If you haven’t switched broadband provider in the last three years, the chances are you should. The average cost of broadband has dropped by 37%, according to Broadband Choices, and switching provider could save you up to £200 a year. So if the weather’s poor this weekend, why not stay in and save some money by reassessing your package?
Depressingly, as with so many services these days, loyalty doesn’t pay when it comes to broadband. Most of the best deals are only available to new customers and even then the headline rate is usually only an introductory rate for the first few months.
TalkTalk, for example, is offering new customers a phone and broadband package for just £6.49 a month – that’s £17.74 once you include BT’s £11.25 monthly line rental charge. Meanwhile, O2 gives new subscribers its Premium home broadband package free access for three months. From then on you’ll pay £14.68 a month for nine months, plus line rental.
To find the best offers in your area, visit Moneysupermarket.com, or Uswitch.com. Bear in mind when looking at the rates that most don’t include a line rental charge, so remember to add that in.
To cut out this cost altogether you could consider a dongle. This is a plug-in device for your computer that provides mobile broadband. Dongle charges work much like those for mobiles – you can either pay a regular amount on a monthly contract, or just pay as you go.
The big saving with a dongle is that you don’t need a home phone line. So if you are happy to retire the home phone, you could stop paying that £11.25 line rental altogether.
The best contract deals for a dongle at the moment are from 3 (Three.co.uk), which will charge you £10 a month on a 12-month or 18-month contract. You also need to buy the dongle itself. With some contracts it is thrown in for free, otherwise you can buy them for around £30. Just now, you can get one for free from 3 simply by registering on their website. If you don’t want to be tied to a contract, then you can pay as you go with your dongle.
The cheapest deal is from 02, which will give you 500MB of download for £2 a day, or double that for £7.50 – valid for a week. For a round-up of the best mobile broadband deals, visit Uswitch.com/mobile-broadband.
The only thing to remember when using a dongle is that if you go over the agreed download limit you will be charged handsomely. Also don’t be tempted to use it abroad as the charges are astronomical. An internet cafe is a much cheaper, if less convenient, bet.