Need broadband? Ready to switch? Get fair, unbiased advice in a language you understand so you make the right choice.
Broadband, television and telephone bundles - 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...
Dear Peter and Barbara,
Thanks for providing me with your postcode. I’ve checked the range of broadband products available in your area with our broadband search tool and have come up with a couple of options for you to choose from, depending on your needs.
Switching broadband providers
If you’re considering switching providers and broadband packages, you should try to find out whether your problem with connecting is solely based on your provider, or possibly caused by something else, such as the router, before you sign up to any new products.
If you are using a wireless router for example, it may be that signal is the reason for your poor internet connection. Read our guide on improving a wireless signal for tips on how to achieve a better connection in your home.
You may be having problems connecting however, because you’re not (or may no longer be) in the catchment area to receive AOL Broadband, in which case, switching providers is advisable. As it is, £17.99 a month is far too much for just a broadband package.
If you do intend on switching, we recommended that you wait until your current contract is over, to avoid cancellation fees, and remember that you will be without broadband for a week or so while you’re changing providers. Read our guide for tips on switching broadband.
Broadband connections
If you are unhappy with your connection to AOL broadband, you could switch to either PlusNet or BT, both of which offer suitable packages to fulfil your needs.
PlusNet – a good, reliable provider with a simple package costing only £9.99 a month. With a 2GB download limit, it should be more than enough for casual web surfing and emailing.
BT - known as a good all-rounder in the broadband market, offers a package called Option 1 Broadband, which includes a Free BT home hub. However, do note that this is an 18 month contract.
The problem with both of these deals though, is that they do not include home phone or digital TV in their packages.
Bundling your broadband, home phone and digital TV
Most providers also offer bundled packages, which combine your broadband, home phone and digital TV. This could save you quite a bit of money, and also means you’ll only have one monthly bill for all three services.
It is important to remember that the vast majority of bundled packages will not include the cost of line rental, so even if you switch your landline calls supplier, chances are, you‘ll still have to pay your £10.50 line rental to BT, or whoever provides your line.
Virgin Media is the only provider where this isn’t the case, as they offer broadband via cable and not your landline. To find out if you can get Virgin Media in your area, use our Ofcom accredited broadband calculator.
The cheapest phone and broadband bundle is from TalkTalk, which offers up to 8Mbps broadband and unlimited calls to UK landlines, as well as selected international destinations.
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Sky - The best basic broadband, home phone and digital TV bundle is from Sky, and they can offer you:
Unlimited evening and weekend calls
A free wireless router
2Mbps connections speed
2GB download limit
Choice of any 2 Sky ‘mixes’
Sky ‘mixes’ are TV packs that consist of various channels of a certain genre, for example, if you’re interested in movies and culture, you could choose the ‘Variety’ and ‘Style & Culture’ mixes, which would give you, among others, channels Sky One, Bravo, Living, UKTV Style, UKTV Food and Discovery Real Time, as well as all the basic Freeview channels such as BBC, ITV and Film4.
However, if you want to add extras to your package, such as Sky’s film channels, on top of free calls anytime of the day, you could be looking at an overall cost of about £35 a month.
You could try combining Sky broadband and TV with the Toucan ‘All You Can’ phone plan. This 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
BT Vision - This package bundles your broadband and digital TV, and is good for spending hours online, downloading music in seconds, streaming videos or downloading DVD qualities movies in a matter of hours.
The main features include:
A wireless router
8Mbps connections speed
10GB download limit
Choice of 2 entertainment mixes, as well as Setanta Sports
Similar to Sky, BT Vision offers you a choice of channels to choose from in addition to on-demand entertainment.
The downsides to this package are that it doesn’t offer free calls in its bundle, and you can only choose BT Vision digital TV if you have BT broadband.
Virgin Media - I’m afraid this isn’t really an option for you Peter and Barbara, as you aren’t in the area to receive the service. But for other users who are considering bundling their broadband, phone and digital TV packages, if you are in the area to receive their broadband, Virgin Media could offer you a similar deal with their 3 for £30 package. This includes:
Unlimited weekend calls
A modem
2Mb connections speed
Unlimited download limit
Over 90 digital TV channels, as well as ‘On-Demand’ music and films
The main advantage of this package is that you no longer have to pay line rental, and you save £30 when you order online. Virgin Media’s ‘On-Demand’ programming allows you to choose from a selection of TV, films and music to watch, whenever you want to watch them. Some of this content is free such as ‘Virgin Central’ and BBC iPlayer, while others, such as the films, are similar to Sky’s pay-per-view, and typically cost between £2.00 and £3.50 a film.
What do I suggest?
If you’ve decided you want to switch to a bundled package, 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 key element in the bundle.
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 broadband is your main reason for switching providers, and digital TV and home phone is not so important to you, then I would recommend going for BT Vision, as you’re already a BT customer. If you’re adamant you want a digital TV package though, you can’t beat Sky’s wide variety of channels. But remember, if you want to be able to access Sky's film channels, you will have to pay extra charges in addition to your normal price plan.
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.
I hope this answers your questions, and helps you make the decision about whether to switch or not. Good luck Peter and Barbara!
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