Broadband, Television and Telephone Deals - Ask Our Expert
If you’re having technical, service or supply problems, or just have a question you want answering, why not write to OurExpert@BroadbandChoices.co.uk
Michael Phillips is product director at BroadbandChoices.co.uk and can help with anything from contractual problems, to giving technical advice or telling you how to speed up those slow movie downloads.
On the subject of broadband, television and telephone bundles, our expert says...
Virgin Media offer a 3 for £30 bundle consisting of broadband, home phone and TV services. The broadband download speed is up to 2Mbps, and the digital TV service allows you access to over 40 channels. Also incorporated is a free catch-up service, TV on demand and the V+ box.
Your favourite Sky Channels (Sky One, Sky Sports, Sky Movies etc.) will be missing from the Virgin Media electronic program guide (EPG), so bare that in mind. These channels can be added at an additional cost of £24 a month for Sky Sports 1, or £37 a month for all Sky Sports and Sky Movies channels. Virgin Media will gift you Setanta Sports if you sign up for Sky Sports 1, which represents a saving of £9.99.
Phone calls are pricey though. Calls to UK landlines cost 3.25p a minute, and calls to mobile network operators can cost anything up to 27p a minute. By comparison, TalkTalk(www.talktalk.co.uk) include 100 calltime minutes to mobile phones in their starter ‘Talk Total Evening and Weekend’ package, and free calls to UK landlines during evenings and weekends. Additionally, a 7p connection charge applies to all non-inclusive calls, and call charges are rounded up to the nearest minute.
Sky Bundle
Sky bundled packages begin at £16 a month for the base broadband deal. This entry level bundle comprises a 2Mb broadband connection, home phone facilities and one selection from Sky’s channel mix pool (potentially up to 40 channels in total).
In order to incorporate Sky Sports and Sky Movies into your Sky bundle, you need to build yourself a bespoke package online before ordering. Adding Sky Sports 1 or Sky Movies 1 to your bundle can cost up to an extra £10 a month, depending on the number of premium channels you choose. The more you select, the cheaper they are.
Opting for a Sky Plus box ahead of a standard Sky Box will cost you a one off fee of £99. Virgin Media’s TV on demand service and access to iPlayer is superior to Sky’s at the present time.
Sky phone calls again are relatively expensive, 3.25p a minute to UK landlines and up to 11.88p a minute to mobile networks. These rates are cheaper than Virgin Media however. A 6p call connection charge applies to all non-inclusive calls, and all call charges are rounded up to the nearest minute.
Try combining Sky broadband and TV with the Toucan(www.toucan.com) ‘All You Can’ phone plan. The Toucan phone plan undercuts Sky in three ways:
• Line rental is cheaper (£8.99 versus £10)
• Call connection fee is cheaper (4.5p versus 6p)
• Calls to UK landlines cost just 3p a minute
The Sky 2Mb broadband service came second to Virgin Media in the 2007 Broadband Choices speed test awards.
Unsure of your broadband speed? Take a test with the Broadband Choices speed tester.
By strategically combining broadband, phone and TV packages in this way, you will ensure that you make the most of your bundle.
Tiscali
A viable alternative to Virgin Media and Sky is Tiscali. The Tiscali triple play ‘Option 2’ bundle costs £19.99 a month for the first three months, and £24.99 a month thereafter.
Option 2 customers can expect an up to 8Mb broadband connection, Tiscali TV and unlimited anytime calls to UK landlines..
If the home phone component of the bundle is the most important to you, then you might find Tiscali’s rates pleasing. Calls to UK local and national landlines are free; calls to international landlines in ten major countries are free also.
If the TV element is your bag, then maybe this isn’t the right deal for you. The Tiscali ‘Variety Pack’ effectively mirrors the standard Freeview content, with Sky Arts and the Paramount Comedy channel added on. No Sky Sports, no Sky Movies.
BT Vision
As an existing BT customer, you may consider BT Vision as a possible TV option. In order to receive BT Vision, you must have BT Total Broadband with a ‘Home Hub’ wireless router. BT Vision works in a similar vein to Virgin Media’s TV on demand service, allowing you to download TV shows and films.
The range of channels is more limited with BT Vision, which is essentially a Freeview box with features, but by opting for a BT Vision ‘VBox’ you will be able to pause and rewind live TV. The VBox is supplied free with a £30 connection cost. BT Vision entertainment packages begin at £4 a month.
If the BT Vision channel selection is too limited for your tastes, consider a Freesat product with over 200 music, sports, entertainment and lifestyle channels. Freesat can be bought and installed for a one off payment of £150.
3.25p per minute to UK landlines, up to 27p per minute to mobiles
3.25p per minute to UK landlines, up to 12p per minute to mobiles
Free calls to UK landlines, up to 21.5p per minute to mobiles
4p per minute to UK landlines, up to 12.5p per minute to mobiles (plus 6p call set up fee)
Video on Demand
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Number of TV Channels
80+
40
40
40
Total Cost
£30
£26
£23.74
£26.99
…..and finally
It’s important to ascertain exactly which component of the bundle means the most to you, and hone in on a product where this component is the jewel in the crown.
Avid telly addicts may gravitate towards the broad range of content on offer with Sky, whereas those who want a fast and reliable broadband service might be swayed by Virgin Media.
If you spend a lot of time on the phone then the Tiscali call rates will appeal, and the Sky and Virgin Media bundles may lose some of their glitz.
In terms of the Virgin Media bundle versus the Sky bundle, Virgin Media just pip Sky at the post, although Sky make it very easy for existing customers to bundle their services if they don’t already.
Don’t forget, there’s always the possibility of splitting your broadband, phone and TV services across two suppliers, thus tailoring your bundle and making savings at the same time.
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