add one to a work device unless your employer allows it.

Providers signed up to Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme are BT, EE, Hyperoptic, Plusnet, Sky (including NOW Broadband), TalkTalk (with restrictions off the Openreach network), Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Zen Internet. Ofcom's page, last updated in July 2026, lists the current amounts, which rise each year with inflation: £10.34 for each calendar day a lost service isn't repaired after two full working days from your report, £32.31 for each missed engineer appointment, and £6.46 for each day a new service starts late.

For a lost service, compensation only starts once you report the fault, so report it straight away. It isn't due if equipment or activity in your home caused the fault, or if you delay the repair, and it's usually paid as a bill credit. Our guide to broadband automatic compensation has the full rules.

Some providers sell a mobile back-up for exactly this (checked October 2026):

• Vodafone's Pro 2 and Pro 3 packages include a 4G back-up dongle with 100GB of monthly data that takes over if the fixed line fails. See our Vodafone broadband deals page.
• BT's Hybrid Connect is a device that works with BT's Smart Hub 2 and uses EE's 4G network to keep you online if the broadband goes down. BT's help page says speed depends on your mobile signal and network congestion, and that Digital Voice calls won't work while it's on back-up, so you'd use your mobile for calls. See our BT broadband deals page.
• EE lists 4G Connectivity Backup as an optional extra. See our EE broadband deals page.

Otherwise your phone's hotspot is the usual fallback. Virgin Media points out that it's fine for email and online documents but may not be fast or stable enough for video calls or large files, and that data limits and signal strength matter. Check your mobile allowance, and switch to audio-only calls if the picture struggles. Our backup broadband connection guide compares the options.

GOV.UK explains that routers and digital landlines need mains power and won't work in a power cut without backup power such as a battery or generator. Telecoms companies recommend a mobile phone as the backup for most customers, and if you have no mobile or no signal, your landline provider should offer a solution such as a battery back-up unit so you can still make emergency calls. Ofcom guidance, quoted by GOV.UK, says that solution should give access to emergency services for at least one hour. That's for emergency calls, not for keeping your broadband up for work, so expect your connection and landline to go down together in a power cut. Our guide to digital landlines in a power cut has more.

An example plan, to adapt to your own job: keep your phone charged during the working day, save your provider's fault line and your IT helpdesk's details somewhere you can reach offline, keep the day's key documents available offline, and know where you could work for a few hours if the line is out for longer.