£44.78/mth for fibre, line rental, anytime UK and international freedom?

leitmotif

I'm coming up for renewal on my broadband/calls package and am shocked at how much Internet and phone costs these days! I'm with BT, and they raised their prices in April, but it seems that the competition aren't much cheaper.


Here's my quote for renewal (based on an 18-month contract, 52 Mbps fibre, Infinity Plus 1 package):


£32.49/month broadband, basic phone package, line rental
£6.99/month UK anytime calls
£7.80/month International calls


If I pay 18 months' line rental in advance (£296.82) then I'll save £2.50/month on line rental, and then pay £28.29/month for all of the above, averaging out at £44.78/month!


There are some deals with competitors available at the moment. PlusNet (basically BT as well) would average out at just over £38/month for the equivalent, but then only with a guaranteed speed of 34 Mbps (whereas I average around 54 Mbps with BT). This takes into account the £25 connection fee averaged over the 18 months. What it doesn't take into account is any termination fees I'd have to pay BT and any costs I'd incur for having to return the Home Hub (or whatever they call it), because if I sign up on the currently available deal with PlusNet I can only delay things for 28 days, whereas my contract with BT expires mid January. Once all that is factored in it probably won't work out much cheaper.


There's also a deal with TalkTalk, but to be honest I was with them for years and they are utter s***e in comparison.


Any thoughts on how I can get things cheaper? I do want fast broadband and we do need anytime calls UK + Europe.

iniltous

Not a recommendation , never used one, and I have no idea of prices, but what about a VOIP provider ?...check prices obviously but potentially lose the anytime and international call plans (£14/month saved) and use VOIP provider for those calls over your broadband , (complete guess ) £5-£10/month.

mije1983

Is there a reason you are renewing 2 and a half months before your minimum term ends? You won't get a great offer as they have you tied in for a while yet and obviously BT knows that.

Ideally you need to hold fire until you are in a stronger position.

leitmotif

iniltous wrote: »

Not a recommendation , never used one, and I have no idea of prices, but what about a VOIP provider ?...check prices obviously but potentially lose the anytime and international call plans (£14/month saved) and use VOIP provider for those calls over your broadband , (complete guess ) £5-£10/month.

Thanks, that's an interesting thought. After discussing with my partner yesterday, we agreed that her mum can call her or they use WhatsApp to call (free, even if they're in another country), and for UK calls we'll use our minutes allowance on our mobiles, so it might just about be possible to stick with the broadband and line rental. Still averages out at £29.99/month if I pay the line rental upfront (£296.82).

mije1983 wrote: »

Is there a reason you are renewing 2 and a half months before your minimum term ends? You won't get a great offer as they have you tied in for a while yet and obviously BT knows that.

Ideally you need to hold fire until you are in a stronger position.

A lot of the broadband companies are offering deals at this time of year, and BT has sent me a letter, presumably because it knows I might be tempted by a better deal elsewhere and wants to lock me into a contract before I stray. Still, a lot of those deals with the competition end in the next few days, and so I might be in a weaker position if I hold fire. My monthly fee will go up by £15 once I'm out of contract mid January.