Which Broadband?

Troythecat

Hello
I asked Orange for a migration code yesterday as I feel I am paying too much for broadband (£25 per month). I also pay roughly £105.00 every 3 months to BT for our home phone as well as £24 a month to sky for some channels.
I am quite clueless on all this stuff, but was looking at Talk Talk package.
Can anybody advise me what would be my best option?
I don't want to go with sky as they are too difficult to get through to etc.
Thank you in advance
Margaret

kwikbreaks

LLU broadband tends to be cheaper than BTw based broadband so finding what you can get is the first thing to do...

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php

LLU options are on the right of the results page. If you see Be/O2 then just go for O2 making sure you sign up through Quidco (ask how here if necessary). If there is no Be/O2 mentioned then post up what is there. If there are none then your choice of BTw reseller will depend a lot on your broadband usage.

Troythecat

thanks kwikbreaks
I have done this and 02/be are enabled at my exchange.
Is the O2 broadband the best value/customer service etc. at the moment? I had a look through this site yesterday and did notice it was getting good remarks. I don't have an 02 phone though.
I registered yesterday with Quidco, but am unsure how the cashback thing works too?

Am I also better to stay with BT for the home phone package?
thanks!
Margaret

penrhyn

If you have Sky TV then their broadband may be competitive for you, but only if your exchange is LLU.
I'd recommend keeping your line rental with BT.

Troythecat

thanks penrhyn, I did think that would be better.
Are BT competitive on their phone call prices too? If so, I will just leave the phone as it is and go for the 02 broadband.

I only use the comp. to surf the net, facebook and itunes.
Is the basic package enough for me?
so many questions!
thanks in advance again
Margaret

penrhyn

It all depends on your needs and requirements.
I have the basic Sky TV Entertainment Package which costs £18 /month and the Everyday 10mb/10Gb broadband package costing £10, had I taken Sky Talk it would be discounted by £5/month.
However due to me not wanting all eggs in one basket, and the ability to more easily switch ISPs in the future I have kept my BT line.
I have the evening and weekend package on a 12 month contract costing £11.54/month, but I got £24 discount after suggesting I was thinking of going over to Sky.

Confusing isn't it.

kwikbreaks

I think BT are pushing their evening/weekend calls package for free in exchange for a 12 month contract. I took over a line and was offered that a year back and then recently renewed it. I've also used http://www.call1899.co.uk for years - geographic area UK landline calls cost only the connect charg (5p) regardless of call length or time of day. There are other similar deals to that one.

You can get the £5 O2 discount from PAYG phones too - you have to top up with £10 every 3 months so £40 brings a £60 discount plus you can use the calltime you bought. I just got my wife a £10 contract SIM as she actually uses her mobile but mine is emergency only so I stick with PAYG.

O2 will be launching a phone line deal soon so it may be worth holding back on any calls deal until you see what that is - my betting is it will be good as they seem to be pushing to increase their market share to the point that their BB is below cost if you grab all the cashbacks.

dylanuk

Can anybody advise me what would be my best option?

As Kwikbreaks says, it's definitely worth seeing what's available in your area. It sounds like you are paying out quite a lot - and you make good savings if you take a call plan with a broadband package, e.g. Plusnet £5.99.

If you did leave your phone with BT - and went with O2 broadband, you could always move the home phone to O2 when they launch that (in the next few months) and you might get a discount then.

As well as SamKnows, also try a package comparison as this can be easier to see what packages/prices are available: http://www.chooseisp.co.uk/

I realise you've said you don't want Sky - but if you've got Sky TV, it might be worth considering the cost of getting all 3 from Sky - you'd get much cheaper broadband for example if you took a Sky call plan.

I only use the comp. to surf the net, facebook and itunes.
Is the basic package enough for me?

Sky's basic (or base) package is only 2GB a month, which is quite low. You say you use iTunes - if you're downloading much music, maybe around 5GB - 10GB would be better?...

Sky, rather than charging you a massive bill though, if you do go over I think they just tend to ask you to move up a package (although I think there might also be some queries on here as to whether or not they 'accurately' push you up a package).

Troythecat

thank you all, am just waiting on this migration code being e-mailed to me, then I'm going to go with 02.
Your help is much appreciated,
Margaret X

kwikbreaks

Are you clear on how to use Quidco now?

Troythecat

kwikbreaks, do I just access the retailer through their link?
How does the cashback happen...do they need my bank details?