Home phone Guides

Landline and broadband deals

Updated: Wednesday 18 January, 2012

By Anthony Hill - anthony.hill@consumerchoices.co.uk

Signing up for a bundled “all-in-one” phone and broadband package could help cut your monthly household bills - but who’s services should you take? We look at some of the UK’s best landline bundles…

There’s no doubt that you can save a bundle by taking an “all-in-one” package that combines your landline and broadband - providers with such deals offer very competitive rates. You can now get yourself speedy 20Mb broadband and line rental for less than £20 from Plusnet, for example.

The table below shows some of the UK’s cheapest landline and broadband packages - compare what’s on offer to see if you can save by switching to a new deal:

Before you sign-up for a 12- or 18-month contract with any particular provider, Homephonechoices.co.uk recommends finding out a bit more about what’s on offer, to help you decide whether a bundled landline and broadband package is really for you. You may decide that separate services are actually more suitable for your needs.

Advantages of bundling

1. Savings - You could save money by taking more than one service from the same provider
2. Freebies - Some providers even throw in “free” broadband, digital TV or line rental when you take one of their bundles
3. Bills - You’ll also have less paperwork and only one company to pay.

Disadvantages of bundling

1. Pricey calls - Calls outside of your landline call plan may be quite expensive
2. Unsuitable - If you do get “free” services or add-ons, they may not necessarily be the most suitable ones for your household
3. Cannot switch - If you are unhappy about any aspect of your service, you may find it difficult to switch. For example, you may be disappointed by your broadband service, however cannot switch provider because your broadband is tied in with your landline.

Landline and broadband providers

The majority of home phone providers now also offer broadband, letting you take advantage of discounted deals for signing up for both services. But which provider is best for you? Below is a breakdown of each of the major providers’ strengths and weaknesses:

• BT - As the UK’s biggest landline and broadband provider, BT (www.bt.com) offers a great selection of added extras with packages, such as free security software and online storage services. It isn’t one of the cheapest providers on the market though.
• O2 - Though O2 (www.o2.co.uk) is a newcomer to the home phone market, it offers one of the cheapest landline and broadband packages around - with prices starting from just £8.50 a month (plus line rental) for existing O2 mobile customers, or £13.50 a month (plus line rental) for non-O2 mobile customers.
• Plusnet - Plusnet (www.plus.net) offers great rates on its home phone and broadband deals, with 20Mb broadband and free evening and weekend calls available from just £6.49 a month (plus line rental). Different call plans and a broadband deal with “unlimited broadband” downloads, subject to a fair usage policy are also available.
• Post Office - If you want the flexibility of being able to pay your bills however suits you, the Post Office (www.postoffice.co.uk) accepts over-the-counter cash payments for its landline and broadband bundles, though it doesn’t offer the cheapest packages around.
• Sky - If you’ve already got Sky TV, signing up to a Sky (www.sky.com) landline deal will get you “free broadband” and evening and weekend calls. Sky line rental is cheaper than BT’s too, but as with many bundled packages, call costs can be high.
• TalkTalk - TalkTalk (www.talktalk.co.uk) offers one of the cheapest home phone and broadband bundles in the UK, known as the Essentials package - this is just £6.99 a month, and comes with a 40GB download limit and speeds of up to 24Mb. This doesn’t include line rental though, at £14.50 a month.
• Virgin Media - If it’s speed you’re after, Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com) has the UK’s fastest broadband and consistently tops download speed tables. It also offers a “free” digital TV service with some packages. However, its landline call costs are expensive outside of a bundled package.

Which landline and broadband deal is right for me?

Before signing up to a new landline and broadband bundle, you need to have a clear idea of exactly what you want. Think about your needs as a consumer; do you want a superfast broadband connection, a very high download limit or free calls during the day?

You don’t want to sign-up to a long contract only to find that your monthly bills are a lot higher than expected because you’ve exceeded your download allowance or made lots of calls outside of your plan. Also, try to avoid the temptation to subscribe for extra services just because they’re cheap. If you’re not going to use them, they will just be a waste of money.

To get the best deal for you, you should always compare landline and broadband deals, and sign-up online.