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Cheap Tesco broadband and phone packages

Our Broadband Expert says...

Although some broadband providers are putting their prices up in the next couple of weeks, there are still some great deals to be had. And you can save even more by bundling your broadband with a home phone package that could even get you cheaper line rental.

Tesco broadband

Tesco Broadband's (www.Tesco.net) recently revamped home broadband packages offering some very competitive deals that are bundled with home phone and line rental at £11 a month - cheaper than BT Broadband (www.BT.com).

It offers two deals, both of which come with up to 20Mb broadband and “unlimited broadband” downloads, subject to a fair usage policy - and prices start from just £8 a month.

For Tesco’s lowest priced broadband, you also get evening and weekend landline calls thrown into the deal. Or for £12 a month, you can get the same 20Mb broadband but with inclusive anytime calls instead.

Tesco also offers its own line rental, costing £11 a month. This gives you a monthly total of just £19 a month for 20Mb broadband, “unlimited” broadband and evening and weekend calls. Or £23 a month if you want anytime calls.

As well as its great value prices, Tesco also offers UK-based customer service with free calls to its 0844 technical support during your inclusive calls period as well as Clubcard points when you spend. While the one point for every £1 you spend might not be a lot, it might be attractive to you if you already collect Clubcard points - and as Tesco says: Every little helps.

Tesco’s broadband is definitely cheap, but it’s still not the cheapest broadband bundle on the market.

Cheapest broadband and phone packages

TalkTalk Broadband (www.Talktalk.co.uk) and Plusnet Broadband (www.Plus.net) offer some of the most competitive deals on the market, with packages starting at less than £6 or £7 a month.

Plusnet offers the UK’s cheapest standalone broadband package at just £5.99 a month, but this is only available until 11 April, when prices will rise to £6.49 a month. You can also bundle its Value package with home phone calls and Plusnet line rental, at £11.25 a month. A Value bundle with 8Mb broadband and a 10GB download allowance, evening and weekend calls and line rental will currently set you back £17.24 a month, rising to £17.74 a month on 12 April.

Alternatively, you can add anytime calls for an extra £5 a month.

Plusnet is an award-winning provider that is known for its reliable broadband and high standards of customer service, so even though it offers lower speeds and a set 10GB download allowance on its Value package, it is still a great choice for light broadband users.

Although TalkTalk’s cheapest Essentials package is slightly more expensive at £6.99 a month, and its line rental also costs more at £12.04 a month, you do get a much higher download allowance for your money, as well as potential speeds of up to 24Mb broadband.

For your monthly total of £19.03 a month, you get speeds of up to 24Mb, a 40GB download allowance, free evening and weekend calls and line rental - another great deal - and you can add an Anytime Boost to get inclusive landline calls for an additional £4 a month.

Triple play bundles

If you want to add digital TV to the mix, you can get cheap triple play bundles from just £18 a month, excluding line rental.

Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) offers 10Mb broadband with “unlimited” downloads, over 65 digital TV channels and weekend landline calls for £18 a month, plus line rental at £12.24 - giving you a monthly total of £30.24.

Alternatively, Sky Broadband (www.Sky.com) offers its Base broadband, with speeds of up to 2Mb and a 2GB download allowance, one entertainment mix and free evening and weekend calls for £18 a month. Once you’ve added its line rental at £11 a month, you get a total of £29.

The best bundle for you

To choose the best bundle for your needs, think about how you're going to use your services. If you're not a heavy downloader but will use your home phone a lot, then you might want to choose Plusnet’s Value package, which will still be the cheapest option even after its planned price rises in April.

However, you need to be careful not to exceed your download allowance, as you will be charged £5 for an extra 5GB allowance, pushing costs up. If you think that you might end up going over a 10GB allowance - for example, if you like to watch a lot of online TV via the BBC iPlayer or regularly download music and movies - then you would be better off taking a tariff with a more generous download allowance like those offered by Tesco and TalkTalk.

NB Best buy tables (orange background) are always current.

Examples in the text of the article (white background) are correct at time of publication.

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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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