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BT Low User Tariff and broadband

Our Broadband Expert says...

Dear Julia, you are correct in thinking that unless you convert to regular line rental fees you will not be able to sign up for a fixed-line broadband connection. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t alternatives to BT Broadband's (www.BT.com) line rental, which will rise by £1 to £12.50 a month on 1 April.

Fixed-line alternatives

There are a number of fixed-line broadband suppliers that offer bundles including cheap - or even free - line rental, and make great alternatives to BT.

If you live within Tiscali Broadband's (www.Tiscali.co.uk) local loop unbundled (LLU) area then you will be able to qualify for its “free line rental” offer. This gives you up to 8Mb broadband with “unlimited” downloads - though subject to a fair usage policy - a free modem, line rental and inclusive weekend calls to UK landlines all for just £14.99 a month, subject to a £30 connection fee.

Plusnet Broadband (www.Plus.net) - 2008 ISPA Consumer ISP of the Year - recently launched the UK’s cheapest standalone broadband package, Plusnet Value. It costs just £5.99 a month and comes with speeds of up to 8Mb, a 10GB monthly download allowance - with free overnight downloads - a free wireless router and free connection.

You don’t have to switch to Plusnet’s line rental when you sign up to its broadband package, but at just £9.75 it is one of the cheapest on the market. So by switching broadband provider to Plusnet Value and taking the ISP’s line rental too you would have a total monthly cost of just £15.74.

A third fixed-line alternative is TalkTalk Broadband (www.TalkTalk.co.uk) with its Essentials package. The broadband and home phone package costs just £6.49 a month and comes with up to 8Mb broadband, a 40GB monthly download allowance, a free wireless router, unlimited evening and weekend UK landline calls and anytime calls to 36 international destinations.

To qualify for the package you have to be covered by TalkTalk’s LLU network and take the company’s line rental. Though at £10.50 a month it is cheaper than BT and gives you a total monthly cost of £16.99.

Mobile broadband

If you want to get rid of your home phone line all together, you could try mobile broadband.

A mobile broadband connection uses the mobile phone network to connect you to the internet, and so doesn’t need your phone line like an ADSL connection.

Mobile broadband packages start from just £10 a month with 3 Broadband (www.Three.co.uk), though its Broadband Lite plan comes with just a 1GB monthly download allowance, and bills can soon rise if you exceed your limit, with data being charged at 10p per MB.

Most suppliers offer a mid-range mobile broadband package for around £15 with a 3GB monthly download allowance - and O2 Broadband (www.O2.co.uk), which has won awards for both its fixed-line and mobile broadband - offers just such a plan for £14.69 a month with unlimited wireless hotspot minutes and even a 50 day Happiness Guarantee in case you’re not completely satisfied. It does come with an 18 month contract though.

However, you need to make sure that you’ll receive adequate mobile broadband coverage before signing a contract. Coverage can be patchy in some rural areas and you should shop around to see which provider offers the best cover where you live.

Secondly, you should note that mobile broadband download allowances are very low in comparison to fixed-line packages and are only really suitable for people who don’t want to download or stream lots of movies, music and TV programmes. You can install our free Broadband Download Monitor to keep track of your downloads and ensure you never exceed your limit.

Cash for broadband

If you’re worried about budgeting, Post Office Broadband (www.PostOffice.co.uk) offers broadband packages - some that include line rental - that can be paid for in cash over the counter.

However, its packages are not the cheapest on the market, with its combined Home Phone & Broadband package costing £19.53 a month. It comes with up to 8Mb broadband, a free modem, inclusive line rental, free evening UK landline calls and inclusive weekend calls to UK landlines, mobiles and 20 international destinations.

Compare costs

Although you currently receive a rebate on your BT line rental depending on how much, or how little, you use your phone, you might still be able to make savings on your bills by switching to a provider like Plusnet, which has won a host of awards for its broadband service and has one of the cheapest line rental costs on the market.

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

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

Ask us a question

If you have a general switching or provider query please email us at OurExpert@broadbandchoices.co.uk

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