Broadband Guide

Bundles vs Solo suppliers

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Single companies want every slice of your home entertainment pie; they want to supply your broadband, home phone and digital TV - Virgin Media will even incorporate your mobile phone and mobile broadband into its bundles - but is bundling best or can solo providers offer equally competitive deals? (updated 27/01/2010)

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The biggest players in the market - those that offer the most price competitive bundles - sometimes come out at the bottom of customer service and technical support surveys, while the relative minnows of the broadband market often put more effort into those small but important details.

While companies like Madasafish Broadband (www.Madasafish.com) and Eclipse Broadband (www.Eclipse.net.uk) might not be able to compete against the big fish in terms of advertising budgets and immense customer bases, they are faring well in consumer polls and have both won awards at the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) awards.

Smaller companies are becoming increasingly known for their commitment to customer service and technical support - as opposed to convergence giants like TalkTalk Broadband (www.TalkTalk.co.uk), whose well-publicised problems, although now much improved thanks to millions of pounds of investment, were ongoing for more than a year after launch, earning the company a bad customer service reputation.

So is it time to turn away from the much loved bundles, or do they still have something to offer consumers?

The benefits of bundling

Cost and ease are two of the major attractions to bundles. As well as offering up to four or five different services on one bill, they offer savings and “free” services for those who sign up to their offers.

Most ISPs now offer broadband with a phone line, and as local loop unbundling (LLU) has gathered speed more companies have begun to include the actual line rental as part of their service too. However, the big money and major players are offering digital TV as well, in order to offer an alternative when the last analogue signals are switched off as part of the Government’s digital switchover which will be completed in 2012.

The companies offering all three of these services as bundles are BT (www.bt.com), Sky Broadband (www.Sky.com) and Virgin Media (www.VirginMedia.com).

Supplier	Package details	Speed (up to)	1st year cost	Monthly charge	Download limit	Go
	Talk, Surf and Watch - Calls + Broadband + TV	8Mb	£317.88	£9.99	10GB	Call BT on 0800 028 2122
	Base Broadband + TV + Talk Freetime	2Mb	£265.00	£18.00	2GB	Call Sky on 08442 410 582

You can now also add mobile broadband into your bundle with providers like O2 Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) and Virgin Media, allowing you to get online no matter where you are.

Benefits of going solo

Some aspects of bundle packages are not as competitive as they might seem. For example, call costs outside of your package on Virgin Media and Sky plans are quite high, so you could be better off taking these services separately, especially if you’re a heavy home phone user.

In terms of broadband, Virgin Media does regularly come out on top of our monthly speed test, but it’s the smaller companies that are getting the best reviews in terms of customer service and technical support - both major concerns for consumers. Many people think that by going with a known name-brand they will get a superior service, however, many of the larger companies like Virgin Media and Orange Broadband (www.Orange.co.uk) charge a higher rate for calling their technical support lines while BT (www.bt.com) however provide free phone technical support.

And while many big companies are shipping off their call centres to far-off destinations in order to increase profit margins, smaller companies are investing in theirs because they know that they can win customers by providing an above-average service - even if it costs a little more.

Solo suppliers bring value rather than just frugality and consumers are beginning to realise that you often get what you pay for, so cutting costs can leave you lacking in service.

So what’s the answer?

How you choose your services depends entirely on your needs as a customer. If your focus is on digital TV but you want a home phone and broadband connection for light usage, then a bundle is probably the best answer for you. And Sky by far offers the best digital TV service - with all six of its entertainment mixes included in the Surf See Speak bundle - including the much coveted Sky One.

If broadband is your main priority, and you do want a bundle so that you can get a little extra on your TV, and have a home phone that you won’t use as much, then Virgin Media is probably the best bundle option. Virgin Media won the BroadbandChoices.co.uk Gold medal for speed in 2007 in the heavy weight category for its 20Mb broadband.

Also, if you spend hours on the phone then you might be better off getting a call package, and even line rental, from a cheaper provider, you could save on the overall cost, and you will definitely make a saving on call charges.

What’s available?

While bundling is great, if you want the best value broadband, television and phone service, then you might be best taking separate providers for all three.

Click here to use our calculator to compare broadband packages, including bundles.

Or check out Homephonechoices.co.uk for the best deals on home phones and line rental only, and Digitalchoices.co.uk for the best digital TV products, including bundles.

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