Home phone Guides

Phone and TV packages

By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk

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You don’t just have to get a landline from your home phone supplier, increasingly these companies offer other products like digital TV, too, saving you money with a bundle. (Updated 22/10/09)

The main advantage of bundled services is that if you buy two services from the same supplier, it can be cheaper. The other plus point is that you’ll be billed by fewer companies and so your household paperwork may take up less time.

A downside of bundles is that you may have to go for a call package that doesn’t quite suit your needs – and calls outside the package may be quite expensive. However, there is a lot on offer at the moment and you may find just the right bundle with a call package and the mix of TV channels you are looking for.

Who offers phone and digital TV packages?

Companies that offer both home phone and digital TV include:

• BT (www.bt.com)
• Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com)
• Sky (www.sky.com)
• Tiscali (www.tiscali.co.uk)

Each company has its own strengths and weaknesses. Sky has the best TV service while Virgin Media has the best internet speeds available. Tiscali offers the cheapest bundles however. In order to pick the best deal for you, you need to consider what quality of service you want from each.

It’s important to remember that while BT offers home phone and TV through its BT Vision service, it doesn’t offer them as a discounted bundle. And BT Vision is only available if you’re a BT Total Broadband customer.

Virgin Media offers the ultimate bundling service which includes your home phone, digital TV, broadband and mobile phone services for £28 a month. This could mean significant savings if you aren’t already locked into a contract for any of these services.

Getting the right bundle for you

Before picking a package you must determine both the type of phone user you are, and the extent of the TV service you would like. It's a good idea to look at what all the main suppliers have to offer and be careful not to be blinded by a low-cost short-term introductory deal. Before you know it you could be locked-in to a substantial monthly outgoing.

Use our home phone calculator yo compare prices and see how much you can save on your bills.

There are also free digital TV services in the UK, such as Freeview and Freesat. These provide free access to many channels once you have a set-top box and installed an aerial or satellite dish, and may be perfect if you don’t want a subscription.

Bundling more services

You don’t just have to stop at bundling home phone and digital TV. You can add broadband too. And in the case of Virgin Media, your mobile phone service.

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