Broadband Bundles

How Broadband Bundles Work

IT'S hard to imagine that just a decade ago you would return your phone to the receiver and wait patiently whilst your 56k modem attempted to re-establish connection, whilst flipping back and forth through 4 TV channels, thinking “well it doesn’t get any better than this!”

Fortunately, in this instance, it does.

As technology has become a major part of our lives and we see how fast efficient and useful it can be, it is unsurprising that we want this in our home and thankfully, due to the introduction of cable, BT opening up it’s lines to the competition and the continued improvements in networks and technology, a whole host of companies are now able to offer broadband, phone and digital TV.

Many companies now offer these combined services as a ‘bundle’ or 'broadband bundle'.

Broadband bundle service providers typically offer the option of grouping two or more of the following common services:

• Broadband
• Landline
• Digital TV
• Mobile phone

Why have broadband bundles come about?

Competition between broadband providers is fierce, with companies offering broadly similar products at similar prices.

With BT being forced to 'unbundle' its telephone exchanges, many providers were free to get one over on the competition by offering broadband and phone packages – often offering one product as ‘free’ with the other.

TalkTalk was the first broadband provider to offer so-called 'free broadband', and despite the hordes of naysayers that said it's a gimmick that won't last, the British public loved the idea and flocked to TalkTalk in their thousands.

This tactic soon caught on, as broadband companies realised that providing multiple products was an easy way to increase revenue and capture new broadband customers.

What’s the point of a broadband bundle?

There are two governing factors that should override all else when it comes to deciding on whether of not to get a broadband bundle...

1. Cost:
Broadband providers offer discounts for taking out multiple services with them. For example, Virgin Media’s ‘3 for £30’ package which offers Broadband, Landline and digital TV for £30 a month.

2. Convenience:
With a broadband bundle you will only have to deal with one service provider, which means one bill to remember to pay and one customer service hotline to get through to. Of course, the downside to this is that if the customer service provided by the broadband bundle provider is poor, you'll suffer the same poor experience for all the products they provide as part of the bundle.

Compare broadband bundle packages