Is Post Office Broadband Any Good?

By Lorrie Kelly Staff Writer Monday, 10 March 2008

Is Post Office Broadband Any Good? Post Office Broadband Good Stuff Good customer service Reliable connection Cheaper than BT Can include Home Phone package Post Office Broadband Not-so-good Stuff Could be cheaper Only the 'Extra' package is unlimited Reviews of Post Office Broadband Post Office Broadband Standard Review Post Office Broadband Extra Review Similar 'Any Good' Articles See our other investigations into whether a particular broadband provider is any good: Is Orange Broadband any good? TRAILING last in a recent survey, Orange Broadband has had its fair share of up’s and down’s, so Neil Hawkins aims to put the record straight and asks, is Orange Broadband any good Is TalkTalk any good? THEY may have introduced free broadband to the UK, but did they introduce absymal broadband too? Helen Storey finds out whether TalkTalk is any good. Is Tiscali Broadband any good? Their adverts for cheap broadband are all over the TV, but is Tiscali any good? Julia Kukiewicz unravels the Tiscali packages to find the answer. Is Sky Broadband any good? Is Sky Broadband any good? Julia Kukiewicz rustles through Rupert Murdoch's sock drawer (and his broadband packages) and uncovers some naked truths about Sky Broadband. Is O2 Broadband any good? THEY'RE fast being considered the best broadband provider in the UK. Here, Neil Hawkins looks a little closer at the high speed wonder that is O2 Broadband and answers the question: Is O2 Broadband any good? Is BT Anywhere with BT ToGo any good? BT appear to have solved the age-old 'chained to the desk' syndrome with their new combined broadband and web-enabled smartphone combination. But is BT Broadband Anywhere with BT ToGo any good? Helen Storey sorts the reality from the hyperbole and finds out.

THE Post Office has always been really good at closing down rural branches and ensuring their counter staff are as surly as possible, but is the new Post Office Broadband any good?

Post Office is a new arrival on the broadband wagon but with BT maintaining the Post Office broadband lines, dependability seems to be its strongest point.

Priced below BT Total Broadband rates, the Post Office Broadband service offers the security of a reliable broadband backbone at discounted cost, making it good value for money.

Is Post Office Broadband any good on… Price?

With Post Office Broadband, pricing of their broadband packages is transparent.

There are no misleading promotional packages or introductory prices that shoot up after three months. The two tiers of broadband service, Post Office Broadband Standard and Post Office Broadband Extra come in at £15.95 and £20.95 respectively.

Though their pricing isn’t the cheapest broadband in the UK, they are solidly positioned somewhere in the middle of their competition - offering an affordable service with the extra benefit of an experienced technical team.

Post Office Broadband Standard gives you a free modem whilst Post Office Broadband Extra provides a free wireless router and both come without setup fees on a 12 month contract.

Is Post Office Broadband any good on… Speed?

Post Office Broadband may not be the fastest broadband service but their 8Mbps speed should be more than enough for the average user.

But if you have a ‘need for speed’, you might want to consider the fast broadband providers like Be Broadband (up to 24Mbps), O2 Broadband (up to 20Mbps), Virgin Media (20Mbps) or Sky Broadband (up to 16Mbps) or UKOnline (up to 16Mbps) instead.

Is Post Office Broadband any good for… Broadband Bundles?

For those of us who like a bundled broadband service, Post Office also offers home telephone which can be combined with the Post Office Broadband.

Post Office Broadband Standard and HomePhone gives you free calls to other Post Office phone subscribers, free evening and weekend calls to all UK landlines and competitive rates on all other calls for £21.95 per month.

If you combine Post Office Broadband Extra with HomePhone, the monthly charge rises to £25.95.

Both of these bundles offer 10% discount for calls to numbers on your top 10 ‘Loved Ones’ list and up to 60 minutes free call time to phone your non Post Office subscriber friends on birthdays or Christmas.

Plus, Post Office offers calls to a selection of international destinations at a rate of 5p per minute.

Again this doesn’t break any records in terms of broadband bundle home phone pricing, but it does make for a better bargain, considering BT’s line rental alone is £10.99 per month.

Is Post Office Broadband any good on… Download Allowances?

The most significant difference between Post Office Broadband Standard and Post Office Broadband Extra comes by way of download allowance.

Post Office Broadband Standard gives you 5GB of monthly downloads but if you exceed this limit, they are vague about what they charge for overages.

And according to current subscribers, if you exceed your limit, Post Office will push you to upgrade to their Post Office Broadband Extra.

However, Post Office Broadband Extra may prove to be a better deal for those of us who spend a lot of time online watching movies or gaming because of its unlimited monthly download allowance (subject to fair usage policy).

Is Post Office Broadband any good on… Customer Service?

Customer service seems to be a divided issue for current subscribers to Post Office Broadband.

Some claim they have spent hours on the phone waiting to reach a representative whilst others have had no problems at all.

But both sides agree that the representatives at the Northern Ireland call centre are helpful when they finally answer your call and that contacting Post Office Broadband’s customer service team is a far better experience than contacting BT.

Is Post Office Broadband any good on… Freebies and Extras ?

Rounding out the deal with Post Office Broadband, you also receive 50Mb of free webspace, anti-virus and parental controls on their Post Office Broadband Extra package.

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