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By Julia Kukiewicz
Staff Writer
Wednesday, 19 November 2008 |
FINDING the cheapest broadband package should be easy, but with every broadband provider wanting to appear to offer the cheapest broadband, getting to the bottom of it all is a little more tricky.
In an effort to squirm their way to the top of the cheapest broadband tables, broadband companies have come up with all sorts of ways of misrepresenting their prices, including:
- Hiding details such as set-up costs
- Compulsory line rental or phone packages
- Higher-than-advertised prices after a certain period
- And so on...
So how do you actually go about finding the UK's cheapest broadband deals? Simple - just follow the advice and recommendations in this regularly updated guide.
What is currently the cheapest broadband?
The current top five cheapest broadband deals in the UK are listed below.
The current cheapest broadband deal in the UK is Tiscali Broadband and Talk Option 1 package which starts at £9.99 (or £179.88 a year) a month but actually includes line rental!
Because this Tiscali package actually includes line rental, you should consider that you'd normally be paying £11.75 (or £10.50 by Direct Debit) to BT each month, which you no longer need to.
The downside to the Tiscali package is that some users have been reporting frustratingly slow speeds at times.
TalkTalk - having dropped its rather confusing bunch of packages in place of their sole 'Essentials' package - now sits comfortably as the second cheapest broadband deal in the UK (£6.49 a month or £203.88 a year when line rental is factored in and the intro price has ended).
The downside of the TalkTalk package is that you are required to switch your phone provider over to TalkTalk (and pay them line rental), which could have implications if you use call override providers (such as 18185.com) or if you are happy with your current call provider.
However, in terms of pure quality of service (and not to mention how you can increase the speed to 24Mbps for an extra £4 per month), TalkTalk is hard to beat and arguably worth paying a touch more for.
It's not often that the best broadband deal is also one of the cheapest broadband deals, but O2 Broadband offers its cheapest broadband - £7.50 (£231 a year) - to customers who already use their mobiles (either contract or pay as you go).
You'll have to pay £5 more per month if you are not an O2 mobile customer, but even this is reasonable when you consider the high quality service and fast speeds offered by O2 Broadband.
Another provider offering one of the cheapest broadband deals is cable provider Virgin Media, whose current cheapest broadband deal is just £9 (£204 per year all in).
The beauty of this package is that you do not require line rental at all, so the £9 a month charge is all you have to pay!
You can often get Virgin Media's cheapest broadband packages by also signing up to Virgin Media phone or TV - currently they are offering broadband, phone and TV for just £16.
Finally, if you want the most flexible, reliable service around AND award-winning customer service then geek’s choice Plusnet has the cheapest broadband for you at £9.99 (£260.88 per year with line rental).
How much is the cheapest broadband?
Here’s a rundown of the cheapest broadband packages from those providers:
- Tiscali’s Cheapest broadband:
Tiscali's cheapest broadband package at £14.99 (£9.99 for the first 3 months) a month looks, on the surface to be nothing out of the ordinary. Until you consider that it includes line rental and free weekend calls!
- TalkTalk’s Cheapest broadband:
Talk Talk line rental is £10.50 a month, less than BT’s which is £11.75 if you don't pay by Direct Debit! With their Talk Global + Evenings & Weekends call package broadband is just £6.49 more a month.
- O2’s Cheapest broadband:
O2 customers can get Premium broadband for just £7.50 a month. Non-O2 customers’ cheapest broadband deal is £12.50 a month.
- Virgin Media’s Cheapest broadband:
The M package is just £9 for a year then £17 after that. You don't need line rental and there is no need to take any phone package.
- Plusnet’s Cheapest broadband:
Plusnet’s option 1broadband package is just £9.99 a month.
What is the best way to apply for the cheapest broadband?
The single rule of thumb which will always ensure you get the cheapest broadband price you can, is to sign up online and NOT by phone.
This is because the best deals are often only available for online signups, as broadband providers don't like the overhead of having to pay call centre staff to sign you up when it could just as easily be done online.
Signing up online will give you free extras such as a wireless router. Getting something like this free will save you at least £50, which in the long term could make even the cheapest broadband deal cheaper.
By signing up online you'll find other costs - such as activation fees - are often waived. What's more, signing up online means you can sign up at any time, day or night without having to worry about whether someone will be available to action your call.
You can sign up to any of the packages mentioned in this article by clicking on any of the links on this page.
Can I apply for the cheapest broadband deals right now?
There is no point in paying more than you should for broadband, so you should kick in the process of switching to the cheapest broadband by signing up to any of the following cheapest broadband packages below:
- Cheapest broadband with home phone - Tiscali (Broadband & Talk Option 1)
Sign up online!
- Cheapest broadband with landline – TalkTalk Essentials
Sign up online!
- Cheapest broadband with BT landline – Orange Home Starter
Sign up online!
- Cheapest broadband without home phone or line rental – Virgin Media M
Sign up online!
- Cheapest broadband + best customer service – Plusnet Option 1
Sign up online!
What’s the cheapest broadband I can get?
Unfortunately there is one factor that could decide whether you can get the very cheapest broadband deal or not: where you live!
Not all broadband deals are available to everyone in the UK (although thankfully the gap is narrowing fast and so long as you live in a relatively developed area, all of the cheapest broadband deals should be yours for the taking).
This is particularly true of Virgin Media which only covers about half of the UK, but other broadband providers using Local Loop Unbundling (ie. where they take control of the exchange from BT) may also only offer their cheapest broadband deals in certain areas.
Enter your postcode and phone number into ChooseISP’s cheapest broadband comparison page and let us do the work for you: a list will appear of all the deals that you can get, arranged with the smallest price first.
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