Broadband Guide

Broadband and phone providers - picking the right deal

Updated: Tuesday 22 March, 2011

By Editorial - news@consumerchoices.co.uk

Looking for a broadband and home phone provider to help you cut the cost of your bills or get the best from your broadband? Our guide will help you find the right deal to suit your needs, getting you the best bundle packages.

Cheap broadband

The first thing you need to think about before you sign-up to any new service is how you're going to use it, as this makes a huge difference to the broadband provider and package that you choose.

If you're an occasional user and only go online to check emails, go on Facebook and do a bit of online banking, then you don’t need to pay over the odds for a top-of-the-range broadband package.

Some of the cheapest broadband packages on the market are offered by TalkTalk (www.Talktalk.co.uk), Plusnet (www.Plus.net) and O2 (www.O2.co.uk).

These suppliers offer packages that can be bundled with home phone and even line rental for as little as £16¹ depending on the packages you choose.

Fast broadband

However, if the internet is an important part of your everyday life, where you video call friends abroad, catch-up on your favourite shows on the BBC iPlayer and download music from iTunes - or even log into the office from home - then you'll want a fast, reliable connection.

Cable broadband packages from Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) not only offer the very fastest connections; they also deliver the fastest actual speeds. Customers on its superfast up to 50Mb broadband package averaged around 46Mb when regulator Ofcom revealed speed test results in March 2011.

Even customers on its most popular 10Mb package get more than 90% of their advertised speed, with a typical download speed of 9.6Mb, according to Virgin Media.

Unfortunately if you don’t live in a cabled area, then you won’t be able to sign-up to Virgin Media. Other high-end alternatives that won’t blow your budget include fibre optic broadband from BT infinity (www.BT.com), BE broadband (www.Bethere.co.uk) and the Unlimited package from Sky broadband (www.Sky.com), which offers truly unlimited downloads.

The right phone service

Again, you simply need to think about how you'll use your phone service to make sure you get the right deal.

Most packages come with free evening and/or weekend calls as standard, but if you make a lot of calls during the day then you would probably benefit by paying a little extra for anytime calls.

Equally, think about any mobile or international calls that you make and talk to your provider to see if they offer any add-ons to help cut costs.

If you only need a landline to access the internet, then you should consider switching to Virgin Media - which offers standalone broadband deals - or look for a provider than offers a line rental-only option, such as O2.

Is it time to bundle?

More than 50% of consumers now bundle their broadband with a home phone service, said telecoms regulator Ofcom in its Communications Market Report, August 2010.

The biggest driver pushing people into bundles is price. Ofcom said: “70% of people said that the main reason for taking a bundle was because it was cheaper. Almost half of those with a bundle also said that it was more convenient to deal with one supplier.”

Bundle customers are also better satisfied with their services, it added. “In particular, bundlers have higher satisfaction with value for money and customer service.”

So whether you're looking to switch broadband and home phone provider to save money or simply to get a better service, consider one of the hundreds of bundles now on offer.

¹ Cost based on the basic line rental and The Basics package from O2 at £16 a month.

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