Internet We will look at some of the best standalone offers, or broadband-plus-home phonecall packages.
As Steve Weller, communications expert at a leading price comparison website puts it: "The difference in performance between the best and worst companies is now greater than ever, so it's vital for customers to keep tabs on their situation to make sure that they are getting the best bang for their buck. Moving to a better deal could be a great way to cut the cost of their monthly broadband bill."
Before scouring the market, check for free or subsidised deals.
Existing Orange monthly mobile customers (excluding SIM-only) can get 8Mbps broadband with a 10GB download limit for free, provided they live near an Orange-bundled phone exchange (65% of us do). Otherwise the deal costs £7.83 a month – not the cheapest. Whether it is wise to switch mobile network calls purely to obtain the deal is another matter, as mobile call costs could outweigh broadband savings.
Sky viewers will be offered the option of Sky home phone and broadband. The Base 2Mbps broadband package with a 2GB cap is free, but only with its Skytalk home phone service. But negotiation can pay off – personally I have just enjoyed a special offer 12 months of free phone calls and broadband for £5. Deals change frequently so check if you are interested in this offer.
Standalone Broadband
The UK's largest broadband firms are losing market share to newer rivals with O2, Plusnet and Sky topping the poll.
If the cheapest price possible is your main interest, Plusnet's Option 1 deal comes in at £5.99 a month, with free wireless set-up. For that you get a 10GB download limit – heavy users who exceed this must pay £2 per GB. Meanwhile please note that 20% of the UK cannot get this service, and would pay £11.99 a month after the first three months.
The cheapest package with unlimited downloads is O2 at £7.34 a month with free wireless setup for existing O2 customers (£12.23 a month for others). O2 has meanwhile scooped an impressive array of awards from the 2009 Broadband Customer Satisfaction Survey by uswitch.com.
As for Sky (see above), light broadband users can live life cheaply with its free broadband Base package (and £5 a month for anytime phone calls) at the time of writing. However at £16.50 a month for the TV subscription, unless you wanted the TV anyway, it is not the cheapest option.
Broadband plus home phone
TalkTalk's Essentials package is £19.41 a month – for that you get line rental, broadband, free evening and weekend calls national calls, and anytime local calls. Contracts are for 18 months. For a limited time it is offering free connection. Again, its coverage is not 100 per cent, so do check.
Tiscali's Option 1 at £14.99 a month offers 8Mbps unlimited broadband, free line rental and free weekend phone calls. Option 2 at £19.99 gives anytime phone calls. A £30 set up fee applies to both options and, bring the monthly price for a minimum 12-month contract to £17.49 and £22.49 respectively.
As a word of caution, beware choosing any deal purely on the basis of price. If issues such as reliability and customer service matter to you, check independent online reviews. And beware that new deals are constantly appearing in this ever-changing market.
Written by Andrew Stucken. This article was published on June 8, 2009. Prices and details correct at time of publication. The opinions in this article are the author's own and for general information only. Always seek independent advice.