Need broadband? Ready to switch? Get fair, unbiased advice in a language you understand so you make the right choice.
Bundle All The Way?
Is it time to start considering bundling your home telecommunications services? Millions of people have already signed up for digital television services and as the Government switches off the old analogue signal, we will all have to find an alternative to the old analogue signal.
Bundling saves you time and money; by taking your broadband, home phone, digital TV and even line rental from the save provider you can cut your bills and save yourself the hassle of dealing with four different companies.
All three providers have different advantages over their competitors; Sky offers the best digital TV, Virgin Media has the fastest broadband, and Tiscali has by far the cheapest prices.
Free line rental if you live in a Tiscali local loop unbundled area
Once you have added on the £11 a month line rental with the Sky package the monthly total goes up to £37 a month. However, there are other things to be considered.
TV channels - Sky offers a much better selection of channels in its Surf See Speak than Virgin Media does in its 3 for £30 package, though Tiscali customers still have access to Sky’s basic channels - including the much coveted Sky One - that Virgin Media famously lost in 2007.
Broadband speed - Virgin Media is definitely doing better than Sky and Tiscali here. Their connections are more reliable and faster and Virgin Media won the Gold award in the BroadbandChoices.co.uk speed tests in 2007 for its 4Mb and 20Mb broadband packages. However, despite remaining in the top three positions, month after month last year, Sky took the Gold in the 8Mb category.
Phone rates - Call charges on all of these packages are expensive, though Virgin Media is the worst offender of the three, with higher call costs and a set up fee of 7p per call.
Bundle price - Tiscali is definitely the cheapest with its triple play, plus free line rental, for £19.99 a month.
Functionality - If you want to go for high definition television, video on demand and digital video recording, then Sky definitely comes out on top. But both Virgin Media and Tiscali are working on improving these services.
Overall, Tiscali is cheaper than both Virgin Media and Sky but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s better.
You simply need to think about what your priority is.
If your main concern is the number of digital TV channels that you’ll get, then Sky will be your best option. However, if your primary concern is the speed and quality of your broadband, then you will be better off going for Virgin Media and finally, if you want all three for the lowest possible price, then it will be hard to beat Tiscali’s triple play with free line rental for only £19.99 a month.
Is it better not to bundle?
If you want all three services, but are worried about the costs of call charges, as Sky, Tiscali or Virgin Media don’t offer very competitive packages, then you might be better off taking your home phone line from someone else.
For example, if you get your broadband and digital TV from Sky, with two “mixes” of channels and up to 2Mb broadband you will pay £15 a month. Then add £8.99 for Toucan’s (www.Toucan.co.uk) line rental and their All-You-Can call package for £3.75 you get a total of £27.74. This is a big saving on their Surf See Speak offer, which including BT’s £11 a month comes to a total of £37, although you do get all six of their entertainment mixes in the offer.
If you take the same scenario with Virgin Media, with their 2 for £20 deal, and then your home phone line from Toucan then your total would be £32.74. This costs £2.74 more than getting all three services from Virgin Media but you would easily save more than this through Toucan’s far cheaper call charges.
Price wise, it’s very hard to beat Tiscali’s bundle price because of the free line rental, and you’ll get the free line rental and inclusive weekend UK and selected international calls when you take out just the broadband and TV - which costs the same as specifically choosing all three.
As with all such deals, you really need to take your needs into consideration. If you doubt that you will even use one of the services but are just getting it because it’s a good deal, then don’t - unless it’s really still cheaper than the next competitor. Be realistic with yourself and don’t be tempted into signing up for something that will just be a waste of money.
What’s the future for bundling?
If you love the idea of bundling and want to take it to the next level, then Virgin Media also offer a 4 for £40 deal which will put your mobile phone into the equation too. BT also offer mobile and digital TV services in the form of BT Vision, though not as part of a bundle, and Tiscali has plans to become the UK’s second quad-play provide after taking over ToucanMobile.
The development of BT’s Openzone wireless network, and Fon service, (www.BT.com) bringing WiFi to mobile phones, PDAs and laptops everywhere could be the fifth element to the bundle. Or it could be mobile TV, beaming your favourite shows straight to your touch-screen mobile, online gaming, or high-tech internet and PC security. Whatever the next phase in bundling, the convergence of services is unlikely to stop soon.
contact us 
