Ask Our Expert

Broadband for pensioners

Dear Michael, I'm asking this question on behalf of my Nan who has just discovered the wonderful world of the web.

At the moment she is on a Virgin Media package and paying £14 a month plus line rental, though her broadband needs are minute at the moment.

We were wondering if there are any discounted - or even better, free - rates available for pensioners from any ISPs?

Gemma, via email on 17 November 2009

Our Broadband Expert says...

The internet can be a huge benefit to older people, helping them stay in touch with friends and family, as well as saving money by finding the best deals online.

While there might not be broadband packages specifically designed for pensioners, the cost of getting online has fallen dramatically in recent years.

Cheap broadband

Plusnet Broadband (www.Plus.net) currently offers the UK’s cheapest broadband package, starting at just £5.99 a month for speeds of up to 8Mb and a 10GB download allowance - perfect for anyone just starting out online.

Plusnet also allows customers to bundle its broadband with a choice of home phone packages and its own line rental, which costs £10.95 a month - less than BT Broadband's (www.BT.com) £11.25 a month.

If your Nan is looking for a home phone package to go with her new broadband, then TalkTalk Broadband (www.Talktalk.co.uk) is also a great choice.

Its Essentials package, which costs just £6.49 a month, plus £11.25 line rental, offers speeds of up to 8Mb, but a much larger download allowance of 40GB - which would easily be able to accommodate any increases in the amount of data your Nan uses each month.

It also offers a unique feature in the home phone part of its plan - free local calls at any time. This means that if most of your friends and family live locally, you’ll be able to call them whenever you want at no extra cost.

Broadband and home phone bundles

Supplier	Speed (up to)	Usage limit	Call rates	Contract length	Monthly charge
Plusnet - Value + Talk Evening & Weekend	8.2Mb	10GB	Day 5.25p Evening Free Weekend Free	12 months	£5.99	Call PlusNet on 0800 694 0016
Broadband + Phone - Essentials Package	24Mb	40GB	Day 4.60p Evening Free Weekend Free	18 months	£6.99 Special Offer Free Connection Ends Soon	Call TalkTalk 0800 049 7843
Talk and Surf - Calls + Broadband	8.2Mb	10GB	Day 5.40p Evening 1.50p Weekend Free	18 months	£7.49 for 3 months	Call BT on 0800 028 2122
Broadband: L + Phone M	10Mb	unlimited	Day 6.50p Evening 6.50p Weekend Free	12 months	£12.50 Online Exclusive 3 Months Free Ends Soon

Line rental

Line rental is something that you do have to take into account when choosing a new home broadband package, as it can easily add up to £135 a year on top of your headline costs.

Most providers charge £11.25 a month, though some, like Plusnet do charge a bit less. Even if you try to ditch the cost of your line rental by choosing a cable connection from Virgin Media (www.VM.com) - where you don’t technically need to take a home phone line - you will find that the cost of your broadband package increases if you don’t sign up to the £11 a month landline.

For example, if you take Virgin Media’s L Broadband, which comes with speeds of up to 10Mb and an “unlimited broadband” download allowance, subject to a fair usage policy, as a standalone product, it will cost you £15 a month for the first three months, £20 a month thereafter.

Alternatively, you could get 8Mb broadband, a 40GB download allowance, free local calls, inclusive evening and weekend UK landline calls and line rental for just £17.74 a month from TalkTalk.

Line installation

If your Nan is currently with Virgin Media, then the chances are that she won’t have an active traditional landline in her home. This means that you will have to have one installed if you want to choose any of the many ADSL broadband providers that use BT’s copper wire telephone network.

This costs £122.50 if you get BT to install the line, and you’ll also be tied into an 18 month line rental contract. However, there are alternatives. Plusnet is currently offering landline installation at just £49.99 until 31 January 2010, while TalkTalk will install a line for £59.99.

Call costs

If you do decide to go with a broadband and home phone bundle, you need to look at the kind of calls that your Nan will be making and how much this will cost.

It might be best for you to choose a package with anytime calls if your Nan makes a lot of home phone calls to UK landlines, or an evening and weekends package might be adequate. Again, TalkTalk offers free local calls to all of its home phone customers, so bear that in mind when choosing.

Customer service

You need to think about more than just price when you and your Nan choose a new broadband package. If you do run into any technical problems, you will need a reliable provider that offers a high standard of customer service and technical advice.

Plusnet has won a ream of awards for its broadband as well as its customer service, so is a great choice for anyone new to the net.

Read our broadband reviews to see what other customers think of their broadband providers.

NB Best buy tables are always current.

Examples in the text of the article are correct at time of publication.