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What broadband bundle should we get for our student house?

Our Broadband Expert says...

Broadband bundles for students can be a complicated area, as the packages offered by most providers are tailored to either individuals or families.

This is because there are often more students living at a single address than an average family household - and students also tend to have higher internet demands than the average user.

Throwing TV into the mix can further complicate matters, because while you might be able to find a one-month rolling broadband contract, a digital TV package that offers sports channels will usually entail a 12-month commitment.

Are there any student broadband and TV bundles available?

If, like many students, you are unlikely to be residing in your term-time digs over the summer, then Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) could be the provider for you, as it offers nine-month broadband contracts that are tailored for student use to ensure you don’t end up paying for three months of broadband you’ll never use.

If you order Virgin Media’s nine-month student special online the activation fee will be waived, saving you another £20. However, an installation fee of £40 still applies and will be stuck on your first bill. Virgin Media doesn't require you to take a phone line with your broadband if you don’t want to, so you will not be charged line rental.

If you just want broadband, then the options available are 10Mb or 30Mb unlimited broadband (although a fair usage policy applies) at £21 a month and £28.50 per month respectively. However, remember that, while Virgin Media can offer superfast broadband, its network only reaches around half the UK.

If you like the sound of that but you’re still craving sports television, then you can add Virgin Media TV to the package. £41 a month will net you 30Mb broadband and 65 channels, but only two of these - Eurosport and Eurosport 2 - will be dedicated sports channels, so you’ll need to shell out £14.50 a month extra for Sky Sports 1 or 2 only, or £22.50 a month for Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and 4.

If you’re feeling flush then you can go for the 30Mb, 160-channel package at £59 a month. While you will still have to pay out the additional costs to get access to any of the Sky Sports channels, you will get ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN America, ESPN Classic, Eurosport HD and Extreme Sports thrown in with your extra channels.

While at around £13.60 a month each between six of you for the 30Mb, 160-channel deal plus the Sky Sports bundle means this is pricier than the equivalent with Sky and you don't evening and weekend calls thrown in, you do get fibre broadband speeds and a saving on the three months of summer bills you won’t have to pay out for.

What other broadband and TV bundles are available?

BT broadband (www.BT.com) offers broadband and TV bundles that, on the face of it, seem ideal for heavy downloading, sports loving student households.

Sadly though, these packages come with 18-month contracts, making them awkward for students to sign-up to if they are planning to move on after a year.

And, while you can take your contract with you when you move house, if you are moving in with less people or on your own, you may end up paying for a service you no longer need. Doing this would also mean taking responsibility for the contract and payments yourself - something many students are loath to do.

That leaves Sky broadband (www.Sky.com) as the only provider to offer a 12-month contract.

Sky’s Unlimited broadband bundle would certainly meet your needs. It offers up to 20Mb broadband with no fair usage policy or traffic management - making it the only truly unlimited broadband package on the market.

When it comes to choosing your TV deal, Sky’s basic service is the Variety pack, which offers channels including Sky 1, Sky Living, FX, SyFy, and Comedy Central as well as the Style & Culture pack, costing £20 a month.

If you want all six viewing packs you will need to sign-up to the Entertainment pack, for £25 a month.

This little lot - digital TV, unlimited broadband and inclusive phone calls - weighs in at £27.50 a month with £12.25 line rental on top, but also includes Sky’s on-demand Anytime+ at no extra cost.

However, there are no sport channels included. The sports loving student would need to add on Sky Sports for an extra £20 a month. ESPN, ESPN America, MUTV and Chelsea TV can also be added as extras.

While that might sound a lot for the student pocket, split it between six of you and that’s up to 20Mb broadband with truly unlimited usage, five sports channels plus your TV channels and evening and weekend UK landline calls for under a tenner a month each.

As a Sky TV customer, you would also be able to use the new Sky Go service on two devices - including your Xbox. Sky Go currently offers free live sports action on the go as well as catch-up TV from other channels, with more content coming soon.

Video: How to find the best student broadband deal

Are there any alternative options?

There are alternatives to Sky’s packages, but this will mean looking beyond bundles and finding a broadband connection and digital TV service from different providers to meet your needs.

In terms of broadband, theses packages would all fit the bill:

• Plusnet broadband (www.Plus.net) - The providers Extra broadband will give you up to 20Mb speeds and 60GB of monthly usage with no contract for £11.49 a month plus a one-off £25 activation fee
• O2 broadband (www.O2.co.uk) - Offers 30-day rolling contracts as well as 12-month contracts with all its broadband packages, including its up to 20Mb The Works package, which comes with an “as much as you want” monthly download limit, although this is subject to a fair usage policy. It costs £21 a month if you’re on O2, £26 if you’re not, plus a £25.53 connection fee
• TalkTalk broadband (www.Talktalk.co.uk) - The provider’s Plus package offers the fastest broadband your line can handle (up to 24Mb), “unlimited downloads” and unlimited calls to UK landlines for £14.50, with £14.50 a month line rental on top. It is also currently offering free connection worth £30 for online orders. This is a 12-month contract
• BE broadband (www.Bethere.co.uk) - Offers its BE Unlimited and BE Pro packages on three-month and 12-month contracts. Both come with up to 24Mb broadband and unlimited usage (with a very generous fair usage policy). The Unlimited package starts from £22 a month while Pro costs from £27 a month, giving you faster 2.5Mb upload speeds

In terms of TV with sport channels, short contract options are limited as Freesat sadly offers no dedicated sports channels at present.

Freeview will give you access to up to 50 digital channels and 24 radio stations via your aerial simply for the cost of a digital box which start from as little as £20, although you will need to find out if Freeview is available in your area.

If it is, you can buy access to Sky Sports 1 for £23.99 per month, ESPN for £9.99 per month, Sky Sports 1 and 2 for £32.99 per month or the whole lot for £39.99 per month without the hassle of a long-term contract through digital TV service Top Up TV.

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If you have a general switching or provider query please email us at OurExpert@broadbandchoices.co.uk

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