Broadband guide

Broadband without a phone line

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If you're tired of forking out for line rental just so that you can access the internet, there is another way - you can get broadband and save on line rental at the same time.

Cable broadband is the answer

Broadband with no phone line is only available from cable broadband providers. Cable broadband is widely available from Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) over it's fibre optic network - saving you around £140 a year on line rental.

However, its broadband packages are not be the cheapest on the market, and while it does offer competitive bundles for customers who want to take a phone line, calls and even digital TV, customers who want a standalone broadband package may have to pay higher rates.

Having said that, Virgin Media does offer some of the fastest speeds on the market and even its 10Mb broadband - the slowest of its three packages - delivers a fast, reliable connection.

It also offers 20Mb broadband and a superfast 50Mb broadband package.

Mobile broadband

Virgin Media’s cable network covers around 51% of the UK, but even if you don’t live in a cable area you still have some options if you're determined to ditch your landline.

Because mobile broadband dongles use the mobile phone network to connect to the internet, you don’t need a landline to get online.

There are a huge range of options available, from pay-as-you-go mobile broadband and rolling one month deals to longer 18 month contracts and even 24 month plans that come with a “free laptop”.

However, speeds are generally slower than fixed-line connections, offering around 1Mb on average, and download allowances are typically a lot lower too, ranging from 500MBa month to 15GB. Most packages come with a 1GB, 3GB or 5GB allowance and you have to be very careful not to exceed your limit, as out of bundle costs can soon add up. Because of this, mobile broadband is not suitable for bandwidth-hungry applications such as the BBC iPlayer or online gaming.

If you are thinking of switching to mobile broadband and getting rid of your home broadband altogether, you should run a series of postcode searches with different networks to make sure that you'll get the mobile broadband coverage where you live.

Coverage might be patchy if you live in a rural area, so bear that in mind before you sign up.

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